The F5-brand devastation of this Kansas tornado tested the endurance of two communities--both suburban Andover and metropolitan Wichita. Witness the siren-pierced, April 26, 1991 tornado which passed within 50 yards of Airman First Class Daniel L. Studebaker, who recorded the footage from McConnell Air Force Base near Wichita, Kansas (courtesy of Matt Dennis and The Kansas Tornado Chasers). To view the video of this destructive feat of Mother Nature, you need REAL Player 5.0, which can be downloaded here.

The tornado brought a new sense of community to the individuals of Andover and Wichita (courtesy of Steve Robrahn).

      The Andover-Wichita tornado's damage at the McConnell Air Force Base was calculated to be around $62,000,000 even though the funnel missed the installation's line of B1-B bombers--worth billions of dollars--by about 1,000 feet (Grazulis 1312). This was a stroke of good luck, for the width of the tornado's path itself was 1,500 feet!
      Although two Wichita men were arrested for looting during the course of the events which are illustrated below, the pair's bad example is outshone by the outpouring of public kindness, for the communities indeed reached out to help the individuals who were in need. The following gestures of generosity touched those who were affected by the Andover-Wichita tornado's wrath:

• Agencies--the American Red Cross, Mennonite Relief Services and the Salvation Army--passed out supplies and served thousands of meals each day to the storm victims and to the volunteers.

• Utility crews from companies around the region put in long, hard hours in order to bring power and services back to the residents of Wichita and Andover, but phone and power service were not restored until several days after the tornado.

• Upon their deployment, the National Guard began patrolling Wichita's roadways in order to enforce a 9 o'clock curfew, which was imposed to discourage looting during the period of chaotic disarray that followed the storm.

• Law enforcement personnel, aided by their trained canine companions, searched the mobile home parks while horse-mounted Wichita police authorities combed the meadows for cadavers along East Central.

• Volunteers from far and wide contributed their efforts to cleaning up the rubble and destruction ("Wake").

• The owner of Ed's IGA, Ed Williamson, gave the American Red Cross approximately $7,000 worth in food so that the tornado's refugees and the volunteers could be provided with meals.

• Employees at Radio Shack, while undertaking the difficult task of cleaning up after the storm, gave away flashlights and batteries ("Accounts").

Tri-State . Hesston . Andover-Wichita . Piedmont . Bibliography

---

. .

Return home.