Residents return to tornado-flattened town
Storyhighlights
• National Guard agrees Iraq deployment slows response
• Residents inspect their homes in tornado-hit town
• FEMA: "This town will come back"
• Friday's twister killed 9; 1 died in Oklahoma tornado Saturday
Storms flattened most of Greensburg, Kansas. City Administrator Steve Hewitt described Greensburg as "gone.
GREENSBURG, Kansas (CNN) -- Survivors returned Monday to a Kansas town that was flattened by a mile-wide tornado, some finding little remaining of their homes.
Traffic leading into Greensburg backed up as police checked drivers' identification. Residents were being allowed to inspect their property until 6 p.m. Monday.
Searchers were still probing rubble left in the wake of Friday's twister that killed nine people and was rated among the strongest by tornado experts, an EF-5 with 205-mph winds. (Watch treetops sheared off amid a flying American flag)
"Virtually the entire city has been destroyed, " said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting of the Kansas National Guard on Monday. "It's as bad as anything I've seen." The general said in some ways the damage is worse than Hurricane Katrina because the entire city lays in ruins. (Watch as town tries to cope after tornado)
"There's no place to go to stage to rebuild," said Bunting, a nearly 30-year veteran of the Guard. "We'll have to create that."
Forecasters predicted that more severe weather was possible Monday elsewhere across the central Plains. (Watch more dangerous flooding likely in Oklahoma City)
Searchers spent the weekend sifting through the debris and are still hoping to account for residents who fled as the storm approached.
"Some of this rubble is 20, 30 feet deep and that's always a challenge," Bunting said Monday. "That's where we've spent all our efforts, and we'll do it again today."
Greensburg City Administrator Steve Hewitt said it's "hard to tell" if anyone is trapped in the rubble, but "it's a possibility."
"The search and rescue continues and it will continue until ... we find everything and have everything organized," Hewitt told CNN's "American Morning."
"We need to make sure we've found everybody and everybody is safe and accounted for."
Hewitt said it's essential for the agricultural community to rebuild, in part because it's the county seat.
[img width=480 height=241]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/maps/us/greensburg.kansas/dateline.tornado.greensburg2.gif[/img]
"That's going to be tough. It's a long road ahead of us," said Hewitt, who lost his home in the tornado. (Watch Hewitt tour devastation that includes his own home)
"We're going to bring people back. We gotta to get reorganized, we gotta build our government back up, we've got to," he said.
The Red Cross said about 90 percent of Greensburg, home to about 1,500, was destroyed or heavily damaged. The storm stripped trees of most of their branches and destroyed all the town's churches.
One resident, Faye Hargadine, 80, found herself trapped in her home immediately following the twister.
"I was trapped in this corner, and I was curled up. ... And then I saw a light out in the street and I stood up and began yelling, but the windows in my porch were broke out," Hargadine said. "And so the neighbor lady came with a light and she got another lady and they got me out of the house. They pulled me out the window."
Storm damage has cut water and electricity to Greensburg, said Dick Hainje of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who described the scene as catastrophic.
"We will do whatever it takes," said Hainje. "This town will come back."
Trailers and mobile homes for survivors are en route to the town, Hainje said.
Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told CNN the use of so many National Guard troops and resources in Iraq is slowing Kansas' efforts to recover.
"States all over the country are not only missing personnel -- National Guard troops are about 40 percent of the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan -- but we're missing the equipment," she said. "When the troops get deployed, the equipment goes with them. So here in Kansas about 50 percent of our trucks are gone. We need trucks. We are missing humvees, we're missing all kinds of equipment that could help us respond in this kind of emergency."
The governor said city and county trucks were destroyed in the region. "National Guard are our first responders. They don't have the equipment they need to come in, and it'll just make it that much slower."
The National Guard has said for years that it is short of equipment at home due to deployments to Iraq.
"Of course I agree with the governor," Bunting told CNN. "We have limited resources. So if we had another big storm right now we'd be hard-pressed to cover that."
Friday's deadly storm destroyed homes and buildings in Greensburg, home to 1,500 residents.
Twister rated as EF-5
In addition to the devastation in Greensburg, parts of Oklahoma were reeling from twisters that hit Saturday night, killing one person.
The Oklahoma town of Sweetwater, about 225 miles south of Greensburg, was hit hard by a twister that severely damaged a high school and other buildings Saturday. (Watch a 360-degree look at the devastation that twisters left behind in Greensburg)
Larry Ruthi, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Dodge City, Kansas, told CNN on Sunday that the tornado that struck Greensburg on Friday night was an EF-5, the highest level in a classification system used by the National Weather Service, and had estimated winds of 205 mph (330 kph).
Debris from a high school building is strewn about in Sweetwater, Oklahoma, after a tornado hit Saturday night.
The damage path at its widest point was about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers), and it tracked for 22 miles (35 kilometers). (Watch an aerial view of the devastation)
The tornado moved at an average speed of about 20 mph (32 kph) and took about 15 to 20 minutes to wipe out the town, he said.
(Watch homes turned into piles of bricks and splintered wood)
Of the nine people killed in Kansas, eight died in Kiowa County, which includes Greensburg, and one in Stafford County to the northeast, officials said.
The victim in Stafford was a sheriff's deputy, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.
More than 50 people were injured, authorities said.
©CNN
• National Guard agrees Iraq deployment slows response
• Residents inspect their homes in tornado-hit town
• FEMA: "This town will come back"
• Friday's twister killed 9; 1 died in Oklahoma tornado Saturday
Storms flattened most of Greensburg, Kansas. City Administrator Steve Hewitt described Greensburg as "gone.
GREENSBURG, Kansas (CNN) -- Survivors returned Monday to a Kansas town that was flattened by a mile-wide tornado, some finding little remaining of their homes.
Traffic leading into Greensburg backed up as police checked drivers' identification. Residents were being allowed to inspect their property until 6 p.m. Monday.
Searchers were still probing rubble left in the wake of Friday's twister that killed nine people and was rated among the strongest by tornado experts, an EF-5 with 205-mph winds. (Watch treetops sheared off amid a flying American flag)
"Virtually the entire city has been destroyed, " said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting of the Kansas National Guard on Monday. "It's as bad as anything I've seen." The general said in some ways the damage is worse than Hurricane Katrina because the entire city lays in ruins. (Watch as town tries to cope after tornado)
"There's no place to go to stage to rebuild," said Bunting, a nearly 30-year veteran of the Guard. "We'll have to create that."
Forecasters predicted that more severe weather was possible Monday elsewhere across the central Plains. (Watch more dangerous flooding likely in Oklahoma City)
Searchers spent the weekend sifting through the debris and are still hoping to account for residents who fled as the storm approached.
"Some of this rubble is 20, 30 feet deep and that's always a challenge," Bunting said Monday. "That's where we've spent all our efforts, and we'll do it again today."
Greensburg City Administrator Steve Hewitt said it's "hard to tell" if anyone is trapped in the rubble, but "it's a possibility."
"The search and rescue continues and it will continue until ... we find everything and have everything organized," Hewitt told CNN's "American Morning."
"We need to make sure we've found everybody and everybody is safe and accounted for."
Hewitt said it's essential for the agricultural community to rebuild, in part because it's the county seat.
[img width=480 height=241]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/maps/us/greensburg.kansas/dateline.tornado.greensburg2.gif[/img]
"That's going to be tough. It's a long road ahead of us," said Hewitt, who lost his home in the tornado. (Watch Hewitt tour devastation that includes his own home)
"We're going to bring people back. We gotta to get reorganized, we gotta build our government back up, we've got to," he said.
The Red Cross said about 90 percent of Greensburg, home to about 1,500, was destroyed or heavily damaged. The storm stripped trees of most of their branches and destroyed all the town's churches.
One resident, Faye Hargadine, 80, found herself trapped in her home immediately following the twister.
"I was trapped in this corner, and I was curled up. ... And then I saw a light out in the street and I stood up and began yelling, but the windows in my porch were broke out," Hargadine said. "And so the neighbor lady came with a light and she got another lady and they got me out of the house. They pulled me out the window."
Storm damage has cut water and electricity to Greensburg, said Dick Hainje of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who described the scene as catastrophic.
"We will do whatever it takes," said Hainje. "This town will come back."
Trailers and mobile homes for survivors are en route to the town, Hainje said.
Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told CNN the use of so many National Guard troops and resources in Iraq is slowing Kansas' efforts to recover.
"States all over the country are not only missing personnel -- National Guard troops are about 40 percent of the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan -- but we're missing the equipment," she said. "When the troops get deployed, the equipment goes with them. So here in Kansas about 50 percent of our trucks are gone. We need trucks. We are missing humvees, we're missing all kinds of equipment that could help us respond in this kind of emergency."
The governor said city and county trucks were destroyed in the region. "National Guard are our first responders. They don't have the equipment they need to come in, and it'll just make it that much slower."
The National Guard has said for years that it is short of equipment at home due to deployments to Iraq.
"Of course I agree with the governor," Bunting told CNN. "We have limited resources. So if we had another big storm right now we'd be hard-pressed to cover that."
Friday's deadly storm destroyed homes and buildings in Greensburg, home to 1,500 residents.
Twister rated as EF-5
In addition to the devastation in Greensburg, parts of Oklahoma were reeling from twisters that hit Saturday night, killing one person.
The Oklahoma town of Sweetwater, about 225 miles south of Greensburg, was hit hard by a twister that severely damaged a high school and other buildings Saturday. (Watch a 360-degree look at the devastation that twisters left behind in Greensburg)
Larry Ruthi, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Dodge City, Kansas, told CNN on Sunday that the tornado that struck Greensburg on Friday night was an EF-5, the highest level in a classification system used by the National Weather Service, and had estimated winds of 205 mph (330 kph).
Debris from a high school building is strewn about in Sweetwater, Oklahoma, after a tornado hit Saturday night.
The damage path at its widest point was about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers), and it tracked for 22 miles (35 kilometers). (Watch an aerial view of the devastation)
The tornado moved at an average speed of about 20 mph (32 kph) and took about 15 to 20 minutes to wipe out the town, he said.
(Watch homes turned into piles of bricks and splintered wood)
Of the nine people killed in Kansas, eight died in Kiowa County, which includes Greensburg, and one in Stafford County to the northeast, officials said.
The victim in Stafford was a sheriff's deputy, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.
More than 50 people were injured, authorities said.
©CNN
Every cloud has a silver lining
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.01.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Debris is all that remains of most of Greensburg, Kansas, after a huge tornado struck Friday night. The Red Cross estimated that 90 percent of the town of fewer than 2,000 people was destroyed. The downtown area was also wiped out. Nine people are known to be dead.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.02.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Kevin and Melissa Hillhouse push a hand truck carrying their daughter Alexis, 5, and some of their belongings, on their way to a shelter Saturday. The Hillhouses moved to Greensburg from Berryville, Arkansas, only a week ago.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.03.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Kansas Highway Patrol Sgt. Ron Knoefel said that rescue efforts were made more difficult because many of the first responders were in shock after losing their own homes.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.04.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Melissa Hillhouse smiles after finding her camera intact among the remains of her home, which landed across the street from its foundation.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.05.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Storm chaser Darin Brunin told CNN that after the tornado, Greensburg was a sad sight, with people wandering the devastated town in shock.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kansas, told reporters, “We’re not going to let a disaster happen here like what happened with Hurricane Katrina. We are going to take care of people first and then help this city rebuild.â€
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.07.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
A couple walks past a storm-damaged home in Greensburg. Republican state legislators sent a letter to President Bush, asking that he quickly declare the town a disaster area to make it eligible for federal aid.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.08.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Downtown Greensburg lies in ruins Saturday, a day after the devastating storm.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.10.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Remains of a structure pointing out the “World’s Largest Hand-Dug Well†sits amid rubble. The well is one of Greenburg’s claims to fame; the other is a 1,000 pound pallasite meteorite.
Bron: CNN
Debris is all that remains of most of Greensburg, Kansas, after a huge tornado struck Friday night. The Red Cross estimated that 90 percent of the town of fewer than 2,000 people was destroyed. The downtown area was also wiped out. Nine people are known to be dead.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.02.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Kevin and Melissa Hillhouse push a hand truck carrying their daughter Alexis, 5, and some of their belongings, on their way to a shelter Saturday. The Hillhouses moved to Greensburg from Berryville, Arkansas, only a week ago.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.03.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Kansas Highway Patrol Sgt. Ron Knoefel said that rescue efforts were made more difficult because many of the first responders were in shock after losing their own homes.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.04.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Melissa Hillhouse smiles after finding her camera intact among the remains of her home, which landed across the street from its foundation.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.05.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Storm chaser Darin Brunin told CNN that after the tornado, Greensburg was a sad sight, with people wandering the devastated town in shock.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kansas, told reporters, “We’re not going to let a disaster happen here like what happened with Hurricane Katrina. We are going to take care of people first and then help this city rebuild.â€
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.07.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
A couple walks past a storm-damaged home in Greensburg. Republican state legislators sent a letter to President Bush, asking that he quickly declare the town a disaster area to make it eligible for federal aid.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.08.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Downtown Greensburg lies in ruins Saturday, a day after the devastating storm.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/weather/0705/gallery.greensburg.tornado/gal.10.tornado.ap.jpg[/img]
Remains of a structure pointing out the “World’s Largest Hand-Dug Well†sits amid rubble. The well is one of Greenburg’s claims to fame; the other is a 1,000 pound pallasite meteorite.
Bron: CNN
Every cloud has a silver lining
Although Greensburg was evacuated, a few I-Reporters managed to capture photos of the damage from a safe distance
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.01.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
I-Reporter Geoff Robinson took this picture of the damage the tornado caused to his friend’s farm in Greensburg. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
Rescue efforts continued through the weekend in Greensburg, Kansas, and Sweetwater, Oklahoma, after tornadoes swept through the towns. Greensburg was all but destroyed, while in Sweetwater, the high school and other buildings were severely damaged.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/03.jpg[/img]
Chris Neal shows us another view of the damage in Greensburg, Kansas, which took a direct hit from a tornado Friday night. A couple of houses in this section of town are still standing, but they are badly damaged.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.04.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Geoff Robinson took these pictures of the Thompson family farm in Greensburg where, he said, two combines were picked up by the tornado and still haven’t been found. He said that 500 to 600 cattle were also displaced but have mostly been accounted for. The Thompsons’ horse and four hunting dogs also survived the storm.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.06.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Chris Neal from Wichita, Kansas, visited Greensburg after the National Guard evacuated the town and took photographs of the damage. Neal is 18 years old and plans to study photography in college.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.07.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Of walking around the town, Neal said, “I was in shock, I had never seen anything like that.â€
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.09.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Brent Lacy snapped this photo of tornado damage in Sweetwater, Oklahoma, on Sunday morning. Lacy said the houses next door and across the street from the one pictured were equally damaged. He saw lots of electrical workers on the scene, and he also saw the town sheriff help repair the church, where brickwork had been torn off.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.10.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Suzanne Gervais took this photo of an upended carport at her neighbor’s house in St. John, Kansas. Even though the tornado touched down two miles from St. John, the winds were strong. Gervais moved to Kansas from the East Coast and had never experienced a tornado before. She said the air became “deadly still†just before the storm. Gervais took shelter in her basement. Marble-sized hail fell, and she lost power for 25 minutes.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/11.jpg[/img]
Brent Lacy shows us what remains of a high school gym in Sweetwater, Oklahoma. He says this is where they were going to hold graduation services.
Bron: CNN
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.01.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
I-Reporter Geoff Robinson took this picture of the damage the tornado caused to his friend’s farm in Greensburg. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
Rescue efforts continued through the weekend in Greensburg, Kansas, and Sweetwater, Oklahoma, after tornadoes swept through the towns. Greensburg was all but destroyed, while in Sweetwater, the high school and other buildings were severely damaged.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/03.jpg[/img]
Chris Neal shows us another view of the damage in Greensburg, Kansas, which took a direct hit from a tornado Friday night. A couple of houses in this section of town are still standing, but they are badly damaged.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.04.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Geoff Robinson took these pictures of the Thompson family farm in Greensburg where, he said, two combines were picked up by the tornado and still haven’t been found. He said that 500 to 600 cattle were also displaced but have mostly been accounted for. The Thompsons’ horse and four hunting dogs also survived the storm.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.06.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Chris Neal from Wichita, Kansas, visited Greensburg after the National Guard evacuated the town and took photographs of the damage. Neal is 18 years old and plans to study photography in college.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.07.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Of walking around the town, Neal said, “I was in shock, I had never seen anything like that.â€
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.09.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Brent Lacy snapped this photo of tornado damage in Sweetwater, Oklahoma, on Sunday morning. Lacy said the houses next door and across the street from the one pictured were equally damaged. He saw lots of electrical workers on the scene, and he also saw the town sheriff help repair the church, where brickwork had been torn off.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/gal.10.tornado.irpt.jpg[/img]
Suzanne Gervais took this photo of an upended carport at her neighbor’s house in St. John, Kansas. Even though the tornado touched down two miles from St. John, the winds were strong. Gervais moved to Kansas from the East Coast and had never experienced a tornado before. She said the air became “deadly still†just before the storm. Gervais took shelter in her basement. Marble-sized hail fell, and she lost power for 25 minutes.
[img width=480 height=292]http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0705/gallery.tornado.views.irpt/11.jpg[/img]
Brent Lacy shows us what remains of a high school gym in Sweetwater, Oklahoma. He says this is where they were going to hold graduation services.
Bron: CNN
Every cloud has a silver lining
