HARVEYVILLE – Gov. Sam Brownback declared a state of disaster late Tuesday night for Wabaunsee County after a tornado smashed into the city of Harveyville. The Kansas Department of Emergency Management said one person has been critically hurt, and several others received minor injuries. Approximately 40 percent of the homes and structures, including a church and an apartment complex, were destroyed or severely damaged, Sharon Watson, KDEM spokesman, said. Although some people were trapped in wreckage, the state said law enforcement officials have confirmed everyone has been accounted for in the Harveyville area. There are numerous reports of trees down and power lines down throughout the area The state and local authorities have mobilized aid teams for Harveyville, a town of about 230 people southwest of Topeka. The powerful storm system spawned several tornado warnings in eastern Kansas, including one for Douglas County, after radar and spotters confirmed rotation in clouds near Globe. The storm lashed much of eastern Kansas with hail, heavy rains and strong wind gusts. What ABC News calls “a giant classic early spring storm” spun out at least 11 tornadoes overnight from Nebraska to Tennessee, including Nebraska’s first February tornado in nearly 60 years. At least one person was killed and several people were injured in southwest Missouri as tornadoes ripped through the Branson area. The Dallas County Sheriff’s office told ABC that one person was killed and 13 others injured when a possible tornado hit a mobile home park south of Buffalo, Mo., near Branson. The National Weather Service reported that at least a dozen people in Branson were injured including some people trapped in their homes trapped in their homes. The weather service said the apparent tornado moved through downtown Branson, heavily damaging some of the city’s famous theaters. Bill Tirone, assistant general manager for the Hilton Hotels in Branson, said both of Hilton’s hotels were damaged but no one in the hotels was hurt. “The storm … hit certain areas of the strip and then other areas undamaged,” Tirone said. “So it’s still dark here and so we really don’t know the full extent of damage on the strip.” Missouri authorities said at least people were killed in that state. ABC reported the worst damage occurred at Harrisburg, Ill., early this morning. At killed six people were killed and Hamburg’s mayor said the death toll could rise because the twister was on the ground in the town for several miles. According to authorities, more than 100 people were injured and between 250 and 300 houses were damaged or destroyed. Some 25 businesses were also damaged or destroyed, including a shopping strip mall that was wiped off its site and a hospital that was severely damaged. The sheriff’s office said hospital staff just barely managed to get the patients to a safer part of the hospital before the twister ripped away one of the walls.
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 6 a.m.; updated 7:30 a.m.; updated 2:30 p.m.
