National Guard Raises Estimate for Kansas Winter Storm Damage to $381M

State officials say the winter storm that knocked power out to thousands of customers across Kansas continues to get costlier.

The newest damage estimate put the figure at $381 million. The Kansas adjutant general’s department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said that makes it the most expensive storm ever to hit the state.

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting said the damage was particularly bad for rural electric cooperatives, which lost meters, poles and transmission lines when the ice and snow fell in December. Adding to the cost was that many of the lines were made of materials no longer manufactured, so they had to be rebuilt.

The storm caused six deaths and injured 11 others.