Updated at 9:49 p.m. with tornado warnings canceled — A large tornado caused damage south of Lawrence and in the small town of Linwood, Kansas, on Tuesday night, but looked to miss the majority of the Kansas City metro area.
Around 30 houses were damaged in Linwood, according to Kim Buchanan, deputy director of Emergency Management in Leavenworth County.
"It is something we haven't seen in Leavenworth County in a very long time," she said.
A few minor injuries had been reported as of Tuesday evening, she said, and two missing people were located. But search and rescue was continuing.
By 8:30 p.m., the National Weather Service canceled all of the tornado warnings, including those in Clay and Ray counties. The Clay County Sheriff's Twitter account said there was damage reported east of Kearney, Missouri, too.
Storm damage is being reported east of Kearney. No injuries have been reported at this time.
— Clay County Sheriff (@SheriffClayCo) May 29, 2019
Please stay home or in a safe place and let emergency crews get to those who need help. #MOwx
The first report of a tornado touching down in the area was at 6:15 p.m., Douglas County Emergency Management PIO Bob Newton told KCTV5. He said there were no immediate reports of injuries, but there was damage in Pleasant Grove, south of Lawrence.
“We’ve had several homes significantly damaged," he said, adding, "Power lines down all over in that area."
Large trees, power lines, and debris are along roads on the southeastern edge of the city. Some are impassable. Please do not go sight seeing tornado damage. This only hampers the efforts of emergency workers.
— Lawrence Police (@LawrenceKS_PD) May 29, 2019
More damage south of Lawrence. #kswx pic.twitter.com/KvrIsjduoF
— WIBW Shawn Wheat (@wibwShawn) May 29, 2019
Matt May, the Director of Emergency Management of Wyandotte County, said that as of about 8:15 p.m., there wasn’t any significant damage, just minor debris damage. He did caution that his crew was in the preliminary stages of damage assessment.
“It’s mostly been what I call tornado wrap — typically large pieces of metal that the wind catches them and rips them off, signage, metal roofs off of buildings, those kinds of things. Sometimes it’s debris that’s not from our area,” May said.
Missouri state Rep. Doug Richey in Excelsior Springs was walking the area near the intersection of Missouri 92 and U.S. 69 north after a tornado passed through the area Tuesday evening.
"There's some house damage as it crossed over the highway and a lot of down trees," he said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
