BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. . — The National Weather Service determined on Monday that it was an EF-2 tornado that damaged and destroyed at least 160 homes and 20 businesses in downtown Baxter Springs, Kan. Sunday evening.
Baxter Springs is about two-and-a-half hours from Kansas City. The tornado moved into Baxter Springs at about 6:00 p.m.
Emergency Management reported 25 injuries, with nine people taken to the hospital.
“We saw a lot of rotation right there and all of the sudden the sirens went off and we went in the house and got in the tub and he threw himself on top of me,” said Amber Irvin. “The house just lifted up and the house collapsed and everything in the bathroom. We were lucky.”
The total path of the tornado was around eight miles long, beginning in Quapaw, Okla. and continuing for about two miles northeast of Baxter Springs, Kansas.
A National Weather Service meteorologist says the tornado dropped so quickly that sirens were activated only a minute or two before the twister hit. It cut right through town, ripping trees from the ground and tearing roofs off houses.
Meteorologist Bill Davis in Springfield, Mo., says the same thing happened in Quapaw, Okla., where at least one person was killed late Sunday afternoon. Davis called it a worst-case scenario in which a tornado forms right in a populated area. He says the E-F2 tornado that hit Baxter Springs spun up so fast that the weather service had barely gotten a tornado warning out when it struck.
“It’s crazy. Amazing what it can do,” said Heather Woodcock, who was caught in the tornado with her son. “We all ran in the house and went into the basement. Trees came in the basement windows,” she recalled.
Another resident knew something was wrong when she saw debris flying through the air outside of her window.
“I just went in that closet and shut the door,” said Janice Bendure. “I didn’t even cower down. I just stood there and heard all the commotion going on,” she said.
The weather service continued issuing tornado warnings after the storm left Baxter Springs, but the tornado didn’t touch down again.
The people in Baxter Springs were getting assistance from people in nearby communities, including Joplin, Mo.
“I live in Joplin and a lot of the surrounding communities came and helped us when we had our tornado so I wanted to do our part, my part to help out,” said Tracey Studyvin.
Governor Sam Brownback was in Baxter Springs Monday afternoon, assessing the damage to appeal to FEMA to help rebuild the town.
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FOX 4’s Katie Ferrell took a trip there Monday morning to see the damage.
Be sure to watch her video in the video players below.
