Kansas City Jewish Community Relatively Unharmed by Floods

The 22,000-member Jewish community of Kansas City, Mo. and its agencies generally escaped any severe damage from the devastating downpour and flash floods that hit the city on Tuesday, but major damage was suffered by Jewish-owned enterprises in the city’s leading shopping center, an official of the Kansas City Jewish Federation and Council reported today.

In a telephone interview today, Sol Koenigsberg, Federation executive director, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that none of the Federation’s affiliated agencies suffered anything that could be described as extensive damage.

He reported that Marshall Kleinstein, his wife, Margaret, and their two children aged 7 and 2 were killed. They were swept away in the torrential waters created by more than 12 inches of rain in one day. Their bodies were recovered and they were buried yesterday, he said. He added that, as of today, those four were the only known Jewish fatalities in the disaster.

SHOPPING AREA HARDEST HIT

The hardest hit section was the fashionable Country Club Plaza shopping area, containing many of the city’s most fashionable stores and most exclusive apartment buildings. Adding to the water damage was a huge explosion and fire which destroyed a block of stores, believed caused by eruption of a natural gas line.

Koenigsberg said “major damage” had been suffered by a number of Jewish-owned stores in the Plaza, including jewelry, fabric and department stores. He said that while the damage to the stores was “devastating,” the merchants were busy cleaning out their stores and that they had expressed hopes of being able to reopen for the Thanksgiving Yule shopping season.

Koenigsberg also reported that a major apartment complex, located in the Plaza shopping area, was evacuated and that the evacuees included “several hundred” Jewish families who are living temporarily with relatives and friends. The apartment buildings were evacuated because gasoline in the tanks of some 300 parked cars in underground parking facilities, submerged in six feet of flood water, began to seep into the water, creating a hazardous situation.

Koenigsberg said it was expected it would take several days to drain the parking facilities and make the apartment buildings habitable again. He said the Federation was checking out other housing with major Jewish residency to find out whether similar problems had affected other Jewish families.

He also said a check of Kansas City synagogues indicated that only one–the 1200-family Orthodox Kehillath Israel–had been damaged and that the damage had been restricted to the synagogue’s heating and air conditioning systems.

COORDINATING AID PROGRAM

Koenigsberg said the Federation convened an emergency meeting this morning to work out a co-ordinated program of readiness to aid Jewish merchants and individuals. The meeting was attended by nine Federation affiliate executives, he said. The Jewish Family and Children’s Service was designated to provide services to Jewish families. The Jewish Community Center has been set up as a central point for inquiries and assistance to affected Kansas City Jews. The flood disrupted Rosh Ha-shanah services.