4 injured, significant damage reported after tornado activity in Kansas

At least 4 people suffered injuries following tornado activity in the Wichita, Kansas, area Friday evening, officials said.

Tornado activity damaged approximately 1,000 structures between Sedgwick County, where at least one tornado first formed, and Butler County. In a press conference early Saturday afternoon, authorities said they expect that number to grow as they wrap up an official damage assessment.

Four injuries have been reported, most of them minor, Deputy Fire Chief Mike Roosevelt, who is serving as the incident commander during the tornado recovery and response period, said in the press conference.

All four people are adults. One was injured by debris, one was injured while evacuating, and two were responding to the scene to help, NBC affiliate KSN of Wichita reported.

At least one person suffered serious injuries, Kevin Lanterman, interim director of Sedgwick County EMS, said early Saturday morning.

The damage across the city of Andover in Butler County was evident Saturday morning, KSN of Wichita reported

Wichita firefighters search what’s left of John’s Animal World on April 30, 2022 in Andover, Kan. (Jaime Green /The Wichita Eagle via AP)Jaime Green / AP

“We had many buildings in Andover take very strong damage,” Andover Fire Chief Chad Russell said. “Some of our neighborhoods damaged badly enough that the houses were completely blown down.”

Authorities have been working on completing the damage assessment Saturday morning. Roosevelt said they completed the first phase and its nearly 70 percent done with the second phase.

The Greater Wichita YMCA said in a statement that the YMCA of Andover, to the east of the city, sustained “significant damage.”

“We are thankful that all of the staff and members that took shelter at the branch at the time of the storm, were not injured,” the YMCA said

Andover City Hall also sustained some damage.

Damage assessment teams from the National Weather Service were also in the area Saturday morning, the organization said.

“These assessments take time so please be patient. Be mindful of our first responders and residents thus avoid the damaged areas,” the National Weather Service said on Twitter.

Russell said officials believed no rescues were outstanding, but additional assessments were being conducted.

Scott Stueven, Butler County EMS deputy chief, said they received five requests for EMS patients, including two firefighters. One was hospitalized and both were in “good shape,” he said.

Most reports of injuries have been for minor cuts, scratches and fall victims, he said, with no critical injuries.

April 30, 202200:40

Andover police said most of the city’s major intersections were blocked by debris or downed utility lines.

At least 1,700 utility customers in Kansas were without electricity following the storm, according to PowerOutage.us.

Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Julie Stimson told KSN of Wichita said that county workers had been going door-to-door to check on residents.

“We have power outages,” she said. “There is damage. We do not need onlookers at this time.”

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly urged residents to remain alert as severe weather moved across the state Friday night.

“We are monitoring the storm system closely, and I’ve activated our disaster response and recovery plan,” she tweeted.

Officials in Sedgwick County declared an emergency as they activated its emergency operations center, according to a statement. The declaration will help the county obtain state aid, officials said.

The National Weather Service blamed a strong storm system in the center of the Lower 48 that was drawing precipitation from the Gulf of Mexico while producing strong wind shear.

“There will be the potential for significant tornadoes, destructive wind gusts and very large hail with a focus over southeastern Nebraska into eastern Kansas,” the service said in a forecast discussion Friday.

Preliminarily, 14 tornadoes were reported in southern Nebraska and Kansas on Friday, with one additional tornado reported near Fort Myers, Florida. A dozen large hail events were also reported across the Plains, with hailstones as large as golf balls observed.

The National Weather Service previously warned of thunderstorms in Nebraska and Kansas that could fuel tornadoes as strong as EF 2, which defines twisters with winds of 113 to 157 mph.