established in 1886 population ~1,400 greensburg, ks
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Established in 1886
Population ~1,400
Greensburg, KS
May 4th 2007
EF-5, 1.7 miles-wide for 22+ miles Winds of 205 mph
The Wedge Tornado minutes before destroying Greensburg
Two rope tornadoes that were with the wedge
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
Average Size vs Greensburg Size
Relativity
Greensburg
Before After
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
Kiowa County Memorial Hospital(Only hospital for 30 miles)
Fire Station
Community Services
Looking west down Highway 54 with Main St. running perpendicular
What remains of only stoplight intersection in town
SW Corner of Hwy 54 and Main St. Intersection
This corner…
…now looks like this
Kiowa County Historical Museum
Then & Now
Dillon’s Grocery Store(Only full-service grocery store in county - triage center after tornado)
Sutton’s True Value Hardware Store(Only full-service hardware store & lumber yard in county)
Fleener’s Furniture Store(Only furniture store in county – Established in 1907)
Note the red farm equipment in the rubble was not an original part of the store!
Main Street
Kiowa County Signal (Newspaper Office)
and Daylight Donuts (Local coffee shop)
Kiowa County Library (books on the shelf)
Post Office
Main Street (con’t)
Duckwall’s(local five & dime)
Before
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)
Hunter Drug Store
Old Fashioned Soda Fountain in Hunter Drug Store where Richard Huckriede has served “Dickie Drinks” since 1952
Before & After
Main Street (con’t)
Greensburg Tractor & Implement(Local John Deere Dealership)
Pre- & Post-Tornado
Greensburg High School Gym – Host to Sports, Proms & Graduations
Missing 3rd Floor
Auditorium
Before GreensburgHigh
School (GHS)
Auditorium
(She had just received new desks that day)
Mrs. Mac’s Math/Physics Room & Chemistry Lab
South Wing of GHS
Main Entrance to South WingFront Office
http://www.usd422.org/
Biology Room
South Wing Hallway(Note trophies still in the case!)
Rest of South Wing of GHS
Mrs. Mac rescued 2 of her desks!
Class Lockers & Break Area (“The Pit”)
Auditorium Library
Band/Vocal Room
Inside GHS
Delmer Day Elementary School & Jr. High
“Storm Shelter” of Grade School (Shower Facilities)New Practice Gym(and maybe bleachers from football field?)
Football Field missing bleachers
Baptist Church
Methodist Church minus steepled roof
Christian Church
Churches of Greensburg
(~11 Total)
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!)
Water Tower
The World’s Largest Hand Dug Well
(aka The Big Well)
Before &
After
Viewing Dome over Well
Gift Shop
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)
http://www.bigwell.org/
Kwik Shop Gas Station
Local High
School Hangout
For more than a week after the storm, the nearest gas station was 10 miles away.
Around Town
Anyone want to play “Pick-up-sticks”?
Anyone for a swim?No, this house was not originally built here.
Even the houses that are still standing look like this on the inside and will probably have to be torn down.
• Homes (1,700 Total in Greensburg)Destroyed: 961Major Damage: 105Minor Damage: 67Affected: 11 (broken windows, shingles & gutters –
which means “Minor Damage” = ?)
• BusinessesMajor Damage: 110
Minor Damage: 24
(One loss estimate, covering only insured damage: more than $153 million)
Overall Assessment
Bed springs
Storage Units
Picture still hanging in Methodist Church
Lawnmower still strapped in
Oddities of Mother Nature
Jacket pinned to tree by metal bar
Good News (Things that were mostly intact)
GHS Ranger Bus (Saved by Mrs. McMurray who had taken the Forensics Team to State Forensics that day)
Carriage House (Retirement Home)
Kiowa County Courthouse
Before & After
Greensburg State Bank (double-bricked walls - safe deposit boxes might be okay?? ….if you have a key)
President Bush Visits Small Farm Town, USA
This family ownedthis motel
Her parents used to own this motel
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."
“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
"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
Our Spirit is Strong
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 FundCity of Greensburg239 South Main St.
Greensburg, KS 67054
• Green for Greensburg FundUnited Way of the Plains245 N. WaterWichita, KS 67202
Make check out to: Green for Greensburg Fundor 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 Army350 North Market
Wichita, KS 67202
Make check out to: “The Salvation Army” and put “Greensburg Tornado” on the memo lineorCall: 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.
In memory of those we lost…
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