Devastated Kansas Town Goes Green

Aug. 15, 2007 — -- The tornado that ripped through Greensburg, Kan., three months ago was ferocious and unforgiving. More than 90 percent of the town was simply flattened and 10 residents died, including Norman Volz's wife of 34 years, Beverley.

"Our anniversary would have been a week ago last Saturday," Volz said. "Really that's the only reason I've kept going. She would have wanted me to."

Mother Nature dealt this community a devastating blow, but Greensburg is starting to bounce back. Since just a few days after the tornado, the small farming town has made ambitious plans for rebuilding green, from a wind farm at the electric plant to green homes and businesses.

"If we just make a little bit of progress every day, we're going to be OK. We're going to be just fine," resident and volunteer coordinator Matt Deighton said.

Gene Bender and wife Gerry were born in Greensburg more than 70 years ago.

"We're alive and we're going to rebuild and be happy," Bender said.

Every member of the high school football team has returned, and when school opens this morning in temporary trailers, three-quarters of the students will be back.

"We're not going to let this tornado disrupt our lives. … We want kids to understand that just because all of this is going on, they still need to have some normalcy in their lives," principal Randy Fulton said

Life has been anything but normal here since the storm. Of the town's 1,500 residents, only about half remain, many living in mobile homes provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"We haven't really started rebuilding or anything like that. We're just kind of taking it slow," said Shane Engelken, the quarterback of the high school football team.

Before the tornado, Greensburg was a typical Midwestern farm town.

Now, it is essentially a blank slate. Thousands of tons of debris have been removed, and almost every structure in town is demolished.

Bold new ideas are taking shape here. Greensburg is thinking green, seeking to rebuild the town as a showcase of environmentally responsible living.

"If you are going to build a community from the ground up, it is our responsibility to think about the future," said city administrator Steve Hewitt.