I don't know how I missed it, but I just saw the news.

The whole town of Greensburg Kansas is gone!

GREENSBURG, Kan. - Rescuers raced Saturday through the wreckage from a
giant tornado that killed at least eight people and left little standing
in this southwest Kansas town beyond the local pub. City Administrator
Steve Hewitt estimated 95 percent of the town of 1,400 was destroyed and
predicted rescue efforts could take days as survivors could be trapped
in basements and under rubble.

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Among the only structures that survived was the Bar H Tavern, the town's
only bar. It was briefly converted into a morgue.

Survivors of the storm, which was blamed for a ninth death in a nearby
county, picked over the remnants of their homes and possessions, still
dazed by the twister's strength and scope.

Jackie Robertson and her family spent Saturday afternoon collecting
wedding photos, a wallet and other belongings from the debris that had
been her home.

Robertson, her husband and a friend spent Friday night in a cellar when
the violent weather struck the region.

"My heart just aches for everyone," she said. "It is so surreal. This is
where I live."

The town, previously best known as the home of the world's largest
hand-dug well — 32 feet in diameter, 109 feet deep when it was finished
in 1888 — was a nightmare of splintered homes and smashed vehicles, the
air redolent with the smell of sap from trees stripped of bark.

"We want everybody to know, and I plead to the American people as well
as the people here in Kansas, this is a huge catastrophe that has
happened to our small town," Hewitt said during a news conference. "All
my downtown is gone. My home is gone. My staff's homes are gone. And
we've got to find a way to get this to work and come to work every day
and get this thing back on its feet. It's going to be tough."

Residents said they heard the tornado warning sirens — a common feature
of towns in "Tornado Alley" — about 20 minutes before the storm hit.

National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Ruthi said the path
of damage was 1.4 miles wide, estimating it would be classified a "upper
F-4 or an F-5" tornado, the strongest possible.

Jose Peraza said he was driving his oil rig into town when he heard the
siren and driving hail started pounding the area. He pulled over and hid
with several other people in a convenience store freezer.

He said the storm ripped the side off the freezer, and when he came out
he found the twister had thrown his truck — weighed down by 40,000
pounds of oil — "like nothing."

The dead included eight in Kiowa County, where Greensburg is located,
and one in nearby Stafford County, said Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for
the Kansas Adjutant General's Department.

Hewitt said there were fears that the death toll could rise.

"We continue to find folks and this will go on for a good couple days —
the rescue itself," Hewitt said. "I mean, the debris is just
unbelievable. Even if you are in a basement, I mean your home is
collapsed, and we've got to find a way to get to you."

State Rep. Dennis McKinney, the Kansas House minority leader, said he
and his daughter kid in the basement while the storm destroyed his home.
Then he helped search homes for survivors but noted "the inspections
didn't take that long because in the western part of town, there weren't
many homes left to inspect."

A mandatory evacuation was ordered, he said. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
declared a disaster emergency for Kiowa County, said her spokeswoman
Nicole Corcoran. The state sent 40 National Guard soldiers to help.

Scores of injured people were sent to hospitals as far away as Wichita,
110 miles away. More than 70 went to Pratt Regional Medical Center about
30 minutes away, with all but 14 treated and released, said hospital
spokeswoman Kim Stivers. Rescuers pulled about 30 people from the
basement of a partially collapsed hospital early Saturday, but most of
them had minor injuries, Watson said.

The twister was part of a storm front that spawned tornadoes along a
line stretching northeast from Greensburg through central Kansas. Three
small tornadoes touched down in rural southwestern Illinois, but no
damage was reported. Three more struck in Oklahoma and South Dakota,
damaging some structures, officials said.

my sis in law is driving from tx to mt strait thru all that... she
called me freakin out last nite

Thank you Kat,

Sending light

"mother nature" can sure be mean n scary is all i can say. wow!!

I saw it on the news at 6 this morning, it's just awful. My prayers are
with them people.

It scares the heck out of me. I live in tornado alley. I live in Moore!!
We have been destroyed twice in the last 8 years. May 3,1999...and May
9, 2003? I don't know much about "google",but it can be found. The pics
are horrible. Unbelievable damage. I am in fear of being hit again.
We have had some pretty nasty wall clouds and the skies were strange,
but so far so good.

Kat

My two daughters and I were almost killed last yr.when a tornado took us
by surprise. course the whole town was ready for it and new it was
coming. How I mist that I don't know. I have never thought I would be
ready for death but that day I was ready to die. (driving downt the
street when siren went off and turned right into it) I had no where to
run and I lost a friend in it as well. A few other friends lost vehicels
but made it through ok. It's aweful to have to go through one and lose
everything or even to think you are going to die but living through it
is a blessing.

i never been in one.. that sounds like crazy stuff..

I have pics of the one that went through my town on my profile. There is
another one, but I haven't downloaded them yet in "my pictures".
Kat