Douglas County’s top emergency management official is taking the lead in sending first responders to the town of Chapman, 103 miles west of Lawrence off of Interstate 70, which was hit by a tornado Wednesday night.

Teri Smith, Douglas County Emergency Management director, was called on to serve as the point person for the emergency management team from the 23-county northeast Kansas region. Smith received the call for help in the wee hours Thursday morning. She dispatched officials out of Shawnee County and Anderson County to respond to Chapman, where 100 homes were damaged or destroyed

Incident managers from other counties, including government workers from Lawrence and Douglas County, have been placed on standby. They could be dispatched to Chapman or other areas hit by tornadoes Wednesday night, if further assistance is needed or if recovery efforts last through Saturday, Smith said.