Emergencies in Small Communities
Midwest, resulting in the formation of 12 “supercells” that developed
into devastating tornado activity throughout several states. At 9:25 p.m., the
National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Kiowa County, Kansas. At
approximately 9:45 p.m. an EF 5 tornado struck the rural farming community of
Greensburg, located in Kiowa County. The tornado cut a path through the town
that was estimated at 1.7 miles across, killing 10 of the town’s residents.
Greensburg is located in what U.S. weather forecasters refer to as
“tornado alley”. Despite this, the town had few areas of refuge for
tornado emergencies other than the basements of private homes.
Law enforcement and emergency responders were not prepared
for the magnitude of the damage that resulted. State response was hindered
because the National Guard equipment routinely used, including tents and
trailers, had been deployed to Iraq. FEMA was to be the primary responder,
providing food, water and mobile trailers for shelter.
In a two page paper, respond to the following questions:
1. What effects can an emergency have on a small community
such as the one experienced by Greensburg, Kansas?
2. What kinds of emergency services are needed during and
after an emergency?
3. What effects do emergency planning activities have on the
response to a disaster, such as the tornado and recovery from it?





