OTTAWA, Kan. — Communities across Kansas are beginning the difficult process of recovery after a powerful tornado tore through the region Monday night, leaving behind a patchwork of destruction and relief that the damage wasn’t worse.
In Ottawa, one of the hardest-hit areas, a tornado packing winds up to 125 miles per hour carved through neighborhoods, toppling massive trees, tearing apart structures and knocking out power for hours.
Neighbors helping neighbors after Ef-2 tornado hits Ottawa, Kansas
Now, the sounds filling the air are no longer sirens, but chainsaws and utility crews working tirelessly to restore what was lost.
For residents like Lowell Scott, the storm hit closer than anything he’s experienced in decades.
“Tornadoes in Kansas are everywhere but never had one quite this close,” he said.
By early afternoon the next day, much of the power had been restored, marking a critical first step in the long road to recovery.
For many, that moment brought a sense of relief, something Scott experienced firsthand when the lights came back on.
“Our electricity is back on, it is… great,” Scott said.
But even as progress is made, the storm’s strange and sudden destruction has left many trying to make sense of what happened.
“It’s just really odd that the car was sitting here, pretty much intact and all the walls of the garage and the door were just gone – they were on the roof over there,” Scott said.
Just blocks away, that oddity is even more apparent.
At one home, a carport, truck, boat and shed remain standing virtually untouched.
Yet only feet away, a massive tree lies completely uprooted, and neighboring homes and vehicles suffered significant damage.
John Howell, who lives in the area, says he knows how lucky they were.
“Pretty blessed because these are big trees that are down and our neighborhood took a hit, but not as much as the neighborhood up the road did. They got it a lot worse, my neighbors got it worse than I did,” Howell said.
That sense of gratitude comes despite watching the storm unfold in real time.
“We were actually standing up there by the garage and we could see something forming just to the west and I told my wife we need to go in now. By the time we got to downstairs, it was here,” Howell said.
For many in Ottawa, the immediate danger has passed but the recovery effort is just beginning. Cleanup crews continue to remove debris, assess structural damage and help residents piece their lives back together.
