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Greensburg Tornado - Fact Sheet
Hotline Set Up for Volunteers
Posted: 11:14 PM May 4, 2007
Last Updated: 8:59 PM Oct 19, 2008
Reporter: KAKE News
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Storm damage photos submitted
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5-9-07 - Rescue has turned to recovery as all people have been accounted for in Greensburg. The death toll in the small town stands at 10 people, who have all been identified.
A hotline has been set up to coordinate volunteers - call 888-413-4327 if you'd like to volunteer your time.
Authorities are using an AM transmitter to broadcast info for local residents. The AM frequency is 1610.
For general information about the recovery and how to help,
click here.
A total of 12 people have died so far from the Friday night storm system, including 86-year-old Alex Giles, who was killed as he and his wife took cover in their basement near Hopewell, and Macksville police officer Tim Buckman, who died Tuesday morning.
The following people died in Greensburg:
- Claude Hopkins, 79, of Greensburg
- Harold Schmidt, 77, of Greensburg
- Larry Hoskins, 51, of Greensburg
- David Lyon, 48, of Greensburg
- Colleen Panzer, 77, of Greensburg
- Ron Rediger, 57, of Greensburg
- Evelyn Kelly, 75, of Greensburg
- Sarah Thackett, 71, of Greensburg
- Beverly Volz, 52, of Greensburg
- Richard J. Fry, 62, of Albuquerque, N.M.
The tornado that hit Greensburg has been rated as an EF-5 by the National Weather Service - the largest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale and the first in Kansas since the new scale was implemented.
The twister was 1.7 miles wide. A storm of this magnitude is the first in 8 years in the US - the last was May 3rd of 1999 in central Oklahoma.
The Greensburg tornado was on the ground for 22 miles non-stop and 30 minutes. Maximum winds were estimated at 205 mph. This is the first fatal storm in southwest Kansas since 1967.
The National Weather Service's office in Dodge City said it received 32 reports about 25 separate tornadoes in southwest and south-central Kansas from Friday evening through Sunday.
As of Wednesday, it had detailed information about the first four Friday night. |
First Tornado
- Touched down 9:04 p.m., in Comanche County, nine miles northwest of the county seat of Coldwater.
- Traveled northeast, 22 miles, through Greensburg.
Ended 10:06 p.m., 2 miles northwest of Greensburg.
- Killed nine people.
- Based on the damage it caused, the National Weather Service concluded it was an EF-5 storm, the most destructive possible, with
winds of 205 mph.
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Second Tornado
- Touched down 10:02 p.m., 4 miles northwest of Greensburg, near where the first ended.
- Traveled northeast 21 miles, through rural Kiowa and Edwards counties.
Ended 11:05 p.m.
- Was an EF-3, with winds between from 136 mph to 165 mph.
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Third Tornado
- Touched down 10:40 p.m., 6 miles northeast of Haviland.
- Traveled north-northeast 17 miles, through rural Kiowa, Pratt and Stafford counties.
- Ended: 11:25 p.m., 2 miles south-southeast of Macksville in
Stafford County.
- Was an EF-3.
- Killed one man in Pratt County.
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Fourth Tornado
- Touched down 11:25 p.m., 2.5 miles southeast of Macksville.
- Traveled northeast 13 miles through rural Stafford County.
- Ended at midnight, 4.5 miles northwest of St. John.
- Was an EF-2, with winds from 111 mph to 135 mph.
- Fatally injured a police officer from Macksville during
storm-related duties.
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Greensburg Facts
- Population: 1,398 in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Median age: 45.6 in 2000, compared with 35.3 for the U.S.
Residents 65 and older: 26.4 percent, compared with 12.4 percent for the U.S.
- White residents: 97 percent, compared with 75.1 percent for the U.S.
- Hispanic population: 1.6 percent, compared with 12.5 percent for the U.S.
- Population in work force: 59.9 percent, compared
with 63.9 percent for the U.S.
- Median household income: $28,438 in 1999, compared with $41,994 for the U.S.
- Median value, single-family, owner-occupied home: $46,500, compared with $119,600 for
the entire U.S.
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Visiting Greensburg
- Greensburg is the home to what's known as the world's deepest well dug by
hand. Completed in 1888 it provided the town's water supply until 1932. When finished, it was 109 feet deep and 32 feet
in diameter.
- Also on display is a 1,000-pound meteorite.
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Population Changes Since 1890*
| Year |
Population |
Change |
Percentage |
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1890
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515 |
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1900
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343
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-172
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-33.4% |
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1910
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1,199
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+856
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+249.6%
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1920
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1,215
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+16
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+1.3%
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1930
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1,338 |
+123 |
+10.1% |
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1940
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1,417
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+79
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+5.9% |
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1950
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1,723 |
+306 |
+21.6% |
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1960
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1,988
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+265
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+15.4%
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1970
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1,907
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-81
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-4.1%
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1980
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1,885
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-22
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-1.2%
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1990
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1,792
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-93
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-4.9%
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2000
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1,574
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-218
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-12.2%
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2005
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1,398
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-176
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-11.2%
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*Source: U.S. Census Bureau |
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