Greensburg, Kansas

Many of you may remember the F5 tornado that swept through Greensburg, Kansas, almost 2 years ago on May 4, 2007. This massive 205 mph tornado left a trail of debris over 22 miles long and a mile and a half wide, touching down 75 times and killing 12 people. It leveled 95% of Greensburg, leaving virtually the entire town homeless. I can't imagine what emotions these people must have felt the next day, seeing their beloved town destroyed, everyone homeless.

Greensburg is about 2.5 hours west of us, so I drove there last week to witness the rebuilding efforts. Their goal is to build a "greener" Greensburg. I was stunned to see how much of the town is gone. They have rebuilt some homes, there is a new bank, and there was one gas station (new) with a mini-Dillon's grocery store attached. They were just stocking the shelves when I visited. You may remember in many of the newspaper photos at the time, the one thing left standing were the grain silos at the farmer's cooperative. Those silos became an icon of the resilience of this town and their determination to rebuild a better town.

Here are some photos from my visit.

Abandoned old Ford truck with the iconic grain silos in the background

dare to dream...

The infamous grain silos still standing

Abandoned car - note the new growth on the trees, which appears "fuzzy"

This house somehow missed the wrath of the tornado, although still unfit to live in. Note reference to "Auntie Em" scrawled to right of door

Boy Scouts lodge, er, what's left of it...

A few new homes, but the street looks quite desolate still