Friday night a monster tornado decided to pay us a visit here in Kansas. This big fella wiped out nearly all of the town of Greensburg, which is about 100 miles south of Hays. The town is now evacuated and crews are trying to clear roads so that people can come and see if there is anything left to be salvaged. These are the significant numbers:
90% of the town is gone.
1 building without structural damage- the courthouse.
9 fatalities resulting from Friday night.
Round 2 on Saturday had tornadoes in 12 counties and wind up to 90 MPH.
If you're wondering about the good stuff I was referring to here it is:
Within hours of the Greensburg tornado, which happened around 9:45 PM, crews were coming from all areas to help with search and rescue, and clean-up. Some from over 200 miles away.
The KWCH/KBSH news team (channel 7 on my rabbit ears) was on the air for 27 straight, commercial-free hours with damage reports and weather warnings. They were completely amazing. I checked another station but it was on commercial at that moment. This is why I watch CBS instead of ABC.
Luckily (and strangely) the storms wrapped all the way around Hays, and we have fared pretty well this weekend. There is a bit of a thunderstorm over us right now but it's very calm a lovely. (So I say now.)
Georgie Jr. has been on the ball today declaring emergencies and disasters and all that official stuff. The visibly and obviously distressed citizens of Greensburg and the surrounding areas are not feeling sorry for themselves, and seem just as concerned about the future of their town as they are about their personal belongings. Every person interviewed says that the most important thing is that most people are OK, and now they just have to figure out where to start cleaning up and rebuilding.
Though it is lacking in several areas, this is the beauty of the Midwest. Shelters were set up immediately in nearby communities. Supplies were being collected from communities all over Kansas by the next morning. Search and rescue crews, as well as regular people with the right equipment, came from all over to help out. Our Kansas representatives went to the President immediately to request aid. And best of all, everybody is ready to start rebuilding. First thing's first--clean-up before rebuilding. Less than 48 hours ago nearly everything they own was demolished; they don't know when or how but they will get things back to normal because that's the way we do things in Tornado Alley.
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