ISO:Tornadoes Hit Catastrophe Level

The killer twisters have claimed more than 30 lives and leveled neighborhoods, making some unrecognizable, officials said.

Spokesmen for the Kansas Insurance Department and Missouri Department of Insurance say it will not be until later in the week before they know how much the disasters will cost, but it is apparent the twisters in both states were killers.

Scott Holeman, communications director for the Kansas department, said that so far seven people were known dead in seven counties.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared two counties in the Northeast portion of the state, near Kansas City, Wyandotte and Leavenworth, and five counties in the Southeast part of the state, Crawford, Labette, Cherokee, Neosho and Miami, disaster areas.

Megan Ingmire, a communications assistant for Gov. Sebelius, said she was touring the areas struck by the tornadoes today with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

In Missouri, Randy McConnel, communications director for the insurance department, said the most recent count was 34 dead and rising.

"This has been devastating to dozens of communities," he said.

In Pierce City, a population of 14,000, 15 people were killed when a National Guard Armory collapsed, he said. Pierce City and Stockton, Mr. McConnel said, where tornadoes struck the "old downtown" areas, "do not look like towns anymore."

A total of 17 counties were hit, affecting 50 communities throughout the state south and east of Kansas City, Mo.

Missouri Gov. Bob Holden activated the National Guard to help out.

Crystal Payton, a spokeswoman for the FEMA, said they are currently coordinating with the local state agency and assessing the situation. She said at the time that governors of neither state had requested a federal declaration for disaster aid. She said it was still too soon in the process to determine if it would be granted.