Destructive tornado hits Eureka, 5 people injured, state of disaster declared, Kansas
Image credit: Live Storms Media
A destructive tornado swept through Eureka, Kansas late afternoon Tuesday, June 26, 2018, injuring at least 5 people. Emergency sirens were activated, but the tornado developed quickly, leaving residents little time to take shelter.
Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer declared a state of disaster in Greenwood County after a destructive tornado swept through the small town of Eureka (population 2 450).
A tornado warning was issued at 19:19 CDT and tornado struck just two minutes later, leaving residents little time to take shelter.
An initial assessment found damage to more than 100 city blocks and extensive tree damage. At least 5 people were injured, one of them critically, police said.
About 5 700 Westar Energy customers lost power during the storm and at least 1 718 remained without power Wednesday morning.
TORNADO DAMAGE: Skyhawk 12 captured this aerial footage of Eureka storm damage. The emergency management there says US-54 is closed at K99 south junction and at Flint Hills Road in Butler Co. Follow updates on the storm on KWCH-12: https://t.co/WO16NT9ifH #kwch12 #storm12 #kswx pic.twitter.com/iX7yvoEC0W
— KWCH Eyewitness News (@KWCH12) June 27, 2018
A damage survey team will be heading to Eureka this morning to assess the tornado damage. Info will be posted here as soon as we receive it. #kswx
— NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) June 27, 2018
The Kansas Department of Transportation temporarily closed Highway 54 from mile marker 287 to mile marker 266.
Greenwood County Emergency Management asked any volunteers helping with cleanup to report to the Matt Samuels Community Building at noon Wednesday.
Another tornado touched down in Butler County, north of El Dorado on the same day and was accompanied by baseball-sized hail.
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
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