Wichita ? The monster tornado that pulverized Greensburg also left the southwest Kansas town without a place to store clothing, furniture and other donated items arriving by the truckload.

And with storage space also filled in nearby Haviland and Pratt, officials are delicately asking generous Americans to chip in dollars rather than goods for the relief effort.

“People are well-meaning, but it causes concern at the other end when there’s no place to put things,” said Sharon Watson, director of public affairs at the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department. “Greensburg has no place to store them.”

The May 4 tornado claimed 10 lives, including that of a 77-year-old resident who died Monday at a hospital in Pratt, and destroyed most of the homes in the town of about 1,400 people.

Social services agencies are grateful for the hundreds of tractor-trailers that have headed for Greensburg with relief supplies and materials to help residents rebuild. But as more trailers arrive, they are being diverted to Wichita, 115 miles to the east.

Still, officials don’t want to stifle the spirit of giving.

“It is, indeed, a problem,” Salvation Army spokesman Tim Brown said Monday. “It’s been a real concern for us so far.”

Many people who lost their homes are staying with family and friends, in motels or other temporary situations, and have nowhere to put furniture and other household goods.

“It’s difficult to warehouse all of that,” Brown said. “There just aren’t the buildings out there to be able to warehouse things.”

Trucks will be diverted to the Kansas Foodbank Warehouse and other Wichita locations as needed, officials said.

Brown said he has been telling organizations wanting to donate clothing, furniture, toys and other items to have garage sales and send the money raised from them.

“It almost hurts people’s feelings to hear that,” he said.

But agreements with a variety of retailers allow the Salvation Army to purchase products at discounts the public can’t get.

“If you give me $5, I can buy five cases of bottled water,” not just one, Brown said.

The Salvation Army already has given more than $100,000 in vouchers to survivors of the tornado, including $25,000 in gas cards from Koch Industries.

Brown called that “a huge help” for the victims, most of whom have to drive long distances to Greensburg from where they’re now staying.