Couple’s wall collapsed during KC summer storm. They’re still trying to move back
When Manuel Ramirez jolted awake at 3 a.m. on July 16 to all four of his dogs barking, he knew something was very wrong.
Ramirez and his husband, Michael Thomas, had fallen asleep to the sound of rain earlier.They didn’t expect that by the time the clouds parted, their life would be turned upside down.
As Ramirez rose from the bed, a second noise followed from below. Ramirez threw open the basement door and saw piles of cinder block all over the floor. A wall of his Independence home, built in 1949 and purchased in 2019, had collapsed in the storm.
“I panicked immediately,” Ramirez said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know if I was still dreaming.”
Ramirez woke up Thomas, and the couple called their gas company, then the Independence Fire Department. They couldn’t shut off their gas line because chunks of fallen basement wall blocked their way. When the fire department arrived, they told Ramirez and Thomas to evacuate immediately.
Within 10 minutes, the couple was on the road with some hastily packed bags and the dogs – Felix, Bobby, Neo and Eddie – in tow. They fled first to a hotel, then to an AirBnb owned by a friend. Their cat, Mama, was in the basement when the wall collapsed. She fled safely to the second floor but could not be convinced out of hiding.
The storm broke the daily rainfall record in Kansas City, with 2.78 inches of rain to the previous record of 1.35 inches in 1968. Some parts of the metro saw a total of 7 to 11 inches of rain that week, with flash flooding and storm damage reported in multiple towns and cities. Multiple Independence homeowners were left high and dry in destabilized houses, sifting through flooded possessions and piles of debris.
More than a month later, Ramirez and Thomas have seen their home condemned by the city and are still fighting for funding to get the house back in shape after insurance denied their initial claim. For the couple and other Independence homeowners whose homes were partially damaged by storms, this process can drag on for weeks with no conclusive answer on when – or if – they will be able to return.
After the storm
When firefighters left and Ramirez and Thomas returned to their damaged house for the first time, they were greeted by a notice on the front door indicating that the house was condemned.
“The city wants the house fixed or demolished,” Ramirez said.
In Missouri, condemning a building, or declaring it unfit to be used or lived in, falls to individual cities and local governments.
For Independence, that responsibility is part of the building inspections division of the community development department. When the city tags buildings as dangerous, notice is filed with the Jackson County recorder.
These warnings don’t necessarily mean that the house will be demolished against Ramirez and Thomas’ wishes. Demolition would require a separate set of permits, including a plan to ensure that neighboring structures wouldn’t be affected.
Instead, the house is held in an undefined state. Homeowners like Ramirez and Thomas who want to move back in need to get their buildings completely up to code first, with electrical, plumbing and mechanical work done by licensed professionals.
“We called the city and they said, ‘You’re going to get a really nasty letter, please try not to take it too personal.’” Ramirez said. “There’s a time frame where we have to send proof that we’re working on it.”
After the storm ended, the couple called a company specializing in foundation. A technician affirmed that the rest of the house wasn’t expected to collapse. However, the furnace and water heater were covered in mud, along with many of the couple’s belongings. They had stored about $1,500 worth of frozen meat in the basement, which they gave away to friends and family as it began to quickly melt.
In order to access and clean out the basement, Ramirez and Thomas had to knock in part of another wall separating the basement from the garage. They also spent $1,800 on replacement parts after city technicians said they were unable to shut off the water pipes in the house.
Whenever Ramirez and Thomas come by the house to meet with contractors or work on repairs, they visit Mama the cat, still residing on the abandoned second floor. The couple set up a portable generator and air conditioning unit for the skittish tabby, and stop by regularly to bring her food and water while they work to clear debris.
Weeks of temporary displacement have put a dent in the couple’s savings, Ramirez said. Though their friend offered a reduced rate for the ongoing AirBnb stay, Ramirez and Thomas have seen increased food costs without a kitchen and have paid out of pocket for cleanup services at the house. They bought dehumidifiers to keep mold out of the exposed house and a network of WiFi-enabled security cameras.
“We’re trying to prevent any damages, because if the insurance doesn’t pay, we’re in trouble,” Ramirez said.
Causes of damage
As bills and quotes from contractors started piling up, the couple filed a claim through USAA, hoping to finance the necessary repairs through an insurance payout. Thomas, a veteran, had used the military insurance company for about 25 years, Ramirez said. But when the couple called about their damaged home, Ramirez said he expected the worst immediately.
“When my husband called, he knew immediately that they were not going to cover us,” Ramirez said. “They started asking questions not in our favor.”
The couple hired an outside insurance adjuster. Days later, they got a letter from USAA denying coverage for the damage to the home. The insurance company wrote that floodwaters from the storm were the sole cause of the damage, and that flood damage wasn’t covered under the couple’s policy, Ramirez said.
Ramirez and Thomas got a different explanation from a structural engineer, who they hired on their own in the process of fighting the insurance denial.
Their house was built more than 70 years ago, and it’s common for homes of that age to experience moisture buildup behind the walls, the structural engineer told Ramirez. During storms, that trapped water can be affected by higher atmospheric pressure, contributing to wall collapses like the one that shook Ramirez and Thomas’ house.
“Our basement was dry all the time, so this was totally unexpected,” Ramirez said.
On August 12th, the couple sent a rebuttal letter to USAA. The letter included an engineer’s report saying that the building’s age had weakened it by the time of the flood, and that it was not properly constructed to route away water during severe storms.
Under their policy, repairs to the home would be covered if the damage was caused by multiple factors besides floodwater, Ramirez said. The couple is now demanding another engineer, not affiliated with either themselves or the insurance company, give a third opinion.
Ramirez estimated that the couple has spent at least $6,000 on temporary fixes and cleanup progress since the storm. They will need about $50,000 to complete the necessary repairs for the city to deem their house livable again, he said – and they aren’t sure how they will come up with the money if their appeal is also denied.
“We’re both stressed out,” Ramirez said. “We miss our house.”
While they wait for USAA to respond to their appeal and city codes hold the home in limbo between livable and demolition-ready, Ramirez and Thomas are still doing what they can on their own to rebuild.
As the one-month mark from the storm passed, the couple brought in a dumpster, hired an outside cleaning and repair company and cleared away drywall and waterlogged belongings. A second round of storms in August brought floodwater inside and caused the shattered house to tip sideways on its foundation, though it was quickly stabilized by contractors, Ramirez said.
Meanwhile, Ramirez and his husband have been struggling to stay positive and settle into routines at their Airbnb. While the dogs are enjoying the fenced-in backyard, tensions have run high at times among the humans, and Ramirez has experienced appetite loss due to stress.
“It’s just disappointing,” Ramirez said. “I’m tired, I’ve been crying. I’m ultimately very unstable, my husband too. We try to cheer each other up and try to be positive, but it’s so hard.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 6:23 AM.
