World Hope International Surveys Kansas Tornado Damage

World Hope International this week sent disaster relief assessor James Bond to Greensburg, Kansas, to assess the damage of last weekend’s tornado. The destruction that devastated the community was overwhelming. What follows is his account of the scene in Greensburg.

Greetings from Kansas,
As most of the country knows, Greensburg, KS, was struck by a deadly tornado last Friday night (May 4 at about 10:30 pm). Though I know it's impossible I will try to give my best assessment.

Our assessment began in Stafford County, KS, as I learned that my Aunt and Uncle were struck by the tornado. They sustained only moderate damage. Many of their neighbors just 3 miles south of their farm suffered significantly more damage, ranging from outbuilding damage to entire farms leveled. This area is 22 miles north of Greensburg.

We traveled south across country and miles of washed out roads towards the Greensburg area. Mile after mile of destruction that we estimated to be just over 1 mile wide. The National Weather Center Damage Assessment member that I spoke to had the largest width officially of 1.7 miles.

Entry to the town was difficult due to the State Troopers and the National Guard. Fortunately, I have a close friend that was part of the initial rescue team that was in town. He quickly gained entry for us. (God always provides a way)

The following are facts that were given to me by the Emergency Preparedness Director, or was what we witnessed.

- Greensburg’s population was about 1500

- At that time 21 people were unaccounted for (as of this minute there are 10 fatalities, and 19 still missing). There were hundreds of injuries, most minor, 16 critical.

- 100% of the town sustained damage! (95% of the town is beyond repair.) It is difficult to place into words the level of destruction. The only thing that is close is the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. That was a larger area, but the damage in Greensburg is much worse. Most of the homes and businesses are unrecognizable.

- We counted 6 homes still standing.

- The hospital and both schools we destroyed. ( I ran track and played football at this school when I was in high school)

- The tornado was classified as an EF-5. This is a new rating that was established in Feb of this year. It stands for Enhanced Fujita-5. That is the highest classification possible for a tornado. This storm was clocked at 205 mph continuous winds.

- 87 tornadoes were reported in Kansas during the weekend. Some areas were hit twice. There were fatalities and damage from the south to near the northern borders. Greensburg sustained ping pong sized hail on Sunday. Then the rains came, dumping as much as 9 inches in parts of KS, causing towns to evacuate.

As I mentioned to Andrea, currently there is no need for World Hope or any other faith based response. This is for several reasons.

1. The town is tightly controlled and only emergency personnel and town residents are allowed into town.

2. The Red Cross and Salvation Army and local surrounding communities are meeting the immediate needs of the residents.

3. FEMA is still doing their assessments and they do not want rubble moved yet.

4. Search and rescue is still ongoing.

5. The area may need to be cleared with heavy machinery….

… I pray that we can love on this community and I hope that this information helps. Please mail me or call if you have questions. I will post information as it is gathered.

You have probably seen pictures and video but I have attached a few still shots I took on Sat..

Sincerely,

James Bond


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