At least one tornado tore through the Wichita, Kansas, area late Friday, damaging dozens of buildings, officials said.
An estimated 50 to 100 structures were impacted, Jim Jonas, Wichita’s director of communications, told CNN in a phone interview.
Officials are still working on determining what happened exactly, Jonas said, adding that most of the damage happened after dark.
Wichita Fire Chief Tammy Snow is currently in the nearby town of Andover, providing help in assessing the damage there, Jonas added.
Andover city administrator Jennifer McCausland said a tornado caused significant damage to a YMCA community center.
“We do know that several homes and cars were damaged,” she told CNN in phone interview. “The biggest struggle right now is to get the roads clear.”
Employees and customers at Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store hid in the bathroom as the tornado passed nearby, which cut their power.
“We could see it right across from our business,” said Sierra Dobbie, a store manager. “It was pretty scary. I work with a bunch of kids, and I needed to get them to a safe spot.”
Law enforcement were doing door-to-door check-ins on Andover residents, according to Chad Crittenden, a spokesperson for the Kansas Highway Patrol.
“We are uncertain about the extent of the damage, emergency crews are responding,” the police department said on Facebook.
Andover is located about 14 miles east of Wichita.
It was one of multiple tornadoes to touch down in Kansas, according to Gov. Laura Kelly, who declared a state of disaster emergency.
“We have learned from past experience that we can’t wait for the storm to hit before we respond,” Kelly said. “By taking these steps early we are able to more quickly react when the counties ask for assistance.”
As of 12:05 a.m. ET Saturday, there were more than 20,000 homes and businesses without power in Kansas, according to PowerOutage.us.
In all, 15 tornadoes—14 of which were across Kansas or Nebraska—were reported Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center. The other tornado was in Florida, the center said.
Additionally, there have been more than 70 reports of wind damage and over 50 reports of hail.
In Enterprise, Kansas, there was hail up to four inches in diameter.
The CNN Wire contributed to this report.