Kansas braces for more severe weather after tornado rips through US state

As many as 1,000 structures damaged or destroyed

A home is destroyed from a possible tornado the next before near Andover, Kan. , on Saturday, April 30, 2022 A suspected tornado that barreled through parts of Kansas has damaged multiple buildings, Show more

As residents of Andover, Kansas, survey the devastating damage from a tornado that ripped through the small city, south-east of Wichita, the state is bracing for more severe weather expected on Monday.

The National Weather Service in Wichita told residents to expect the possibility of more tornadoes.

“The severe weather threat looks to ramp back up Monday afternoon and evening, especially across south-central and south-east Kansas. While there remains some uncertainty, the potential exists for large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes,” the weather service tweeted.

On Friday night, a tornado wreaked havoc in Andover, destroying as many as 1,000 structures in the Wichita suburb.

"We now know that our damage path extended approximately 3.5 to 4 miles [5.6 to 6.4 kilometres] to the north of where we believed it to have ended last night,” Andover deputy fire chief Mike Roosevelt said at a briefing on Saturday.

About 15,000 people were left without power after the storm.

Despite the scale of the damage, there were no reported deaths or critical injuries from the tornado itself. Officials said only a few injuries had been reported. In Sedgwick County, three people were hurt, including one woman who sustained serious injuries.

Kansas governor Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster emergency for the hardest-hit areas. The declaration makes state resources available to help local jurisdictions with response and recovery efforts in areas affected across the state.

In December, a devastating tornado hit the US mid-west, leaving a trail of destruction in five states. President Joe Biden declared a federal emergency after nearly the entire town of Mayfield, Kentucky was wiped off the map. As many as 57 people were killed.

The Associated Press Contributed to this report