KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly was in the Kansas City metro on Thursday to tour the areas hardest hit by Tuesday's severe storm.
A category EF-4 tornado tore through parts of Leavenworth and Bonner Springs in Kansas, leveling several homes and buildings.
Kelly joined Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli with the Kansas Army National Guard to address the media in Lawrence around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Tafanelli is the Kansas Adjutant General, Director of Kansas Homeland Security and Director of Emergency Management.
The governor took an aerial tour of Douglas and Leavenworth counties before meeting with the press. After seeing some of the destruction firsthand, she said that it is the "most extreme weather that we've had according to history."
LISTEN: Kansas City shows resiliency after devastating tornadoes
Kelly said that after seeing the damage, she felt overwhelmed, and that the images on TV did not prepare her for what it was like on the ground.
"The fact that there was not a fatality was amazing," Kelly said.
Though there were no fatalities, 18 injuries were reported.
Both Kelly and Tafanelli credited the safety of residents to local officials.
The governor also visited Linwood, one of the hardest hit locations. When asked how the victims of the storm were responding, Kelly said that their resilience was incredible, and that they were all ready to clean up and rebuild.
Tafanelli touched on the recovery efforts underway throughout Kansas, and said that flood and tornado response are being handled as one.
A federal disaster declaration has been issued for the area, allowing FEMA to assist. Tafanelli also said that eight other states have resources helping with recovery, including North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio.
He also touched on flooding concerns, and said that county and local agencies have evacuation plans in place for threatened areas.
One area of concern is Nemaha County south of Sabetha. A dam in the area is expected to fail. The National Weather service tweeted at 3:12 p.m. that the dam had not failed yet, but could in the next hour or two.
The governor planned to visit more affected areas on the ground following the press conference.
