“We had a lot of buildings in Andover that were badly damaged,” Russell said, adding that some homes were “completely destroyed.” The recovery will take years, Russell said. “Unfortunately, we have been through it again,” he said, referring to the devastation caused by an F-5 tornado that struck Andover on April 26, 1991. Seventeen people died in the aftermath of that tornado. Andover, a city of about 15,000, is located approximately 14 miles east of Wichita, Kansas. Resident Alaina Adkins told CNN she found shelter in her neighbor’s basement across from her apartment complex as the tornado swept away.
“I just could not believe it. It just did not seem true,” said the 26-year-old. “We came out of our front door and it came straight to our place,” he said. The tornado lost her home by a block, but the power in her neighborhood was cut off, Adkins added. More than 20,000 homes and businesses in Kansas were left without power shortly after. Until 4 p.m. ET, that number had dropped to around 8,500, according to poweroutage.us. Videos and photos showed damaged houses, overturned cars and debris from the storm sweeping streets and front yards. In an earlier estimate, Jim Jonas, Wichita’s director of communications, said 50 to 100 structures had been damaged by the tornado. One of those buildings was a YMCA community center in Andover, which was severely damaged, said city governor Jennifer McCausland.

14 tornadoes were reported in Kansas or Nebraska

The National Weather Service in Wichita said it would send teams Saturday to conduct damage investigations. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by tornadoes this afternoon,” he said. Several tornadoes hit Kansas on Friday, according to Gov. Laura Kelly, who declared a state of emergency. “We have learned from past experience that we look forward to the storm before we respond,” Kelly said. “By taking these steps early, we are able to react more quickly when counties call for help.” A total of 15 tornadoes – 14 of which were in Kansas or Nebraska – were reported Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center. The other tornado was in Florida, the center said. In addition, there have been more than 70 reports of wind damage and more than 50 reports of hail. At the Kansas Enterprise, there was hail up to four inches in diameter. On Saturday, the storm is expected to move east, where more than 40 million people are under the overall threat of strong storms. It has a 2 out of 5 risk level for severe storms and includes Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Little Rock. “Severe thunderstorms associated with the threat of wind damage and heavy hail are possible on Saturday from the lower Mississippi Valley north to west of the Great Lakes,” the Storm Forecasting Center said. “Two tornadoes may also occur.” CNN’s Paradise Afshar, Andy Rose, Taylor Ward, Allison Chinchar and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.