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Greensburg, KS. Established in 1886 Population ~1,400. May 4 th 2007. Two rope tornadoes that were with the wedge. EF-5, 1.7 miles-wide for 22+ miles Winds of 205 mph. The Wedge Tornado minutes before destroying Greensburg. Relativity. Average Size vs Greensburg Size.
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Greensburg, KS Established in 1886 Population ~1,400
Two rope tornadoes that were with the wedge EF-5, 1.7 miles-wide for 22+ miles Winds of 205 mph The Wedge Tornado minutes before destroying Greensburg
Relativity Average Size vs Greensburg Size Preliminary track of 3 largest tornadoes in Kiowa county on May 4th. The 2nd tornado just east of Greensburg grew to 2 miles in width! - National Weather Service
Before After Greensburg Note: You don’t see much green in the “After” picture because most of the trees were stripped of their leaves & branches and a majority of the lawns in town are now covered with splintered wood and debris.
Aerial view of Greensburg looking south-east High School Main Street
Community Services Fire Station Kiowa County Memorial Hospital (Only hospital for 30 miles)
SW Corner of Hwy 54 and Main St. Intersection Kiowa County Historical Museum Then & Now This corner… …now looks like this What remains of only stoplight intersection in town Looking west down Highway 54 with Main St. running perpendicular
Fleener’s Furniture Store (Only furniture store in county – Established in 1907) Dillon’s Grocery Store (Only full-service grocery store in county - triage center after tornado) Note the red farm equipment in the rubble was not an original part of the store! Sutton’s True Value Hardware Store (Only full-service hardware store & lumber yard in county)
Kiowa County Signal (Newspaper Office) and Daylight Donuts (Local coffee shop) Post Office Main Street Kiowa County Library (books on the shelf)
Before Main Street (con’t) Twilight Theatre - Historic County Movie Theatre (Community-owned theatre that had a pressed-tin ceiling and first showed silent films in 1917; Most recent admission prices: $4.00 for adults and $2.50 for kids) Duckwall’s (local five & dime)
Old Fashioned Soda Fountain in Hunter Drug Store where Richard Huckriede has served “Dickie Drinks” since 1952 Before & After Hunter Drug Store Main Street (con’t)
Pre- & Post-Tornado Greensburg Tractor & Implement (Local John Deere Dealership)
Greensburg High School Gym – Host to Sports, Proms & Graduations
Greensburg High School (GHS) Before Missing 3rd Floor Auditorium
South Wing of GHS Auditorium Mrs. Mac’s Math/Physics Room & Chemistry Lab (She had just received new desks that day) Main Entrance to South Wing Biology Room Front Office http://www.usd422.org/
Rest of South Wing of GHS South Wing Hallway (Note trophies still in the case!) Mrs. Mac rescued 2 of her desks!
Auditorium Library Inside GHS Band/Vocal Room Class Lockers & Break Area (“The Pit”)
Delmer Day Elementary School & Jr. High New Practice Gym (and maybe bleachers from football field?) “Storm Shelter” of Grade School (Shower Facilities) Football Field missing bleachers
Christian Church Methodist Church minus steepled roof Churches of Greensburg (~11 Total) Baptist Church
Catholic Church -The 2 ladies in grey lived next to and attended this church as kids & their father helped erect the bell tower – unfortunately he passed away last year, but they rang the bell in his honor after the storm to celebrate that it was still standing. Mennonite Church –Completely cleaned up within a week of the storm (God really can work wonders!)
The World’s Largest Hand Dug Well (aka The Big Well) Before & After Water Tower Viewing Dome over Well Gift Shop
http://www.bigwell.org/ Arrow to Big Well that hung near Kwik Shop on Hwy 54 2nd World’s Largest Pallasite Meteorite (1,000 lb meteorite originally discovered near Greensburg & was on display at the Big Well – Largest one was found in same area & is in the Smithsonian)
Local High School Hangout Kwik Shop Gas Station For more than a week after the storm, the nearest gas station was 10 miles away.
No, this house was not originally built here. Anyone for a swim? Even the houses that are still standing look like this on the inside and will probably have to be torn down.
Overall Assessment • Homes (1,700 Total in Greensburg) Destroyed: 961 Major Damage: 105 Minor Damage: 67 Affected: 11 (broken windows, shingles & gutters – which means “Minor Damage” = ?) • Businesses Major Damage: 110 Minor Damage: 24 (One loss estimate, covering only insured damage: more than $153 million)
Oddities of Mother Nature Bed springs Storage Units Picture still hanging in Methodist Church Jacket pinned to tree by metal bar Lawnmower still strapped in
Good News(Things that were mostly intact) Kiowa County Courthouse Before & After Greensburg State Bank (double-bricked walls - safe deposit boxes might be okay?? ….if you have a key) GHS Ranger Bus (Saved by Mrs. McMurray who had taken the Forensics Team to State Forensics that day) Carriage House (Retirement Home)
President Bush Visits Small Farm Town, USA When Pres. Bush visited a destroyed home, the homeowner said she would have "invited him in for a cup of coffee, but I didn't have time to dust." Her parents used to own this motel This family owned this motel
“I am struck by the strength of the character of the people who live here in the Plains...who refuse to have their spirit affected by this storm; as a matter of fact, who are willing to do what it takes to rebuild in a better way. America is blessed to have such people.” - President George W. Bush Our Spirit is Strong "Everything you can think of that makes up a town has gone — except for the people,“ she said. "But, you know, Kansans are pretty resilient. There will be a period of mourning and grief, and then the rebuilding will be underway." - Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius
And the clean-up and recovery begins… The Kansas National Guard, Kansas Department of Transportation and contractors have hauled over 20,420 total dump truck loads to the Kiowa County landfill as of May 27th. It equals 210,153 cubic yards of debris, which is enough to fill 64 Olympic swimming pools or an 11 ½ story building the size of the Greensburg Football Field. An estimated 100,000 cubic yards of debris still remains.
...with help from caring people nation-wide Volunteers have contributed over 24,734 hours as of May 27th!
If you would like to help: • Greensburg Rebuilding Fundc/o Greensburg State Bank P. O. Box 787 Greensburg, KS 67054 (Every dollar donated will go to rebuilding our city.) • Greensburg Future Fund(through South Central Community Foundation) Call Denise Unruh at (620) 672-7929 (Money will go to the future of education in Greensburg, as well as health and community rebuild.) • Big Well Rebuilding Fund City of Greensburg 239 South Main St. Greensburg, KS 67054
Green for Greensburg Fund United Way of the Plains 245 N. Water Wichita, KS 67202Make check out to: Green for Greensburg Fund or Donate online at: https://vsadmin.united-e-way.org/uwgdf/donate/ (Types of services supported could include: counseling, medical services, vouchers for rent or utility assistance, or other services; 100% of each gift will go to direct disaster recovery assistance.) • The Salvation Army 350 North Market Wichita, KS 67202 Make check out to: “The Salvation Army” and put “Greensburg Tornado” on the memo line or Call: 1-800-SAL-ARMY • American Red Cross Greensburg’s Local Chapter Phone Number: (620) 672-3651
We are Greensburg! For information about Greensburg residents go to: http://forums.prospero.com/kr-tornado/start For the latest on the recovery process go to: http://kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=6517827 For more about Greensburg before and after go to: http://www.ksn.com/news/local/7478582.html Pictures used in this presentation are from the following: The Associated Press, Reuters, The Wichita Eagle Photo Staff, and other news groups; Amy Beth Christenson; David Kabal, and other online contributors.
