Tornado Devastates Kansas Town

Monday, May 7, A.D. 2007

The severe storm system that swept across the Midwest this past weekend brought some of the most destructive tornadoes to the region in a decade. The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado that destroyed 90% of the small western Kansas town of Greensburg was an EF-5. With winds of more than 200 miles per hour, it left a 22-mile-long path of destruction and was 1.7 miles wide. At least ten people were killed.

Week of Compassion is in contact with the Christian Church in Kansas regional office and with Church World Service as we begin to plan what our response should be. CWS has dispatched disaster staff to Greensburg for additional assessments. Designated contributions can be made to WOC, attn: Elaine Cleveland, P.O. Box 1986, Indpls, IN and marked “tornadoes.” Online giving is also available via the WOC website: www.weekofcompassion,org. The area has been given a federal declaration - which should speed up resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

We should know within a few days about the need for both clean up work teams and long term recovery/rebuilding teams, as well as other possible needs. We will continue to post information via WOC Updates and on the website.