On May 4, 2007, before a 1.7-mile-wide category F5 tornado destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, Kan., residents said sirens alerted them for 20 minutes before the touch down -- giving them ample time to take shelter in cellars and basements.
The death toll, which stood at 12 on May 15, would have been greater without the siren warnings.
Response efforts, however, are under scrutiny. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said the federal government's response to the tornado was weakened by ongoing National Guard deployments to the Middle East and that State National Guard equipment sent to Iraq hadn't been replaced, which slowed rescue and recovery efforts.
