One dead, three injured after tornado rips through Westmoreland

Videos courtesy of Scott Harshbarger and Jim Johnston.

10 p.m. update Tuesday

Westmoreland residents are cleaning up after a tornado struck the community Tuesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring three others. KMAN News Director Brandon Peoples reports.

Pottawatomie County Public Information Officer Becky Ryan says those injured did not require hospitalization. Damage was primarily concentrated to the city’s northern half.

“We have four outbuildings have been destroyed, 22 houses have been destroyed, 13 residences are damaged and one commercial building has been damaged,” said Ryan.

Pottawatomie County Fire Chief Jared Barnes says response from numerous outside agencies was swift and much appreciated.

“We had a good turnout from really all over the county. They got here quickly, did a great job of getting organized, starting to search homes. We actually had a structure fire break out and they got on that quickly and got it taken care of. It’s just a tragic loss,” he said.

Pottawatomie County Commissioner Greg Riat praised the response and the residents of Westmoreland.

“Westmoreland is a strong community. They will come back from this. They will rebuild and they’re going to be good,” he said.

A temporary shelter was set up at Rock Creek High School Tuesday night for displaced residents. Evergy is working to restore power to the community after several power poles were damaged.

Pottawatomie County offices are closed Wednesday as are Rock County Schools. The landfill will be open for debris. Tri-County Waste will not be removing trash Wednesday and it’s unclear when trash collection will resume.

Residents who live and work in Westmoreland explained some of what they saw when the tornado ripped through the northern section of town.

8:45 p.m. update Tuesday

A tornado touched down in Westmoreland on Tuesday afternoon about 15 miles north of Manhattan, damaging homes and buildings, displacing many and also leading to the fatality of one individual and several injuries.

The tornado touched touched down around 4:40pm following the issuance of a tornado warning by the National Weather Service in Topeka. At 4:43pm, reports came in saying the tornado had damaged homes in the area, particularly around Walnut Street. The tornado finally dissipated around 4:50pm leaving many without power, approximately 925 in the city of Westmoreland.

Westmoreland Elementary School principal Scott Harshbarger spoke about what he witnessed when the tornado touched down.

Bill Henry, a USD 323 bus driver and retired law enforcement agent also shared what he saw.

Most were able to find safely quickly and and then provided assistance to their neighbors. Eye witness Jason Burrous details his experience.

At this time, a number of power outages are still active in Riley, Geary, Pottawatomie, and Wabaunsee Counties according to Evergy. Pottawatomie County has also issued a notice that county offices will be closed on Wednesday.

Rock Creek Schools have announced that they will not be in session on Wednesday to allow time for families to recover from the Westmoreland tornado. The National Weather Service has announced that it will also dispatch personnel to Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Shawnee, and Jefferson Counties to conduct storm surveys. Results will be posted as they become available.

Information is still coming out over the tornado and the impact it had on at the community at this time. Stay tuned to News Radio KMAN for details as they continue to come out.