Midwest Tornadoes Kill 1, Destroy Homes in Kansas
May 22, 2011— -- Midwest residents are cleaning up this morning after several tornadoes Saturday left one man dead and one Kansas town nearly destroyed.
At least 20 tornadoes were reported across three states: 14 in Kansas, 5 in Oklahoma, and 1 in Missouri.
In the small town of Reading, Kan., twisters ripped through the area and left more than 20 homes destroyed and 200 more damaged.
"Lots of damage all over town, the farther south in town the more damage there is. Lots of trees down, large trees, there's buildings that have been totally devastated," said Coffee County Emergency Coordinator Russel Stukey.
One fatality and several injuries were reported in connection with the twisters, according to authorities.
"Everything is destroyed. We're going to have to stay strong for the community," said one resident told Kansas City ABC News affiliate KMBC.
Power was knocked out Saturday and roads in and out of area were closed, KMBC reported.
According to Sharon Watson with the Kansas State Division of Emergency Management, there was also hail as large as a baseball reported throughout northeast part of the state.
"We've been fortunate so far to not have as much damage as we have seen in the past, such as the year 2007 when the town of Greensburg was basically destroyed, a town of 1,500," Watson said.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback declared a state of emergency for at least 16 counties.
ABC News' Jackie Meretsky contributed to this report.
