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| Tornadoes rake parts of Kan., Okla.; 2 found dead
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Tornadoes rake parts of Kan., Okla.; 2 found dead
By DAVID TWIDDY, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Authorities checking on a car stranded in a field Saturday morning found two people killed by a powerful storm that raked the state a day earlier with more than a dozen tornadoes.
The Friday storm destroyed several buildings and left at least four people were injured in Stafford County, including one hospitalized in serious condition at a Wichita hospital, according to a statement by Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Adjutant General's Department. The National Weather Service said at least 17 twisters touched down across the state.
Authorities found a man and woman from Colorado dead in a car in a field 13 miles east of Pratt, about 75 miles west of Wichita, Watson said. It was not clear how the car got in the field. In a statement about the deaths, the Pratt County Sheriff's Office didn't give details about how the two were killed, and declined to elaborate when called.
Severe weather continued on Saturday in northwestern Oklahoma, where a tornado touched down in a rural area west of Hennessey. Television footage showed a twister severely damaging barns. No injuries were reported.
In Colorado, hundreds of residents were allowed to return to their homes in the farming town of Windsor, which was ravaged by a large tornado on Thursday. Parts of the town had been cordoned off because of natural gas leaks.
Officials met with residents to advise them of the dangers still in the area from exposed electrical wires, severed gas lines, nails, broken boards and other debris still littering the area.
"There may be some damage, and with no power it may be an unpleasant place to live, but it's up to the homeowners," incident management team spokesman Dan Hatlestad said.
The tornado, with wind speeds between 111 mph to 165 mph, tore through a 35-mile stretch of northern Colorado, killing one person and injuring dozens. It tipped 15 rail cars off the tracks in Windsor, about 70 miles north of Denver.
In Kansas, weather service survey teams toured the area Saturday to determine the size of the twisters. Ed Berry, science operations officer in the Dodge City office, said many of the twisters appear to have been significant in size.
In Stafford County, at least seven homes suffered major damage, along with damage to several other structures, power lines and trees, Watson said Saturday.
Two tornadoes touched down Friday in Gove County, with at least a dozen homes sustaining major damage, said George Lies, emergency management director for Logan and Gove Counties.
A twister touched down south of Quinter, went back into the clouds as it went over the town, then dropped back down on the other side, damaging four homes.
Parts of Kansas also have been hit hard by flooding, with as much as 8 inches of rain falling in a 48-hour period, said Chris Foltz, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Goodland.
About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the weather service, and the danger has not passed yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.
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Posted by ELIA on 2008-05-24 18:54:36 | Rating: | Views: 55
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Disasters seem to abound this year, whether it is wild fires, tornadoes or floods. And my heart has been going out to those who were caught in the direct line of fire. I doubt, however, that the favor is returned by any of them. Our farm was in the direct line of a Kansas tornado on May 22 and was virtually destroyed. The sad thing is, nobody seems to care about that one. A farm is a business, the same as a downtown business, and when the pens, corrals, pole barns, sheds and big barn are blown to smithereens, it is just as painful to us as if we had been caught in a tornado in a completely destroyed town such as Greensburg. We are still hearing about them over a year later. They are doing a documentary on rebuilding the town, for heaven's sake! People who are caught in large scale disasters seem to have volunteers coming out of the woodwork to help clean up and rebuild. Organizations hold fundraisers and plead for donations to help them rebuild. The governor or president visits. The newspapers and internet tell their heartbreaking story of tragedy. But we have nobody who cares. We are isolated and invisible. The only help we have had is what we hired. After weeks, we still are not nearly finished with clean up. Three days ago a neighbor commented he had just put new tires on his tractor and wondered aloud if he ran over some "trash" in his field and got a flat whether he could sue the owner of the barn where the trash came from. I considered that a direct affront. Each day of my experience following this tornado's destruction I become a little more hard hearted. It's like I am being told by everyone else, "Clean up your own damn mess!" So why shouldn't I have that attitude toward anyone else who runs into a natural disaster?
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Posted by KSGal
on 2008-06-17 16:55:35
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It seems that if you aren't directly in the line of sight you are often forgotten in these cases.
Several years ago a tornado went through the area where I live. I live two miles outside of the town that got hit.
We didn't have a lot of damage, but we suffered down trees and loss of electricity.
It took nearly twelve hours for road crew to get to our area to clear the roads from the trees so that we could get out.
We didn't have water or electricity for weeks. It seemed like we were forgotten by the red cross who was bringing in water and nonperishables for the people in town.
No one even told us that the red cross had brought in water and food for one full week.
As for me, I try not to allow the bitterness of others to creep into my heart. Yea it's easier to just say, "well you weren't there for me so why should I care about you"
But I try to "pay it forward" (which is an awesome movie btw) It's a far better way to live. (whether or not those you pay it to give a crap or not)
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Posted by ELIA
on 2008-06-17 17:48:21
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