Tornado rips through Kansas, causes massive damage

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - A massive tornado tore through part of the U.S. state of Kansas late Tuesday and caused destruction, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a tornado warning for several areas including the Kansas City metropolitan area.

No deaths were reported, but 12 people in Douglas County were injured, according to the Kansas City Star. Many buildings were also destroyed and 3,000 buildings were still without power Wednesday, according to an outage map operated by Westar Energy.

On Tuesday evening, the NWS said there were a few storms developing in the Topeka, Kansas area with winds of around 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour). Once the tornado touched down, however, it changed the status from a "tornado warning" to a "tornado emergency" and said it was life-threatening and could affect 200,000 people, 84 schools and a hospital.

"This is a tornado EMERGENCY! If you live in these areas, take shelter now! If you are driving, pull over to a sturdy building and take shelter now! If you are at work, stay there and take shelter now! Best shelter is lowest level in the most interior room!" it said on Twitter.

The NWS will be conducting a final survey of the storm's damage Wednesday.

The tornado is the latest storm in a pattern of destructive weather that has damaged the central United States in the past week. Tuesday's storm in Kansas marked the 12th consecutive day that at least eight tornados were reported across the country, according to Patrick Marsh, a meteorologist at the NWS.

At least three people were killed last Wednesday when severe storms and at least one tornado tore through the state of Missouri while another tornado that hit Oklahoma over the weekend caused two deaths.