Tornadoes Leave Town Devastated

Widespread destruction is shown in Greensburg, Kan., Saturday, May 5, 2007. Most of this southwest Kansas town was destroyed by a tornado, part of a violent storm system blamed for at least nine deaths, officials said Saturday amid warnings of more severe weather. Credit: AP Photo/Orlin Wagner

GREENSBURG, Kansas (AP) - Searchers went back to work Sunday looking for anyone who might have been trapped since a tornado wiped most of this south-central Kansas town off the map. Ten people were killed by storms and tornados.

"At this point, it's still a search and rescue mission,'' Kansas state trooper Ronald Knoefel said. "We don't want to give up hope.''

Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the state's adjutant general, said officials did not know how many people are missing.

"A lot of people have gone to other places and it's difficult to track them down,'' he said.

At least 10 people were known dead from weekend storms. Eight of them were in the Greensburg area and two others died elsewhere in Kansas - one during the Friday night storms that hammered Greensburg and one in a second round of storms late Saturday, state officials said.

The storms in Kansas were parts of a weekend of violent weather, with tornadoes also dashing across other parts of the Plains states late Saturday. And on Sunday, the National Weather Service posted a new tornado warning for south-central Kansas, saying a funnel cloud was spotted near Corwin, 65 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Greensburg.

Greensburg remained off limits to its residents Sunday morning. Knoefel said a storm system that went through the area late Saturday blew debris from Friday night's tornado back into the streets.

"We'll let people back in when it's safe,'' Knoefel said.

President George W. Bush declared parts of Kansas a disaster area, freeing up federal money to aid in recovery.

"It's going to take a long time for the community to recover,'' Bush said Sunday, referring to Greensburg, after attending a morning service at a church in Washington. "And so we'll help in any way we can.''

National Guard engineers were being assigned to help with the search and assess the damage, said Bunting said.

"Some of the rubble is just so deep,'' Bunting said. "That's really what our problem is.''

Among the few structures that survived was the Bar H Tavern. It was briefly converted into a morgue. Command operations for rescue efforts were moved into the town's courthouse, which was damaged but also still standing. The massive concrete silos of a grain elevator still towered over what was left of the town.

All the churches were destroyed. Every business on main street was demolished. The town's fire engines were crushed and other crumpled vehicles were thrown around. Tree trunks stood bare, stripped of most of their branches.

The fate of the town's claim to fame - the world's biggest hand dug well - was unknown because it was buried under a mountain of debris; the gift store at the well had disappeared.

For decades, meteorite hunters from throughout the world have been drawn here to search for meteorites. The town's extensive meteorite collection, including one weighing 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms), was one of the casualties of the storm.

"It is very scary right now,'' said Greensburg Administrator Steve Hewitt, who lost his home in the storm.

Hewitt estimated 95 percent of the town of 1,500 was destroyed and predicted rescue efforts could take days as survivors could be trapped in basements and under rubble.

The twister that struck Greensburg late Friday was part of a storm front that spawned tornadoes in parts of Illinois, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Nebraska, though damage was minimal, officials said.

The tornadoes that came with the second round of storms late Saturday caused scattered damage to farm outbuildings and homes and downed power lines. South Dakota had at least 20 twisters, with no injuries, the weather service said.

Tornadoes late Saturday in western Oklahoma destroyed at least eight homes and injured one person, according to the state Department of Emergency Management. Sweetwater was hardest hit, with three homes destroyed, the roof torn off the local school and other buildings damaged.