According to authorities, a violent tornado ripped through the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday night, demolishing hundreds of structures in the city of Andover.
The twister made landfall in Sedgewick County before moving on to Andover in Butler County, according to Chad Russell, the city's fire chief. He estimated that more than 950 structures were in the tornado's path.
"Many structures in Andover were severely damaged," Russell added, adding that some homes had been "totally blown down."
According to a preliminary damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Wichita, the tornado was classified as an EF-3. More information will likely become available once the assessment is finished, but an EF-3 classification means the twister's winds were between 136 and 165 mph.
Russell estimates that the recovery will take years. "Unfortunately, we've gone through this before," he said, referring to the destruction wreaked by an F-5 tornado on April 26, 1991, in Andover. In the aftermath of the tornado, seventeen people died.
Although the damage was considerable on Friday, police only recorded a few casualties early Saturday.
Andover, Kansas, is roughly 14 miles east of Wichita, Kansas, and has a population of around 15,000 people.
In Andover, Kansas, some of the damage was inflicted by the tornado.
As the tornado passed by, Alaina Adkins, a resident, sought cover in her neighbor's basement across the street from her apartment complex, according to CNN.
"I couldn't believe it. It didn't appear to be genuine "said the 26-year-old. "We went out of our front door, and it was right on our doorstep," she explained.
The tornado missed her house by a block, but electricity was knocked out in her area, according to Adkins.
In the immediate aftermath, more than 20,000 homes and businesses in Kansas were without electricity. According to poweroutage.us, that number had dropped to roughly 8,500 by 4 a.m. ET.
Gutted homes, toppled automobiles, and storm debris littered the streets and front yards, according to videos and images.
Jim Jonas, the Wichita director of communications, estimated that the tornado destroyed between 50 and 100 structures.
According to municipal administrator Jennifer McCausland, one of the damaged structures was a YMCA community facility in Andover.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by tornadoes this evening. In order to determine the strength of these tornadoes, we we will be sending out a few teams Saturday morning to conduct damage surveys. More information tomorrow, stay tuned. #kswx
— NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) April 30, 2022
14 tornadoes were reported in Kansas or Nebraska
The National Weather Service in Wichita dispatched damage assessment teams on Saturday.
In Andover, there were no more reported injuries, fatalities, or outstanding rescues, according to Russell.
"Our major aim for this ops period is to finish all of the final evaluations on all of the search and rescue challenges," he added.
The major goal of Saturday's cleaning effort, according to Russell, is to send personnel out to power lines down across the road on Highway 54 in Andover. "They have a lot of work ahead of them. But if we can clear that road, we'll be able to open it "According to the fire chief,
According to Gov. Laura Kelly, many tornadoes struck Kansas on Friday, prompting her to proclaim a state of calamity.
"We've learned from previous experience that we can't wait for the storm to arrive before responding," Kelly explained. "By taking these procedures ahead of time, we will be able to respond more rapidly when the counties want help."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, 15 tornadoes were recorded on Friday, 14 of which were in Kansas or Nebraska. The other tornado, according to the center, was in Florida.
There have also been more than 70 complaints of wind damage and more than 50 reports of hail damage.
Hail up to four inches in diameter fell at Enterprise, Kansas.
The storm is anticipated to travel east on Saturday, putting more than 40 million people in the path of severe storms.
Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Little Rock have all been designated as having a category 2 danger of severe storms.
"On Saturday, severe thunderstorms with a risk of wind damage and heavy hail are probable from the lower Mississippi Valley northward into the western Great Lakes," according to the Storm Prediction Center. "A couple tornadoes may also develop."
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