Kansas tornadoes kill 2, devastate town of Chapman

[Ghost in the Machine]

Kansas tornadoes kill 2, devastate town of Chapman
Published: 6/12/08, 9:45 PM EDT
By JOHN HANNA

CHAPMAN, Kan. (AP) - In a town devastated by a tornado that snapped utility poles and reduced houses and business to rubble, Brad Homman's reaction epitomized optimism: "We've still got half the town intact."

Homman, director of administration and emergency services for Dickinson County, will need that kind of attitude to help bring the community back.

The twister tore a path of destruction six blocks wide through the town of 1,400 people about 140 miles west of Kansas City on Wednesday.



Officials said one woman died, 100 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged, and 80 percent of the town had at least minor damage.

Elsewhere in Kansas, tornadoes caused extensive damage at Kansas State University in Manhattan and killed one person in the tiny town of Soldier.

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