The town of Hays in north-central Kansas took a direct shot from a significant line of storms that blew through with winds near 80mph, not only closing I-70 between Hays and Wakenney, but doing significant damage in town. Powerlines were knocked down along with countless trees and large limbs. Many roads in town were blocked by debris. Power remained out to many areas in Hays well passed midnight as crews were out overnight trying to clear roads and restore power.
Video package is overnight footage from Hays that includes a transformer on fire, the roof blown off a church, a powerpole down on a truck trapping the driver, and various shots of down trees in town.
Shot Description
Scene 1: Large power pole down on top of a truck, NAT sound of police officer telling the driver to stay in the truck until the fire department arrives. The driver was not hurt, but was stuck in his truck for nearly two hours (he was not discovered til an hour later).
Scene 2: Close up shot of powerpole on the truck.
Scene 3: Shot of powerpole in rain and headlights blocking the road to the stuck driver.
Scene 4: Shot walking along the down lines.
Scene 5: Wide shot in the town of Hays of an alleyway with a transformer on fire on the right side of the picture; it flares up in the shot and you see flame and sparks fly.
Scene 6-7: Tighter shots of the transformer on fire with sparks coming off it.
Scene 8: Fire department on scene of the transformer fire with street covered in tree debris.
Scene 9: Shot looking at fire truck from behind a down tree.
Scene 10: Wide shot of the Celebration Community Church on the north side of Hays with its roof torn off and hanging down the front of the building.
Scene 11: Tight shot of the roof hanging off the side of the building.
Scene 12: Part of the roof in the parking lot wrapped around a power pole.
Scene 13-14: Large tree down smashing part of a white fence.
Scene 15: Large tree limb down in a driveway.
Scene 16: Large tree limb down against a house.
Scene 17: Large tree limb down partially blocking a neighborhood street.
Scene 18: Shot from an overpass on I-70 of one of over a dozen semis flipped in the storm as a tow truck arrives on scene.
Scene 19: Shot of the flipped semi from over I-70.
Scene 20: Shot of a semi truck being turned around through the median due to the I-70 closure.
Scene 21: Wide shot of the endless parade of lights in the blockage on I-70 as eastbound traffic is turned around in the foreground.
Scene 22: Shot of semi and other traffic turning around through the median.
Scene 23: Shot looking down on I-70 showing the eastbound backup with the westbound lane blocked by a flipped semi.
Scene 24: Shot looking west at the stopped traffic on eastbound I-70.
Scene 25: Destroyed RV on the side of westbound I-70.