On the night of May 4, 2007, Greensburg, Kansas, was devastated by a massive EF5 tornado nearly 2 miles wide that destroyed 95 percent of the city’s homes and businesses, leveled nearly all of the city, severely damaged the rest, killed twelve people, and injured hundreds more. Those remembered among the dead are Claude Hopkins, Larry Hoskins, Evelyn Kelly, David Lyon, Colleen Panzer, Ron Rediger, Harold Schmidt, Sarah Tackett, Beverly Volz, Richard Fry, Robert Tim Buckman, and Max McColm. In the immediate aftermath, MESO, the Multi-community Environmental Storm Observatory, arrived within minutes to assist with triage, search and rescue, communication, and consoling victims, while Greensburg looked to rebuild and become a model for rural America, with a water tower constructed in 2008 standing as a tribute to that belief.