Return to Greensburg | Full Episode

[@scotsviking2481]

Incredibly well done documentary. Thanks for keeping the story of Greensburg, KS alive.

[@joshuacook4116]

My wife was there the very next day with the red cross! She said she will never forget you amazing people and is so thankful that she got to help you!

[@Astro95Media]

This really should be seen more than it has. The story of Greensburg is just phenomenal and Kendall and her crew did a beautiful job telling it. Felt very real and personal. Well done to all.

[@kevinwhite822]

I spent a night in Greensburg back in 2011. I had to see this place for myself. Why did I go? A dear friend of mine, Tad Agoglia started his non-profit there, the First Response Team of America. He travels the country side with special equipment to aid in the recovery. Tad arrived hours after driving from Missouri to Greensburg. Being there that soon after tragedy struck, changed his life forever. In 2008 he was selected as one of CNN's Top Ten Heroes of the Year. Greensburg Ks to Moore Ok to hurricane Sandy in NY to hurricane Ian in Fort Meyers last year, Tad has continued to bring his special equipment and crew to assist those in need. Greensburg will always hold a special place in his heart. That town and community, so willing to help each other and rebuild, moved his soul. Greensburg is an amazing story of will! ... KZbin First Response Team of America or Tad Agoglia he too will amaze you.

[@angelat.8997]

Well done! This stormchaser was moved to tears. My fascination (okay, obsession) with weather started at age seven, while under a tornado warning. My grandpa took me out on his porch, to help him watch for “monkey tails”. We only saw a small funnel, at a distance - but I was hooked. P.S. I don’t chase for thrills. I chase to help save lives.

[@markelder7160]

A tornado can take a carton of eggs out of a refrigerator and can throw them a county away without breaking them and then turn around and liberate a freight train that weighs thousands of tons.

[@SuzukiRacer055]

29:47 Any man who carries a pearl handled 1911 and drives a Dodge muscle car is a good man in my eyes!

[@razzyjr12345]

It is crazy how such a storm even for children. My son Joseph was barely 7 months old at the time when we experienced the Greensburg tornado now he wants to be a meteorologist and chase tornados. I moved to Greensburg about 5 years before it hit and come to love small town life. I remember for it seemed like like the air was heavy like constant heavy moisture hard to breathe. I think the thing I miss the most is just being able to just drive across town to visit friends. Now everyone is all spread out and I miss that closeness that it once had.

[@musicnerd72]

Kinda sad seeing so many empty lots on Google maps. Yet, I understand why a lot of people probably didn't want to rebuild after the trauma they endured... Greensburg looks like a cozy little town and I'd love to visit some day. Hell, I probably wouldn't mind living there! 👍

[@reformcongress]

It wasn't the trauma they endured that prevented them from rebuilding there. It was the mandate for building back green that caused them to not afford to be able to build back.

[@RT-qd8yl]

They couldn't afford to rebuild even if they wanted to.

[@Mary-t5d5c]

Thank GOD. And thank you. You all give me faith and hope for humanity

[@johnpenner2632]

What a great documentary. The resilience of these folks is just awe inspiring. There are other towns that didn't even see the degree of total destruction that the citizens of Greensburg did that never recovered from the tragedy and simply ceased to exist. Kendall deserves a lot of respect for overcoming the trauma and devoting her life and career to helping people that find themselves in the same circumstances. Just a wonderful story of fighting to keep your community together after an unimaginable disaster.

[@michaelhiggins9791]

After 17 years I finally got to go down and see Greensburg and she’s absolutely right. You can still see the scars. Greensburg is pretty good sized and I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact the ENTIRE town was swallowed by that tornado.

[@darktoadone5068]

I was on my way back to Abilene KS from there the night it hit and was probably 45 minutes ahead of the storm and you could just see the very dark clouds off in the distance, I never thought in my wildest dreams a killer tornado was heading that way. By the time I got half way to Abilene weather emergencies were coming over the radio, If we would have left later we probably would have been caught in it. That was a scary night I'll never forget, we were so lucky. I left Kansas a year later and moved to SC for a new job but that night will always stay with me.

[@austinmccoy9743]

Exceptionally well done documentary! I have always resonated a lot with this disaster, one because it was the first major tornado I learned about, and two because I've been through a similar disaster myself, and experienced many of the traumas and re-live many similar memories that these people do. I enjoy visiting Greensburg and seeing its continually progressing recovery.

[@DeyvidMarven]

Loved this commentary. Literally so interesting I kept replaying a few sections

[@nmikloiche]

I can’t say I’ve ever thought much about moving to Kansas, but if I were to, I’m pretty sure I’d pick Greensburg. I admire their bravery and vision, to not just rebuild but to take this as an opportunity to rebuild with safety and efficiency at the forefront. I know not everyone embraced that vision and the town lost some families, but this film captures something special - it’s inspiring to hear the story of a tiny town, one who lost 95% of its buildings and homes to the first EF-5 tornado, but lost 0% percent of its resilience and hope.

[@NCMemoryMakers]

We just went through Greensburg 2 weeks ago, and did a video review of the Big Well. The newly constructed museum there, tells the story of this devastating tornado. The resilience of the town's residents is inspirational!

[@dkoon884]

I can relate all to well with the strong people of this community being a tornado survivor of 12-10-21 in Dawson Springs Ky, we lost are 2 month old baby girl that night and I still struggle to just drive threw we didn’t loss are house if we would have stayed home that night instead of going to my mother-in-laws house witch was totally destroyed down to the foundation blacks..are little girl would still be here today 😢 it’s hard to think about but going off of the comment made on this video just normal storms are so scary now we have a storm shelter now at are house and we use it anytime there’s thunderstorms i have lots of respect for the survivors of greensburg I know what it’s like to feel so helpless and lost ❤😢 I have a video of some pictures and videos of what it looked like in the days after 12-10-21 here on KZbin

[@476233]

I’m so sorry for your loss 😢

[@chrislittebrant5235]

I really enjoyed this video, thank you for making it, very well done❣️

[@imeep30jj]

Your grandma is awesome. She was one of my favorite teachers. Lol I was one of her ornery students.

[@wadewilson8011]

Damn you for giving that lovely lady a hard time!

[@markumscheid2286]

My brother and his team were on the call at the Dodge City NWS that night. You can see the name Umscheid at the bottom of all those warnings. Super proud of him and his team for acting the way they did.

[@younghurricane1995]

I lived in Fort Meade, Maryland as a 6th grader in middle school in 2007.. That was the night I went to see Spider-Man 3 when it first came out, and then coming home afterwards to watch the Weather Channel hearing and seeing reports about the EF5 tornado ripping through Greensburg and the other tornadoes across Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.. scary and frightening.. and the tornado in Greensburg was huge

[@justinowens9323]

10:35 glad to see this man and his daughter are still around I remember them from an episode of storm stories hope there neighbors from that episode and there son still doing good to can’t believe there neighbor survived with a baby in her arms. Y’all should go watch that episode it’s on here for free

[@kerielmore823]

The well is super cool!

[@toddkenyon8245]

I was in great bend, ks doing weekend duty with 161st tab battery and we was called to Greenberg at 3 am to assist with security. The next night they had another tornado warning. The told us Togo to center to the courthouse.

[@dronetrunks]

I think the entire warning system can be re-worked so that when an event like this takes place - people have time to get South or West of the confirmed tornado.

[@Dovietail]

Greensburg had 20 minutes or more.That's all the time in the world in a tornado emergency.

[@dronetrunks]

@@Dovietail Enough time to walk to relative safety/ apart from the centre room of a house without a basement!

[@inthedarkwoods2022]

People need to buy a 5k storm shelter BEFORE they but a 30k bass boat or a 10k lawn mower.

[@davidochoa774]

​@@Dovietail The official lead time was twenty six minutes, their sirens however began to blare twenty minutes before the tornado arrived

[@Sj430]

The warning system got re worked after the Joplin tornado.

[@jamespahlsson8133]

Awesome people, you set the example for the rest of us. God bless you all 💝

[@cliffsandifer3877]

traveled through Greensburg, 3 months after the twister, it was heart breaking seeing the damage, fire hydrant ripped out of ground ...and have seen the town grow back Hazzah to Greensburg citizens.

[@jeffmercer3891]

I went through this horror at age 9 and now I’m nearly 50. Still terrified after all these years. It really will scar your soul : (

[@kerielmore823]

To the families of the ten dead, I am so very sad n sorry for your losses. I can t even imagine. 😢 Great rebuilding, yes. But the lives lost can t be.

[@Baked_intell]

Spent the first week there during the search and rescue operations with national guard. there is picture of me roasting marshmallows in the museum there. Still have not been back sadly but its a tough one thank you for the video. One funny thing when see pictures after the storm but all the roads are cleared that was like day 3

[@joshuacook4116]

You probably worked side by side with my wife!

[@610LSB]

I was there with you, I was the Public Affairs Specialist with the Air National Guard unit at McConnell. Spent a week there, met so many amazing Americans and President Bush, such an honor.

[@ATippePodcast]

My uncle became an excavator operator shortly after this tornado. And him and his company went to greensburg in the weeks following. He actually excavated parts of the foundation for the new hospital, police station and a number of houses. He did so until his untimely death in 2020 at the age of 36. I was 8 in my grandparents basement a few towns over in Ellsworth Ks, dealing with other tornadoes on the ground at the time.

[@OayxYT]

Fantastic documentary

[@bethluther3950]

Amazing documentary. Thank you.

[@brownt898]

I remember being 6 years old when this happened. My dad went down in the days following to help rebuild and clean up. We lived near Hays.

[@emo__runner]

My parents hometown got hit by an F3 in 2002, and I relate so much to this story.

[@stirlingschmidt6325]

Few remember that in the rebuilding efforts, many residential and light commercial windmills were erected, subsidized by local government. There was a large one that provided power for the new hospital. Today, NOT ONE of those windmills is still standing, a testament to their economic impracticality. When they eventually develop mechanical issues, the cost for repair or replacement is irrational. The large windmill at the hospital was brought down by a storm some years later, and remained in a twisted heap for at least a year, the funds unavailable even for cleanup. Let this serve as a reminder - 'green' efforts are more often than not economically not viable.

[@TAStormChasing]

Great watch! Terrible tragedy. Had a quick stop in Greensburg a decade ago. The rebuilding showed but so did the scars left from the tornado. Later that day I got to witness multiple tornadoes. One being an ef4 tornado to the north of Greensburg by Rozel, KS.

[@echo-channel77]

The first week of May is a bullseye and if you drew a 200 mile radius around Oklahoma City, it is a giant bullseye. Yet the odds of dying in one of these is microscopic. But that isn't the problem and people outside of Tornado and Dixie Alley don't always understand that when a tornado warning goes off, today it's your phone and it's sudden, loud, and gets your attention. But all that tells you is you've got an average of 8 minutes before something might hit you. You have no idea how big it is, RADAR lags behind by several minutes, and it's the helplessness. For those who have lived through one, they'll never forget the sounds, especially when power goes out and it's the only sound. For those more unfortunate, how do you ever feel safe again when you watch your roof ripped away above you and what sounds like a 747 is directly above you trying you into certain death? That was the EF3 I experienced, but I can't even begin to imagine an EF4, let alone and EF5. For those miles away chasing it, it's a thing of natural and grotesque beauty, for those who've never seen one it's "just another storm and tornado watch", but to those who've been in it, it's nothing short of pure horror. That lady who said now the wind bothers her I get that. Once you've heard one you never forget it. Some people give the generic "train" answer, but that woman who said it's like a waterfall with something awful in it, that's what I recall. It's impossible to imagine what the sound of 140-200 MPH wind sounds like without experiencing it. Everything screams.

[@davidtate166]

I heard about this weather event .😢let us not forget this tornado.

[@WhiteArrow76]

I can remember thinking how this was basically Udall all over again. Almost identical situation, except the Udall tornado killed 87 people (all but 10 in Udall), this storm killed way fewer, which given the level of destruction is nothing short of a miracle

[@samrusso4374]

25:55 Hey, at least the Xbox survived.

[@musicnerd72]

That's the least important comment here... 🙄

[@amtrakhorn]

I'm from Hutchinson but graduated from Kingman and remember going to Greensburg to the well & getting a toy horse from the gift shop and looking down the well on my way to my family cemetery in Plains Ks

[@wadewilson8011]

Yeah, but what about the tornado?

[@Dovietail]

All of the trees in greensburg are going to be exactly the same age. How strange!

[@Moonchild-bb5dr]

I wanna see that well it looks soooo cool. A true piece of history

[@Schoenbaum_Paul]

Bravo 👏👏👏 it made me want visit! Maybe somed!! Again Bravo!!

[@reformcongress]

The grain elevator is on the NE side of town, not the west end of town, at least as it stands now. My estimate from being there several times in recent years is that maybe 30% of the homes have been rebuilt since 2007. There is maybe 5% at most north of the highway rebuilt, and maybe 25% or a little more south of the highway has been rebuilt. It isn't necessarily unusual for that to happen in bigger cities. You can drive through Oklahoma CIty on Interstate 35 and still be able to recognize the path from the 1999 tornado because people didn't rebuild in the same are for whatever reason. But in Greensburg, a large part of the reason that people didn't rebuild is that there were new requirements to build back with green energy components that they could not afford to pay for and that insurance didn't cover because it wasn't part of what existed under their policies. Many of them rebuilt in Kinsley and some other smaller towns nearby. It is tragic, and they shouldn't have added those requirements, but it made a few people famous on A&E for a couple of years after. But those victims that couldn't afford didn't get famous, they were ignored. With all that said, there are a few valuable lessons to be learned by this and Joplin in particular. When the tornado warning is issued, take cover at that time. Keep an am/fm radio or get a radio that can pick up the tv station audio and NOAA weather alert radio. Keep batteries on hand for them. Keep your cell phones charged up. Get an app that can receive the alerts on your phone so if you're not home you can be warned. Forego those big ticket items until after you have installed a safe room in your home. You can buy that boat or that RV later. Make sure that the family knows where to take shelter, to call when the warning is issued if they aren't at home, and get home immediately and get to the shelter and keep the family together. That can save emergency officials a lot of time in accounting for missing persons and they can dedicate more time in finding survivors and saving their lives. The hierarchy is the safety of the people, the safety of the emergency workers, and protecting property and in that order. If you stick to that, you can't stray far from achieving the best possible outcome. There are a lot of resources available for people to know what they need to do to be prepared, and that should, in my opinion, be one of the first things people should do and then to practice and drill the plan for their respective household so it is less stressful if something does happen. I just hope that a few people can see this and spread the word among the people around them and maybe one day it will save lives. Just know, that if you do choose to prepare, you get credit for it.

[@richardmartinez6057]

Is the BIG Well still there

[@kerielmore823]

All the documentary focuses on rebuilding n that s good, but to see old pictures n hear the life of the ten lost should be told.

[@Bootmahoy88]

What a freaky and tragic thing that the EF5 tornado exactly fit the size of the town.

[@maxroberge]

Great documentary. The way they say « roof » is unique. Is this a Kansas thing?

[@YourFellowRNRSisterFan98]

I remember hearing about that day? I was in Oklahoma on May 31st 2013? I was 15 and my mom and dad and I were on our way thru to California ti visit my sister we made a stop to visit my aunt and my mom dad and aunt all wanted to have a bbq and I asked to stay at my aunts to watch tv and was gonna take a shower ? Thankfully I left my shower stuff in the rv and my parents went to another county with my aunt to a store cause the local one didn’t have what they wanted or needed? So I asked to stay and watch tv and stupidly and you’d think I’d know not to ignore this being from South Carolina ? And my mom being a Scottish biracial police woman (not that that matters at all) I ignored the EAS because I had to go to the bathroom and then my phone went off cause mom was trying to get a hold of me to warn me of the incoming tornado. Then my aunt texted me and told me to grab the cellar keys and get into it I had less than maybe 3-5 mins to get to shelter so me being southern I knew to grab the keys her cat and a blanket off her bed and run like heck outside to the cellar soon as I got outside it was so close looked like you could almost touch it it was like 2 or 3 maybe 4 streets away? But I didn’t have time to look and admire as soon as I got myself and that cat into the cellar it was there and wiped out her house completely. My mother was so worried I was dead she about had a heart attack til I was able to answer the phone again when service was restored. I texted her the words don’t worry I am in the cellar with this kitten .

[@ncavlleguy]

Great story about resilience But I wouldn’t live ANYWHERE in Kansas ! I’m keeping my Blue Ridge Mountains !

[@j.t.cooper2963]

"Everybody knows everybody else's business". That's exactly why nobody wants to live in a small town.

[@richardmartinez6057]

An 😇 was covering mother and child🙏☝️

[@user-iq3qm4mc3u]

Who says America isn't GREAT... AND .. The people... Their even GREATER...

[@GottaWannaDance]

This is an emotional video by FOX news. Well done. One thing I'd like to see is all of fox news be like this FOX news. Wipe away the current fox news just like this ef5 tornado did to Greensburg. Get rid of the Political Lies and falsities. Hire folks like this young lady who really, really give a crap about people ... not the trouble makers.

[@kerielmore823]

Love the natural light gym n the technology using God s natural resources like solar panels, sunshine, etc...

[@RWorley3sl]

I only became so afraid of tornadoes was after my sisters house was destroyed.

[@hisimagenme]

God taught those people so much... brought them through and those that remain have persevered. Those who didn't come back aren't chickens or bad, it is in moving on that life resumes, and when you're forced to move away to carry on you stay where life goes forward. Makes me sad no one wants to buy a lot in Greensburg and start fresh there. It's really a reflection of the time, farm towns have all but died thanks so big government. Small town life is hard fought for in every area even without disasters to plumet their populations. It's a sad story that speaks to the even sadder future of this country. It's on its way out... no one cherishes freedom more than comfort and ease... this generation of getting high and government stimulus checks... have given the country away to the wind... pretty soon that's all you're going to hear.... tornadoes from the past and tornadoes of a different kind in the future. Wind speaking of truths of people who didn't care. It's a great show, this video, but sadly that's all it is - show business. Greensburg is just as obscure as it was prior to the tornado, which is likely the best quality about it. God bless you people who stayed and pushed through. Now... keep letting go because there is more to lose and we're all about to see it. Hold on to the Lord, obey Him... life is found in His path. That path goes far beyond Greensburg...USA...Earth. smiles and blessings...

[@Ladywolf2263]

Dr.Fujita wanted to make this tornado a F6. Every one thought he was crazy…till they saw the devastation. They never did change it….but dang

[@herisuryadi6885]

Huh Ted Fujita died in 1998 you might be confusing it with the Xenia tornado which got a preliminary F6 Rating until it was concluded that anything beyond F5 is inconceivable

[@reformcongress]

The estimated windspeed was 205mph at a 3 second burst. That would have been a high end F3 or low end F4 using the old scale.

[@jamalwilliams4380]

Bud he died in 1998

[@610LSB]

Are you drunk?

[@chazkahenry6047]

💚

[@CragM1977]

11 died in Greensburg

[@paulettehall4614]

And we were stupid enough to rebuild above ground. Ah humans

[@charlesallen8901]

They thought the titanic was unsinkable to so don't count on the app.

[@RT-qd8yl]

Not nearly enough time spent on how they used the "green building" crap to push people out of the community

[@REF49]

Check Xenia Ohio, 1974,most violent tornado outbreak ever recorded,with 30 F4/F5 tornadoes . See Tri State Tornado, F5 that stretched 219 miles for 3.5 hours in 1925. First EF5, don’t think so.

[@GCAT01Living]

EF5 =/= F5. They redid the scale in 2007 so old measurements are not equivalent.

[@snuffedtorch3683]

As stated above, F5 and EF5 are not the same. The old scale overestimated winds needed to wipe out solid foundations. This is the first tornado to be given a 5 on the new EF scale, released in February of 2007. Greensburg was only 3 months later. Imo, one of the most underrated EF5 storms.

[@reformcongress]

The 1970s was the decade with the most number of super intense tornadoes in recorded history for sure. The Fujita Scale and the Enhanced Fujita Scale do not rate the tornadoes with the same parameters or the same methods. The Enhanced scale is a bit more complicated, but probably more effective because of what is examined during the surveys. There are different types of structures and then degrees of destruction to each type that are used to determine windspeed estimates at 3 second bursts. There is a detailed manual that is available to the public free of charge from Texas Tech University which was where the Enhanced Fujita Scale was developed with a combination of meteorologists and engineers giving input into its development.

[@giarc0]

There’s flat…..then there’s Greensburg.

[@BLG1990]

20 minutes in and half of it has been about Jesus and how he saved everyone. Well If you truly believe jesus will save you why do you take cover?

[@VictheChick]

She's a terrible actress but overall quite the story.

[@SevereWeatherQuester2005]

Star Wars Day (May 4) 2007: The Death Star Supercell destroys Greensburg, Kansas with the world's first EF-5 Superlasernado