Postcard: Greensburg

A tiny Kansas town was obliterated by a tornado last spring. But its citizens are using the opportunity to turn their community green. Building back from the rubble

Travis Heying for TIME

Residents of Greensburg, Kansas are building energy-efficient homes and offices.

The Tornado that hit Greensburg on May 4 took its time, rolling up Main Street like it was on a Sunday stroll to church. Ron Shank, owner of the Kansas town's General Motors dealership, hid with his wife beneath a quilt in their basement, but they heard the storm rip their home from its foundations. Marvin George, a pastor at the Baptist church, took shelter in his closet. "We just knelt and prayed," he says. "I wasn't scared until the next morning, when I saw the carnage."

The tornado measured 5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the highest possible rating, and...

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