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Greenburg tornado
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Pratt — Editor's note: Denise Gossage, of Lawrence, and her family were preparing to return home from a trip to New Mexico when a tornado hit Greensburg. Gossage, a fellow in the Citizen Journalism Academy, decided to stop there on the return trip to witness the damage and talk to survivors. She met the Young family, of Greensburg, who was staying in a hotel in Pratt. This is the story the family told Gossage.
Nancy Young says she has always been afraid of violent weather. But she was unusually calm Friday night when Greensburg's tornado sirens sounded.
In her pajamas and in pain from a condition in her neck that was to be operated on the following Wednesday, she gathered two pitchers of water, some crackers, candles and matches and took them to the basement where her son, Chase, and two eighth-grade girls were waiting. Then Nancy went back upstairs to get the clock radio from her bedroom as her husband, Cliff, kept watch out the windows.
The two girls had been walking around town when their mothers called them on their cell phones, telling them to go to the nearest house and get inside, fearing they could not reach home before the storm hit.
The group followed the progress of the tornado on the radio as it roared nearer. Cliff and Nancy covered the children and their pets, a dog and two cats, with blankets and pillows. The girls nervously chatted with family and friends on their cell phones. They could hear the strong storm outside.
Then the electricity went out and the sirens stopped.
Nancy and Cliff wondered if that meant all was clear. Cliff said they'd better stay put for another 10 minutes, just in case. Nancy alternated between pacing and sitting in a chair, her natural fear returning. Then the wind picked up, and that's when they heard the roar of the tornado.
Nancy prayed out loud. "My God is bigger than this!" "God help our family and friends!" "Help us dear Lord! Help me understand why this is happening!" She could feel her husband shaking, something she had never seen him do before.
The girls shouted, "My ears are popping!" Chase was leaning up against his bedroom door in the basement. He felt wind coming from under the door.
Then it all stopped.
Nancy and Cliff went upstairs. "Not so bad," she thought at first, seeing through one door that her kitchen was still intact. Then her husband - outside now - called to her: "The tree is on the carport." She noticed a strong pine smell.
As they started looking around the rest of the house, they saw incredible damage. But the house was not totally flattened. The girls, still in the basement, could not get through to their families because cell towers were either down or not working. The adults insisted the children stay there for safety.
Nancy and Cliff started looking around outside. The sky was black. Drizzle fell. In the flashes of lightning, they could see people in the streets. They saw bare trees and no houses.
Cliff's friend came by looking for the wife of a mutual friend whose husband was out of town. "Amber, Amber!" they shouted.
They heard her call back, and they pulled her and her 2-year-old daughter, both unhurt, from the rubble of their house.
Neighbors hugged one another tightly. Many were crying.
One person said, "Main Street is gone."
Then Nancy said she started crying, mostly worried about her parents on the other side of town. She and Cliff headed toward Nancy's parents' home. It took them 90 minutes to make a typical five-minute drive.
Nothing looked familiar.
They reached the house and a neighbor came up to Nancy and told her that her parents were safe. Nancy's father has a bad leg and couldn't negotiate the debris to get out of the house, so her parents decided to stay put until morning when someone could come by to help them. They were going to sleep in their own bed that night.
When Nancy and Cliff returned home, they picked up Chase and the two girls and went to Dillons on the outskirts of town, where they had heard people were gathering to be accounted for, loaded onto buses and taken to shelters. Nancy said she thought that would be the best place for the girls to meet up with their parents. She hugged the girls goodbye and returned to the truck.
They drove back to town and saw a woman carrying two bags. It was Nancy's mother.
She said her husband had been taken to Dillons. They went back to Dillons, where Nancy forcefully explained she would take her father to safety. The group drove west 10 miles to Mullinville, where they had family and friends and could stay the night.
Because Cliff works for Kansas Gas Service, he was able to get in and out of town, which, a few hours after the storm, had been blockaded to all but emergency workers. He was able to check on the family's pets, all OK, and get to his in-laws' home to retrieve a little money that had been hidden under some mattresses.
Chelsea's story
Chelsea Young, Nancy and Cliff Young's daughter and a sophomore at Greensburg High School, was in Salina on Friday for a forensics meet with 37 classmates.
After the meet - the team took a top rating - the teens went to the local mall before heading to the hotel where they would spend the night. Later, at the hotel pool, she called her dad, but got his voicemail. Chelsea said this was unusual because he always answers her calls right away.
Then a friend came to the pool saying there was a tornado in Greensburg. They all left the pool and grouped in a room to watch TV.
After seeing the images on television, one girl said her house was gone. After a while, Chelsea received calls from friends and family members - but not her parents or brother - asking if she was OK. Finally at 11:30 p.m. she spoke to her father. Until then, she said, many frightening thoughts had run through her head.
The group left Salina at 9 a.m. Saturday for Pratt Community College, where families picked them up. Nancy arrived about 1:30 p.m. and took Chelsea to the Evergreen Inn where the family were staying.
Aftermath
Early this week, as Chase traveled around Greensburg, he wondered where all his friends were. He could not tell who lived where anymore. He noticed the only city sign left was their street sign. He was going to miss the last few weeks of school. He would not say if he was happy or sad about that.
Nancy and Chelsea said they felt lucky that part of their house was still intact and some of their possessions could be salvaged.
Cliff said residents were getting help from friends and neighbors. So far, none of his family knew anyone who had died.
The Youngs said they are eager to find temporary housing so they can have more space for the kids.
As she talked, Nancy watched trucks drive west on Highway 54 towing bulldozers and loaders. She knew where they were going. She said it gave her chills.
Comments
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Sigmund (anonymous) says…
This is the first article I've read by a fellow of the Citizen Journalism Academy, Pretty darn good.
News_to_me (anonymous) says…
Citizen Journalism is definitely an interesting concept. Perhaps some of those who post comments anonymously on JW stories should apply, if there is a third class. The second class is going on now. Keep your eyes open for more stories. Great job Denise!
bretherite (anonymous) says…
Interesting story but there need to be a couple corrections. Greensburg pulled out of the State forensics tournament and did not compete. The tournament was Saturday not Friday. The winning team was Quinner. According to my handouts from the tourney - Greensburg only had 14 entries. I feel for the families of the tornado but I know the facts about Salina as I was in Salina for the tourney. There was a hole in the Tournament because Greensburg was not there. They were missed. Those kids worked hard to get there and it was horrible they had to pull out. Citizen Journalism is a great concept but the reporter needs to get her facts strait.
justthefacts (anonymous) says…
Good job. Wish more reporters wrote like this! Well told, with lots of information about a topic we are interested in hearing more about! Easy to read, not full of bias or attempts to sway the reader. Just a story you researched and then told very well. Keep up the good work!
bugmenot (anonymous) says…
It's a story about a tornado flattening a town and the scary human side of that - what bias or "swaying" could there be? Are there pro-tornado people out there, who were in favor of this?
Kam_Fong_as_Chin_Ho (anonymous) says…
Are there pro-tornado people out there, who were in favor of this?
=========
Well, storm chasers certainly seem satisfied when they see a tornado.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
betherite -
I hate to tell you, but there is also a caption in the Wichita paper, which says the Greensburg students were in Salina for a forensics tournament when the tornado happened.
http://www.kansas.com/static/slides/0...
Here is the caption -
Connor Staats helps her mother, Susan Staats, through a window of their home on Main Street. The pair were at a forensics tournament in Salina when the tornado happened.
Would you like a retraction?
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
http://www.kansas.com/233/story/62951...
from May 6, Wichita Eagle
And another -
McKinney's wife was at a state forensics tournament in Salina with 26 students
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
So the team was in Salina Friday night for the forensics tournament. Whether they competed or not, it doesn't say.
bretherite (anonymous) says…
They were there the night before, Friday. They left our hotel the morning of Saturday before the tournament started.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
I guess I misunderstood your "it was Saturday, not Friday" comment. But the reporter said they were in Salina on Friday for a forensics tournament. That fact was correct.
I don't know if it is so much about the reporter getting the facts straight, or maybe the correct facts were not given to her.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
fyi - just went to the Greensburg High School website, and there was a list of students who qualified for the 2007 state forensics meet. There were 34 listed.
bretherite (anonymous) says…
The article does indicate they competed and got a top place. It states "after the meet ....they went to a mall." All I was trying to do was point out that some of the facts were wrong. According to the article they took a top place. They couldn't ,because they could not compete. -They left before the tournament took place. That was the point I was trying to make. To be a journalist you must have the facts strait. And the journalist didn't. That is all I was trying to point out. I was there I had to sub as a judge for Greensburg.
walkdog262 (anonymous) says…
Hey bretherite, considering you keep spelling straight "strait", I don't think you have any room to criticize anybody. Get your spelling "strait"!
bretherite (anonymous) says…
I knew when I pointed out an inaccuracy in the story it was a mistake. Silly me for thinking anyone would care what the truth was. I am glad this person is involved in the Citizen Journalism Academy but if a person is going to be a journalist they need to have their facts correct. I won't make the mistake again.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
There was a state and drama festival and a state and drama championship in Salina at the same time. Perhaps some of the students were attending one or the other....
Gootsie (anonymous) says…
So friggin' what, bretherite. In the midst of all the chaos, does it really matter? Maybe they took a top rating TO the debate but didn't get to compete. It is a little thing - the article was good.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
I agree Gootsie....
matahari (anonymous) says…
I also noticed that the article was very well written, and didn't have the typical journal world feel to the writing..very well done!
Kontum1972 (anonymous) says…
any bigger tornado
& no
no clean up will be required!
TheHeartlessBureaucrat (anonymous) says…
I'm just jumping on the compliment bandwagon. Very good article. Obviously someone who's unencumbered by the pain of the editor whips.
*flinches*
THB
oldgoof (anonymous) says…
Great article.
(and the possible discrepancy discussed earlier here is more tiny than miniscule in terms of the significance to the story and writing)