Storm-related death toll climbs to 10*

Most of Greensburg, Kan., was destroyed by a tornado, where the debris
has been called "just unbelievable."

By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY

GREENSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Rescue workers on Sunday searched for anyone
still buried in the heaps of splintered wreckage left after a massive
tornado obliterated most of this south-central Kansas town.

Waves of thunderstorms rippled across the Plains states on Sunday,
drenching rubble that the Friday night tornado scattered across
Greensburg and threatening tornadoes elsewhere.

At least 10 people were known dead from weekend storms — eight in the
Greensburg area and two others elsewhere in Kansas — one Friday night
and another in violent weather late Saturday, state officials said.

Amid the destruction, rescue workers and officials held out hope that
death toll wouldn't rise and that they can rebuild their town, from
replacing the destroyed churches down to the town's fire engines.

"At this point, it's still a search and rescue mission," Kansas state
trooper Ronald Knoefel said. "We don't want to give up hope."

Search teams used trained dogs to sniff for bodies and used their hands
and heavy equipment to clear away the rubble, but officials did not know
how many people might still be missing.

"A lot of people have gone to other places and it's difficult to track
them down," said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the state's adjutant general.

National Guard engineers were assigned to help with the search. "Some of
the rubble is just so deep," Bunting said. "That's really what our
problem is."

The National Weather Service classified the Friday night tornado as an
F-5, the highest category on its scale. The weather service said it had
wind estimated at 205 mph, and carved a track 1.7 miles wide and 22
miles long. The last tornado that strong killed 36 people in Oklahoma
City on May 3, 1999.

Tree trunks stood bare in Greensburg, stripped of most of their
branches. All the churches were destroyed. Every business on main street
was demolished. The town's fire engines were crushed. The massive
concrete silos of a grain elevator towered over the flattened expanse of
what was left of the town.

Greensburg Administrator Steve Hewitt, who lost his home, estimated 95%
of the town of 1,500 was destroyed.

Greensburg remained off limits to residents Sunday, but officials said
they would be allowed to return Monday morning to recover what they
could. Residents were to be bused in and would have to leave by 6 p.m.

On Sunday, the weather service posted tornado warnings during the
afternoon for parts of Kansas and Oklahoma and severe thunderstorm
warnings were extended across parts of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was bringing in travel trailers
to house some of the town's residents, said FEMA regional administrator
Dick Hainje. There was no indication when people would be able to move
in to the trailers because the area was choked with debris and the town
had no clean water.

President Bush declared parts of Kansas a disaster area, freeing up
federal money to aid in recovery.

"There's a certain spirit in the Midwest of our country, a pioneer
spirit that still exists, and I'm confident this community will be
rebuilt," Bush said.

Some residents were less optimistic.

"If I hear that people are going stay and we're going to have a school,
then I'll stay," said Greensburg High School shop teacher Peter Kern,
who had lived in the town for the last year. "If we don't have a school,
I don't have a job."

School superintendent Darin Headrick said classes will be canceled for
the rest of the academic year, with graduation being held elsewhere.
When school resumes in August, the district, which has about 300
students, will hold classes in other communities.

"Our teachers will have jobs; our kids will have classrooms to attend,"
he promised. "This is going to be a huge hurdle for people to overcome,
but it will also be a huge opportunity."

The Greensburg twister late Friday was part of a storm front that also
spawned tornadoes in parts of Illinois, Oklahoma, South Dakota and
Nebraska, though most damage elsewhere was minimal, officials said.

A second round of storms massed over the Plains on Saturday, firing off
tornadoes from Oklahoma to South Dakota, which had at least 20 twisters,
the weather service said.

Most of Saturday's tornadoes caused only scattered damage to farm
outbuildings, but at least eight homes were destroyed and one person was
injured in western Oklahoma, the state emergency management department
said. Sweetwater was hardest hit, with three homes destroyed, the roof
torn off the local school and other buildings damaged.