Tornado Strikes Kansas, Earthquake Shakes Costa Rica

Two Latter-day Saint families lost their homes, but none were injured when a tornado cut a swath across the Wichita, Kansas, area on April 25.

It was reported that the tornado stayed on the ground for seventy miles, with winds that reached as high as 250 miles per hour. At least twenty-two people were killed, and more than fifteen hundred were left homeless.

The two LDS families who lost their homes lived on McConnell Air Force Base, and the United States Air Force is providing housing for them. But local members helped meet their immediate needs for food and some items of clothing.

“Members have been very responsive to the calls for community assistance,” said Rusty Butler, Wichita Kansas Stake public affairs director.

Elsewhere, all members and missionaries were safe after an earthquake struck Costa Rica in Central America on April 23. One member suffered a minor injury during cleanup efforts.

A number of homes belonging to members were damaged. The road between the nation’s capital, San Jose, and Puerto Limon was severed. It was reported that the land was raised by one and one-half meters (nearly five feet) in the quake, leaving the docks in the port far from the water. Piers will have to be extended before the port can function again.