One person died Tuesday and nearly two dozen homes were destroyed when a tornado ripped through the small city of Westmoreland in northeastern Kansas, authorities said.
Pottawatomie County officials said on Facebook that a tornado struck the city Tuesday evening, damaging multiple structures. First responders were conducting grid searches in Westmoreland to survey damage and to search for people who may have been injured.
A Pottawatomie County spokesperson confirmed the single fatality in a news release sent to media. The name of the person who died was being withheld pending family notification. Another three people were injured, the county spokesperson said, but none of the injuries were critical.
Rick Reigle
Twenty-two homes and five outbuildings in north Westmoreland were destroyed by the tornado, the county spokesperson said, along with an estimated three RVs in an RV park.
The entire city of Westmoreland was without power as of late Tuesday night, the county spokesperson disclosed.
Westmoreland is about 45 miles northwest of Topeka.
Images posted to social media showed a tornado on the ground in Westmoreland, as well as damaged homes, uprooted trees and a flipped semi.
Tuesday’s storms came just two days after tornadoes tore through Oklahoma on Sunday, killing four people and injuring at least 100. On Friday, tornadoes twisted through Nebraska and Iowa, demolishing homes and businesses and leaving one person dead.