GREENSBURG, Kan.–At around 4 p.m. today the tornado sirens sounded a few times in Greensburg as the team of the Kansas Press Association’s “Greensburg Rebirth” project listened to community officials explain the situation of the rebuilding of the small Kansas town that was decimated by an EF5 tornado on May 4, 2007.
It was interesting to see the looks of worry and terror on the faces of volunteers and Kwik Shop workers alike, depending upon what part of town I happened to be in as the siren wailed its warning.
Thankfully, it seemed to be a false alarm, but it was still a serious reminder of the tragedy that struck the Greensburg community over a year ago. The people are still acutely aware of what happened and the dangers Mother Nature can bring.
Outside of the incredible point driving of the siren, everyone involved in the project has touched the soil of Greensburg and many have already begun working on news and feature stories about the rebuilding of the town.
We all have settled into our temporary home in a church basement in Haviland, Kan., which is 10 miles away from Greensburg.
The aim of this project is to provide coverage of the rebuilding of the destroyed community via a Web site, http://www.greensburgrebirth.com. These stories will be available for use by KPA-member newspaper who cannot afford a wire service that would provide such coverage.
I will primarily be working on the Web site, but I will also be writing a few stories.
Also, I will be blogging and Twittering a lot, so stay in touch with those avenues of coverage I will be providing.
Right now I need to work on getting the Web site up and running, but I will post again this evening to recap the days events and give a preview to what is in store for tomorrow.
