Lyon County commission chamber Marshall Miller stood in disbelief this weekend when he visited Greensburg, which was destroyed by an enhanced F 5 tornado early this month.
“It really takes you down to see that,” Miller said. “The whole town was wiped out. It looks like a bomb was dropped on it.”
Miller has family in the area and his wife, Sharon, has a farm near the area. He was raised 17 miles outside of Greensburg. Marshall and Sharon Miller arrived in Greensburg on his brother’s permit around 11 a.m Sunday after cleaning up some of Sharon Miller’s farm.
“When you go into something like that it almost brings you into tears,” Miller said.
Miller said the town is left with no water, no electricity and no services. They ate lunch in the United Methodist Church parking lot, which has been cleared off. The church was destroyed. The West Conference Disaster Team of United Methodist Church served between 400 and 500 people that day, Miller said.
While there, Miller talked to a county commissioner from the area.
“He told me that there were seven homes that didn’t have damage.” All the other homes were either destroyed or sustained damage in Greensburg Miller said.
Only locals are being allowed in the town and by dark each night the town is to be vacated. Greenburg is surrounded by National Guard and law enforcement to control who goes in and out.
Miller said there is a need for incentives to get people to stay or return. He said the school will need to be re-built. A grocery story is critical as is some type of medical facility for the town. The local farm implement dealership has promised to return and the assisted care living center probably will return, Miller said.
“I think money is probably what they need,” he said. “How they administer that is critical to the return of Greensburg.”
Miller said the of people Greensburg were getting plenty of help handling the disaster.
“I heard numerous good comments about how FEMA is working out there,” he said.
Miller also said he was surprised to see many new power lines outside of town.
“Almost all the power lines for 10 miles were ripped out, but are already replaced,” he said. “We were amazed that they were replaced so suddenly.”