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Survivors recall deadly twister of '66

Washburn University, Topeka devastated in F5 tornado

Story by Matt Miller (Contact)

9:52 p.m. Sunday, May 21, 2006

Despite the legend that Burnett's Mound would protect the city, Topekans watched on June 8, 1966, as an F5 tornado topped the mound and headed right into the heart of the Capital City.

Soon after the tornado touched down west of Auburn in southwestern Shawnee County, it grew to nearly 1/2 mile wide. It crossed Wanamaker north of 45th Street then topped Burnett's Mound as it passed over 37th and Fairlawn and I-470.

Once over the mound, the tornado tore into the city at times at F5 strength. It carved a path of destruction through neighborhoods near Gage and 29th. Trees were left barren and houses leveled.

"All I could think of is, 'God help us'. The kids were crying. It was not a good day," said Dodie Longstaff.

As the tornado moved northeast at 30 mph, it took aim on Washburn University's campus. Every University building was damaged and many destroyed. Buildings across campus were made into ruins; not even these larger college buildings could withstand the winds of an F5 twister.

"Twisted metal. Glass in the trees and stripped of all their leaves - those few that were standing. Trunks of large cedar trees," said Jim Hoogenaker. "Just this overwhelming force that came through."

As this monster tornado barreled into the downtown core, it moved straight toward the State Capitol Building, but veered just east of the Capitol and crushed many of the business in downtown Topeka.

Streets were littered with building materials. After the winds had passed, signs were barely hanging on to building facades, if left hanging at all.

Cars were toppled all over the city and tossed around into even larger piles of debris.

The tornado then moved through the Oakland neighborhood and passed Billard Airport, crossed the river and lifted.

When it was all said and done, Shawnee County had a 22-mile long scar from this devastating storm.

At the time, it was the costliest tornado on record at a staggering $100 million in 1966 dollars. Some estimates say that in today's dollars the damage would top half a billion.

Sixteen people lost their lives in Topeka and over 500 were injured.

"I was not prepared for the destruction, the loss of life, the new highway that was blasted through the city," Hoogenaker said.

Longtime journalist Bill Kurtis began his career in Topeka with this storm one of his first major broadcasts. He tells of the utter disbelief upon hearing of how bad this storm truly was.

"I remember Judge Vicars, Newt Vicars, walking in - and this was fully two hours after the tornado hit. We were trying to find out how serious the tornado was. And he said, 'well, Washburn's gone.' I said, 'Washburn's gone? What do you mean?' Well, he had walked through and he was the first eyewitness and to him Washburn did appear to be gone," Kurtis said.

"Cars were in trees. Students survived because they went to the science center. The law school was in a heap of sandstone and the other buildings too. And if it's that serious, then all the other stories that are coming in are probably true, too," he said.

The fortunate part to this is that most people were warned of this storm. The National Weather Bureau had placed the area under a tornado watch and news had reached Topeka that another tornado had hit Manhattan just before 6 p.m.

But even with the warnings, it is highly unlikely that anyone was truly prepared for what was ahead for the city of Topeka. The daunting task of picking up the pieces of broken lives and a broken city would quickly be started. It took many years for the scar to heal across the city, but it will forever be etched into the mind of Topekans who endured such a violent fury of nature.