A series of tornadoes pummeled Kansas and Missouri on Sunday, killing an estimated 22 people as storms left a swath of destruction a quarter-mile wide in some places.

I was born in Wyandotte County and remember all the tornadoes we had while I was growing up. I have atleast one tornado dream a week ever since our house was destroyed and my mother and I were trapped in a flooded basement. I was in the second grade how ever old that is, and as the basement flooded I split the bottom of my foot open on broken window glass trying to climb above the water. Then my favorite tree was uprooted and dropped in through our roof.

I have one brother that still lives there. I haven't talked with him yet to see if he's okay.

In Missouri, Lawrence County an estimated dozen people were killed when a tornado careened through the southwest part of the state.

Two women were reported dead in nearby Greene and Christian counties, said Dave Brown, an investigator for the Greene County Medical Examiner's Office. One of the women was killed near Battlefield in Christian County and the other in rural Greene County.

Two more people were killed in Camden County, about 70 miles northeast of Lawrence County, the Camden County Sheriff's Department said.

In Kansas, Col. Joy Moser of the state's emergency management office, said her agency confirmed four deaths in Girard and Franklin in Crawford County and one in Wyandotte County in the Kansas City area.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared seven counties disaster areas, and Missouri Gov. Bob Holden said the process was under way to declare disaster areas in his state.

Missouri officials told the National Guard to be ready to go to storm-damaged areas. Holden said the damage was "the worst I've seen from a tornado in several years."

At Kansas City, Mo. International Airport, officials stopped all flights and evacuated the terminals. Passengers were ushered into underground tunnels leading to parking garages. After about 30 minutes, the passengers were allowed to leave and the airport was reopened. I remember flying out there recently and my X-wife, a Flight Attendant asked a lady at the Airport (on the phone) if arrivals were on the upper or lower level, and after quite a pause she answer,"Honey, there's only one floor here."

Officials at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., said they treated 22 people injured by the tornado, but most were released after suffering minor cuts and bruises.

Holden toured Northmoor, a small town in Platte County, Mo., where between 25 and 30 homes were either damaged or destroyed. The town's city hall and police station also were damaged.

"I had to hold on with all my strength," said resident Charles Tholl, who was with his girlfriend and five children when the storm hit. "It was scary. It felt like the house was twirling."

The tornadoes were part of a large storm system that hit the Midwest, spawning twisters in South Dakota and Nebraska as well.

Cars and trucks were tossed into a ravine full of splintered trees in Kansas City, Kan., and several houses were knocked off their foundations.

Jodee Nirschl, whose house is directly across from the ravine, said windows were blown out and a chunk of the second floor was missing.

"My daughter's room is gone, but she's OK," Nirschl said, her voice breaking and tears coming to her eyes. "As long as I have my kids and my husband, I'll be OK."

Officials at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., said they treated 22 people injured by the tornado, but most were released after suffering minor cuts and bruises.

The largest tornado first touched down west of Bonner Springs in Leavenworth County, Kan., around 3:30 p.m., said Lynn Maximuk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
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It moved through Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties and east into Platte and Clay counties in Missouri, doing heavy damage along the way in the northern section of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The tornado reached 500 yards across at its widest, Maximuk said. It finally died out shortly before 6:30 p.m. in Ray County, Mo., northeast of Kansas City, meteorologist Lisa Schmit said.

The storm tore a wide swath through Gladstone, Mo., damaging roofs and shattering windows.

Thank Gawd, We don't have disasters here in Los Angeles!