The city of Kite, population about 200, is still standing in eastern Johnson County.
"Everybody's got a tree down" and mobile homes outside of town were destroyed by this morning's storms, Fire Chief Donald Peebles said. But media reports that the entire town was destroyed are not true, including online reports with CNN and USA Today, Peebles said.
Mayor Kenneth Carroll was able to take calls at City Hall earlier today, though telephone service was spotty and water and power were out.
"It took out a big portion of the city gym," Carroll said. "There is probably 10 or 15 houses that have trees on top of them, at least 10 or 15."
North of town, in an area called Gumlog, mobile homes were destroyed, Carroll said. Only one serious injury was reported in or around Kite. A man broke his leg while cutting fallen trees, Peebles said.
Peebles said he wouldn't even describe the situation in town as "very serious."
"I would just call it a problem," he said.
