East Coast Storm Chasing

At 9:45 p.m. CDT on may 4, 2007, Greensburg Kansas was hot by an EF5 tornado. The tornado was estimated to be 1.7 miles in width and traveled for nearly 22 miles. 95 percent of the city was confirmed to be destroyed, with the other 5 percent being severely damaged. The National Weather Service estimated winds of the tornado to reach 205 mph. This is the first tornado to be rated EF5 since the update of the Fujita scale. The tornado had caused EF5 damage to at least one well-built home in greensburg, and also is the first "5" classification since the May 3, 1999, when an F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oaklahoma, as a part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. the tornado sirens sounded in Greensburg 20 20 minutes before the tornado struck, and a tornado emergency was issued, which undoubtedly saved many lives. sadly 9 to 11 people still died. Kansas Governor kathleen Sebelius and President George W. Bush declared Kiowa county a disaster area, which opened up the affected are for national and international aid.

Green City

 After the tornado, the city council passed a resolution stating that all city buildings would be built to LEED- platinum standards, making it the first city in the nation to do so. Greensburg is rebuilding as a "green" town, with the help of Greensburg GreenTown, a non-profit organization created to help the residents learn about the implement the green living initiative.

To watch videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6U7OBA2FUL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2mhmc3CXLg

PS:  Forecaster Anna posted this not Ari, it just came up in his name!!

It is a shame that it takes something of  a catastrophic proportion for changes to take place as far as building code standards. A great price was paid by residents of Greensburg !!