Last week's tornado could have been MUCH worse- according to this following article courtesy of the Manhattan (KS) MERCURY:
Storm's path narrowly missed causing even greater damage
Bill Felber bfelber@themercury.com
As bad as Wednesday's tornado was, emergency aid officials are concluding that it could have been far worse.
The storm's path through the Amherst area — a time when it was packing EF4 winds estimated at around 180 mph — took it within a few yards of the Red Bud Estates mobile home park. It then apparently went airborne over the Wildcat Ridge subdivision before returning to the ground in a weaker form as it approached the Kansas State University campus.
Both the Amherst Self-Storage and True Value Hardware structures, situated close to Red Bud Estates, were destroyed in the storm. Had the tornado hit Red Bud Estates head on, far more housing structures would have been damaged or destroyed, and the safety of any occupants would have been jeopardized. Damage in the Wildcat Ridge area also would have been more substantial if the tornado had not briefly left the ground.
''As it was, it threw debris into Red Bud,'' noted Pat Collins, the county's director of emergency services. He listed about 20 trailers as having been affected by the storm, most of them in the Red Bud area.
Officials are continuing to assess the impact of the storm damage, with a Federal Emergency Management Agency team in town today. Collins' new assessment of the dollar figure is the same as it was the day after the tornado: ''I don't have any idea.''
At a press briefing this morning, he praised the community's cleanup and volunteer effort, which brought 275 people out to help sift and sort through debris Saturday. ''Driving around this weekend made me proud to be from Riley County and Manhattan,'' he said.
In an open letter to the people of Manhattan, Mayor Mark Hatesohl today said, "The path of destruction id long and debris has been spread over several square miles, and we will continue to find remnants of the storm for months to come."
Hatesohl's letter is printed in its entirety on today's opinion page on page A6.
Although the city has suspended its volunteer mobilization point at least until next weekend, Collins said ''large groups'' are still being sought to help in areas that have lots of debris spread around them. Those willing to undertake that task, as well as storm victims still in need of help, were encouraged to call 587-2489 or 587-2404.
He said the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Pawnee Mental Health Services all continue to assist victims, including with counseling services. A canteen is continuing to operate in the Miller Ranch area, and is traveling to other areas as needed.
City and county crews began working on debris removal today. The county's transfer station will remain open until 8 each night this week to receive debris, although Collins stressed that debris must be divided in separate piles for vegetation, heavy appliances and other trash.
Also today, county treasurer Eileen King outlined procedures for the replacement of certain official documents that may have been lost in the storm. She said duplicate titles to automobiles would be issued at no cost to storm victims, and asked that they provide a vehicle registration. If that is unavailable, officials can look up the needed information by tag number or VIN.
Those needing replacement drivers licenses or ID cards can get one by providing a deliverable mail address. They can also obtain replacements through the main driver's station at 3003 Anderson.
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