Thread: Say a prayer for Kansas
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Old 05-05-2007, 10:58 AM   #1 (permalink)
baloney_detector
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Say a prayer for Kansas
(I'm just glad that NJ-where I live-doesn't see too many tornados.)

Massive Tornado in Kansas Kills Seven

7 minutes ago

At least seven people were killed after a massive tornado collapsed a hospital and wrecked up to 90 percent of a small town in southern Kansas, local officials and US media said Saturday.

Seven people were reported dead in the area and around 60 people were injured after the storm made a direct hit on Greensburg, Kansas, Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for Kansas Emergency Management, told CNN.

According to reports some 30 people were pulled from the rubble of Kiowa County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg as the storm ripped homes off their foundations and even damaged below-ground shelters.

The US National Weather Center meanwhile warned of more severe weather in the US midwest Saturday, spawning possibly new severe tornadoes.

The death toll rose from one to seven through the morning, with communications in the devastated area severely disrupted.

Reports said about 75 percent of local homes and buildings were destroyed in Greensburg, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) west of Wichita.

Andrea Anglin of the American Red Cross told CNN that about 90 percent of the town of some 1,600 people was damaged.

"It sucked the door off of our storm shelter," Kevin Hillhouse told Wichita television KAKE.

Television images showed the town virtually levelled, with roofs shredded, branches sheared off trees and schoolbuildings wrecked.

With all utilities down, Greensburg is being evacuated, Anglin said early Saturday.

"We already have about 400 people in our shelter," she said.

The massive wedge-shaped tornado, caught on film by self-styled "storm chasers," struck at about 10:00 pm (0300 GMT Saturday).

People in the town said warning sirens went off about 20 minutes beforehand, giving most a chance to get into storm cellars.

National weather reports put the tornado at between F3 (severe) and F4 (devastating) on a scale of F0 to F5. An F4 storm carries winds of 331-416 kilometers (207-260 miles) per hour.

"We are definitely thinking a mile wide" Darin Brunin, one of the storm chasers told CNN about the extraordinary size of the storm.

Massive tornado in Kansas kills seven - Yahoo! News
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