HARVEYVILLE, Kan. — In Kansas, a tornado struck to small town of Harveyville on Tuesday night. It left an estimated 40 percent of the town damaged.
Harveyville is in Wabaunsee County, about 90 miles west of Kansas City. The high ground took the brunt of the damage from Tuesday night’s tornado. Remarkably, no one was killed.
The Kansas Incident Management Team said four people were rushed to the hospital after being trapped in the rubble from the storm. Three were treated and released. One person remains in critical condition. Many can’t believe what happened after seeing the devastation the tornado left behind.
The National Weather Service classified the twister as an EF-2, meaning it had winds between 120 and 130 miles an hour. Volunteer firefighter Jeff Woodyard called the storm scary.
“I started hollering at my wife and kids to get to the basement,” Woodyard said. “My wife and oldest son went to basement. My youngest one freaked out and wouldn’t get out of bed. I ran in and grabbed him and by that time it was hitting, it just missed our house by a few feet.”
Woodyard said he’s encouraged by how much help the town has received from neighboring communities. Although many homes are now uninhabitable, there was no need for temporary shelter. Nearly everyone in town has banded together to take in friends and neighbors who need a temporary place to call home.
Starting on Thursday, the town will welcome volunteers to clean up the debris left by the tornado. People spent Wednesday assessing the damage.
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