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.
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.