US: 'Tornado alley' hit by new wave of twisters

A fresh wave of tornadoes ripped through south-west Kansas today, a day after a massive twister all but destroyed the town, killing nine and injuring dozens more.

The US National Weather Service said it had received reports “well into the double digits” of twisters touching down in six counties.

Among them were a series of half-mile-wide “wedge” tornadoes – similar to the one that devastated Greensburg yesterday, meteorologist Mike Umscheid said.

“We’re going to expect quite a lot of damage,” he said.

Earlier, emergency crews called off the search in Greensburg for victims as the weather deteriorated again.

Umscheid said the slow-moving storm system would probably spawn severe weather into the evening.

Rescuers had spent the day hurrying through the wreckage from yesterday’s giant tornado, which left little standing beyond the local pub.

Yesterday’s weather was blamed for nine deaths in the region, a figure authorities feared could rise even before the latest twisters.

City administrator Steve Hewitt estimated 95% of the town of 1,500 was destroyed and predicted rescue efforts could take days as survivors could be trapped in basements and under rubble.

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

Survivors picked over the remnants of their homes and possessions, still dazed by the twister’s strength and scope. The town 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.

“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” in the central US – about 20 minutes before yesterday’s storm hit.

Wheelchair-bound Frank Gallant had no cellar, so he moved to the centre of his house with his pet miniature pinscher, No 5.

“You just hope you’ve lived up to the Lord’s expectations, and you’re going to the good place and not the bad,” said Gallant, 47.

Terry Gaul, a salesman on his way back from a business trip, pulled into a John Deere agricultural equipment dealership with his partner to wait out what they thought was a hailstorm.

“The next thing we heard was this loud rumble,” said Gaul, his red polo shirt stained with blood and his face crosshatched with cuts.

“There were these two John Deere combines sitting there, and the next thing I know, they started rocking. Then we started spinning like a windmill, and I said, ’Oh, boy, it’s all over with now’.”

The tornado rolled Gaul’s van, throwing him into the back seat. When he came out, he noticed something missing.

“I never seen where those two combines went,” he said.