Posted on 05/07/2007 5:53:35 AM PDT by bw17
By Associated Press
Monday, May 7, 2007
Greensburg, Kan.— Paramedic Annette Gasten and her German shepherd, Greta, had a grim weekend searching amid the piles of wreckage left by one of the strongest tornadoes to rake across the Plains.
Every business on Greensburg’s main street was demolished and officials estimate as much as 95 percent of the town was destroyed. Tree trunks stood bare, stripped of most of their branches. All the churches were destroyed.
At least eight people in this community of 1,500 were dead, putting the state’s total death toll at 10. No one was found Sunday in the debris.
“Even though I have been to other disasters, this one was a lot worse — the amount of damage,” Gasten said. “It is such a large area that was destroyed that it made it difficult” to search.
Residents were to be allowed back to their homes Monday morning, giving rescuers a better idea of whether any missing residents might be buried under rubble.
Since the tornado hit Friday night, emergency responders have had little indication of how many people in this south-central Kansas town of 1,500 may be safely staying with friends or relatives, rather than in shelters.
Only residents will be allowed back into town. Law enforcement officials will be checking identification and compiling a list of people whose whereabouts still haven’t been determined. Residents must leave by 6 p.m.
Fresh search and rescue dogs will be brought in Monday from Missouri as the hunt for possible survivors and bodies continues across a landscape dotted with mounds of debris, some as deep as 30 feet.
The National Weather Service classified the Friday night tornado as an F-5, the highest category on its scale. The weather service said it had wind estimated at 205 mph, and carved a track 1.7 miles wide and 22 miles long.
The twister is the first classified as an F-5 since May 3, 1999, when a tornado killed 36 people in Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999. It is the first F-5 since the weather service revised its scale this year, in an effort to more comprehensively gauge tornadoes’ damage potential, with less emphasis on wind speed.
The Greensburg twister late Friday was part of a storm front that also spawned tornadoes in parts of Illinois, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Nebraska, though most damage elsewhere was minimal, officials said.
In western Oklahoma, at least eight homes were destroyed, several more were damaged and one person was injured. A woman was trapped when her mobile home was blown off its foundation in Seminole in Seminole County but she was rescued and was shaken but not hurt, said sheriff’s dispatcher Terry Thomason.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday evening that the state’s response will likely be hampered because much of the equipment usually positioned around the state to respond to emergencies — including tents, trucks and semitrailers — is now in Iraq.
“Not having the National Guard equipment, which used to be positioned in various parts of the state, to bring in immediately is really going to handicap this effort to rebuild,” said Sebelius.
Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for the adjutant general’s office, which manages state resources during emergencies, acknowledged the strain.
“We are never at 100 percent because we are allocated a certain amount from the National Guard Bureau. With the war, we are much shorter than we would be. We have about 40 percent of what is allocated,” Watson said.
She said the state has a shortage of heavy equipment transport trailers, pallet-sized loading systems, Humvees, dump trucks and other large equipment that would be help move massive amount of debris.
Sebelius was out of state when the tornado happened. Pat Roberts had to take charge. I think she’s trying to cover herself by shifting the focus to the president and playing to the Democrats nationally for her further ambitions.
Here’s a paragraph from a press release from the National Guard.
Currently, the Kansas National Guard has 88 percent of its forces available, 60 percent of its Army Guard dual-use equipment on hand, and more than 85 percent of its Air Guard equipment on hand, said Randal Noller, public affairs officer for the National Guard Bureau. Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is a national partnership agreement that allows state-to-state assistance during governor or federally declared emergencies, Kansas has more than 400,000 Guardsmen available to it, he pointed out. However, Kansas has not yet requested assistance from other states.
Unbelievable is right. How so few people were killed in that is amazing. That had to be a he!! of a beast to do that. IIRC, that THING was 2 miles wide. I’ve looked a what a two mile distance is. Two miles is a HUGE storm to have you in its sights. Where do you run? Nowhere. And you pray like you never did before. You have to be in awe of such natural power.
I think the tentative measurement of that storm is between 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile wide.
1 out of 5 didn't, and Blanco/Nagin waffled on the federal government's advice.
My deepest sympathy to the people of Kansas. I hope to see your town rebuilt and Gods love comfort you. On the other hand I wish the wicked witch of the west had been blown away.
God have mercy. It looks like Hiroshima after the A-bomb.
Time to replace that Dem in Kansas. I wonder if any Pub could beat her if she runs again? BTW, 52% of the Kansas National Guard is still in Kansas. She could call them out any time she wants.
Seems like San Fran Nan couldn’t wait to join in on the BDS bandwagon... Of course she blamed President Bush for the veto of the funding bill...
The warnings about National Guard readiness have been clear – states are not as ready as they should be to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies here at home. That is why House Democrats included $2 billion, not requested by the President in the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Health, and Iraq Accountability Act for a new Strategic Reserve Readiness Fund of which $1 billion is for Army National Guard equipment shortfalls. Unfortunately, the President vetoed this bill, along with this additional funding for the Army National Guard.
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=346
Sebelius = Stuck on Stupid
Is there a thread for FReepers only who have been displaced or harmed by this weather system?
Thank you for that info, Axel F. The Governor’s blatant attempt to use the misery of the Greensburg people to further her own political agenda is craven and unconscionable.
“1 out of 5 didn’t, and Blanco/Nagin waffled on the federal government’s advice.”
The actions of Blanco and Nagin before and after Katrina not withstanding,I have no desire to defend them, I was addressing the point in your original post that alluded to the sudden warning in Greensburg that was heeded, and the two day warning in New Orleans that supposedly was not.
The majority of the citizenry of New Orleans had the means and the common sense to see what was coming, and they boarded up, packed up and left the city before the storm. Although it makes for an amusing stereotype, all New Orleanians are not lackadaisical, morons waiting for somebody else to do it for them. It wasn’t the first time we have evacuated and it won’t be the last.
Emptying a city of nearly 500,000, and potentially doing it several times during one hurricane season, is no small feat and despite everything it came off pretty well. Had it not, the loss of life in Louisiana would have been much greater than the approximately 1,600. Also,Orleans was not the only parish that evacuated. Other low lying parishes in South Louisiana like Plaquemines,and St Bernard also got on the road. Jefferson Parish, where I live, itself had a pre-Katrina population of 450,000 and we evacuated too. The scenes from the super dome, and the convention center that played so dramatically and endlessly on FOX and CNN were only part of the story. Unfortunately, that’s a big part of what sticks in everyone’s mind.
Shame on her.
Is there any truth to her allegations?
The article says folks were allowed back to their homes...what homes.
Lord have Mercy.
Now floods.
I may have already asked but will again (very lil sleep but trying) is all our FReepers accomadated for?
I am sorry it took so long to get back to you. I was raised in Southeast Kansas and went to high school in Iola. I may have been mistaken about Western Kansas being liberal and the KC area being conservative. It might be vice versa. Tell me what it is. Thanks!
These girl governors are an embarrasssment to women! Whine....whine....whine.
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