COUNTDOWN TO DISASTER: Chasing the Andover Tornado By Tim Marshall

Entering the Bear’s Cage

The storm was heading northeast, on a direct course to Wichita. Local television stations were still warning of the tornado we had just witnessed. Radio scanners were buzzing with spotter reports about a new cloud “lowering” gathering over the town of Conway Springs.

There were no direct roads, so we lost valuable time by having to first drive east, then north. In the process, the storm beat us to the town. To keep pace with the storm Carson and I would have to enter “the bear’s cage,” the wrapping curtain of rain on the back edge of the storm that could hide a tornado.

My hands grew cold as we drove into the rain. The visibility dropped dramatically and strong north winds buffeted our vehicle. We turned east and in a few minutes the rain ended as we passed through the town of Clearwater. A large cloud lowering had massed on the east side of town. We came upon an open field where all the clouds came together. Suddenly condensation shot upward

from the ground about a mile to our southeast. “Multi-vortex tornado!” I shouted. Spotters immediately relayed their reports to the local National Weather Service office.

The tornado crossed the road in front of us and hit a house. The roof disintegrated and a plume of attic insulation was ****** into the vortex, appearing like smoke from a fire. In anger and disbelief, I witnessed the destruction of two more farmhouses. “Damn, another house just went down there,” I muttered. Never had I felt so helpless. And other houses still lay in the storm’s path.

Carving out a swath of destruction, the tornado ravaged homes in the northwest part of Haysville, then entered south Wichita. In seconds, homes disappeared from their foundations. Broken plumbing lines created water geysers were homes had once stood.

The tornado then turned east, striking McConnell Air Force Base and just missing rows of parked fighter planes. We tried to keep pace with the twister to no avail; it had toppled power poles across the road in front of us, cutting off our pursuit.

The town of Andover was next on its hit list. We could hear spotters frantically telling emergency officials to look to the southwest. A policeman in the town responded, confirming that a large tornado was bearing down on them. With no operational sirens, one officer tried in vain to warn residents of the Golden Spur Mobile Home Park on the edge of town to evacuate. Unfortunately time ran out for many of them at 6:35 p.m., when the tornado obliterated hundreds of homes and left scores of dead and injured.

BIRKETT

Andover residents who narrowly escaped the tornado told of the storm’s sudden arrival, quick actions and minutes of terror.

“It was wild,” said Michelle Wagner, of lot 104 Golden Spur Mobile Home Park. The trailers and its occupants were the hardest hit by the storm packing estimated 200 mile-per-hour winds.

“We’d better get down (into the park tornado shelter) I told the family. I turned off the chicken,” Wagner said.

“It was pretty full; people came in as it went over. Your ears popped; it was so loud,” she said.

The tornado did not appear like a funnel shaped cloud to Wagner. “I just saw dust and debris flying. It was on the ground for about two minutes.”

The Rick Wagner family stood along Andover Road with a few boxes of salvaged items awaiting a ride the next morning as the first news reporters were given tours of the area. As Mrs. Wagner talked, she was suddenly surrounded by microphones and television cameras.

“We found our cat under the trailer … it was safe,” she said

A sturdy sycamore tree next to Merle Goben’s mobile home is credited with saving his life. The tree prevented the trailer from blowing over and crushing the 67-year-old resident, who has a heart condition.

“The only place I had was I laid down in the hallway,” Goben said. “That tree saved my life. It kept the trailer from blowing over and the wall from falling on me. A little prayer helped too.”

Goben was temporarily pinned by the leaning wall but was able to free himself. He walked around with a telephone book wrapped around an injured arm looking for his possessions.

“I haven’t got anything left,” he said. “I’ve lost a lot of personal stuff; can’t be replaced.”

Walk-in freezers were the choice of storm shelters for several food establishments.

At Big Cheese Pizza, a delivery man suddenly burst into the restaurant warning a tornado was coming, said owner Mark Hale. The 20 customers and employees sought refuge in the cooler.

Some 34 people were packed into the walk-in at Carol’s Restaurant, said cook John Dobbin, Carol’s son. He and two others had to seek shelter in a small office as the storm ripped away part of the roof at Andover Square, carried away the canopy and broke many windows. The restaurant and adjacent portion of the building received structural damage, requiring extensive reconstruction.

Forty-five Ed’s IGA employees and customers sought refuge in the cooler. Owner Ed Williamson said he gave away around $7,000 in food to the American Red Cross to feed the storm victims and volunteers.

Nearby, four customers and two employees at Radio Shack laid in an office as the tornado roared past, said co-owner Mark Brecheisen. “It was as scared as I have ever been,” he said. Water from the roof and the broken front windows ruined the expensive computer and electronic equipment in the store. The employees gave away flashlights and batteries as they began the clean-up effort.

Insurance agents Tony Durano and Max Mason were themselves in need of a claims adjuster. both their offices sustained damage. Also, insurance agent Ross Anderson who serves the Andover area, lost his home, and a new home under construction on the same tract, in East Wichita.

Steve Rockstad and other neighbors on west Rhondda were busy moving out the day after the tornado from storm-destroyed homes. “We were in the basement bathroom,” Rockstad said. “We could hear the house tearing up. I looked up and saw daylight, we lost our second story.” The family was unable to open the basement door and they later crawled out through a window.

When the Rev. Mike Baldwin caught a ride out of town hours before the tornado struck, his automobile was parked in the garage of the recently built rectory at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. When he returned after the storm, the garage and auto had vanished. The church and classroom building were also destroyed.

MANCHA