Story Highlights • NEW: Tornado warnings continue through night in six states
• NEW: More than 60 touchdowns reported Saturday
• Tornado strikes high school in Sweetwater, Oklahoma
• Most of Greensburg, Kansas, heavily damaged or destroyed
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(CNN) -- Tornadoes tore across the nation's midsection for a second night Saturday, 24 hours after a storm leveled Greensburg, Kansas.
A tornado struck Sweetwater, Oklahoma, about 8:15 p.m. Saturday, causing major damage to a high school and other buildings.
"The tornado came through and just dead-center punched Sweetwater," Roger Mills County Sheriff Joe Hay told KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City. He said there was extensive damage but just one minor injury in the tiny town.
The storm continued to grind north through northwestern Oklahoma toward Kansas for more than 45 minutes.
KOCO's Matt Leinbauer reported seeing damage from another confirmed tornado just east of Arnett, Oklahoma.
A massive tornado killed at least nine people in southwestern Kansas on Friday night and destroyed nearly everything in its path.
Emergency crews called off the search for more victims Saturday evening as the new storms pressed in, The Associated Press reported.
Tornado warnings continued throughout the night in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa. Flood warnings and watches were in place for South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska.
"This is a particularly dangerous situation," the National Weather Service said.
The weather service's Storm Prediction Center said more than 60 tornado touchdowns had been reported on Saturday -- 40 of them between 6 and 9 p.m. Central Time.
Eleven people were injured in Osborne, Kansas, when a tornado struck a Pizza Hut and a nearby hotel, said Juanita Arnold, emergency management director for Osborne County, in the northern part of the state.
"My town is gone," Greensburg City Administrator Steve Hewitt said after surveying the wreckage earlier Saturday.
Kansas Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Sharon Watson said eight of the deaths were in Kiowa County, where Greensburg is located, and one was in Stafford County, to the northeast.
"I believe 95 percent of the homes are gone," Hewitt said of Greensburg. "Downtown buildings are gone, my home is gone, and we've got to find a way to make this work and get this town back on its feet." (Watch homes turned into piles of bricks and splintered wood )
The Red Cross said about 90 percent of the town, population about 1,500, was destroyed or heavily damaged. The central business district, City Hall and high school were destroyed, but the courthouse and the town's only bar remained standing, witnesses said.
Hundreds of residents were taken to shelters in schools and other facilities in nearby towns, the Red Cross said.
"We will not reopen the town until we know it's safe for the residents to come back," Hewitt said.
Storm chaser Darin Brunin told CNN he saw people in the streets walking "in shock, not even knowing what was going on." Many homes were leveled, limping dogs wandered aimlessly, and injured cattle were scattered across a highway, he said. (Watch an aerial view of the devastation )
"It wasn't a pleasant sight to see at all, very horrible," Brunin said.
Another storm chaser, Marty Logan, estimated the twister was at least a half-mile wide. Two smaller tornadoes followed the larger twister, sweeping northward into Greensburg, he said. (Watch a tornado bear down on an Oklahoma storm chaser )
The weather service reported a tornado in Greensburg about 9:30 p.m. Friday. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf said warning sirens alerted most residents to take shelter.
Katie White told The Associated Press she was driving through Greensburg when she heard the tornado warning. She and several others took shelter in the store's walk-in freezer, the AP said.
When they came out, White said, the store was gone.
No repeat of Katrina, congressman vows
"We're not going to let a disaster happen here like what happened with [Hurricane] Katrina," Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kansas, told reporters Saturday afternoon. "We're going to take care of people first and then help this city rebuild."
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said state legislators have asked President Bush to quickly designate that part of Kansas a disaster area to make the area eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance.
Roberts said the White House sent condolences to the Kansans affected.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has already declared Kiowa County a disaster area, Watson said.
Red Cross spokeswoman Andrea Anglin said Greensburg had no electricity, gas or running water.
At least 400 residents had been moved by bus to shelters -- in Haviland to the east and Mullinville and Bucklin to the south, Anglin said.
Greensburg looks like images of the aftermath of atomic bombs in Japan during World War II, Roberts said.
"It just looks like ground zero," he said.
A curfew is in place overnight starting at 8 p.m. (9 p.m. ET). About 40 National Guard troops will provide security, Watson said.
Rescue crews have pulled some people alive from the rubble, and more are expected to be found in upcoming days, Hewitt said. He did not give an exact number of those found Saturday. (Watch tornado survivors climb out of damaged building )
Rescue efforts were hampered by debris, some of which has caused flat tires. Knoefel said many of the first responders "are in shock" and are dealing with the mental toll of having lost homes themselves.
Communication lines were down and cell phone service was intermittent, Sebelius said.
Greensburg is best known for having the world's largest hand-dug well and being home to a 1,000-pound pallasite meteorite. After the storm, the structure around the well was gone, and there were reports the meteorite was missing.
Treating the injured
"We still unfortunately don't know how many people are actually going to be confirmed as fatalities," Sebelius said. "We know in addition to the nine that there are a number of people very critically injured, but we're still searching for residents."
The storm collapsed one of the wings of Greensburg's Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, trapping 30 people who were later rescued with minor injuries, said Sharon Watson of the Kansas Emergency Management Agency .
More than 60 people were taken to hospitals in neighboring towns. Four were listed in intensive care at two Wichita hospitals.
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Imagen de radar de Greensburg cuando el tornado se encontraba próximo al pueblo.


Un tornado en una ciudad al sur de Kansas, Estados Unidos, ha provocado la muerte de 9 personas y ha destruido la mayor parte de Greensburg, una ciudad al sur de Kansas, según reportaron las autoridades. Se han reportado más de 60 heridos cuando el tornado colisionó con el poblado.

Más de un 90% de la población (de 1.600 habitantes) fue arrasada, incluyendo el hospital y escuelas y hogares, según oficiales de la Cruz Roja dijeron. Las autoridades meteorológicas han advertido la posibilidad de que otro tornado pueda ocurrir en el medio-oeste de Estados Unidos el sábado próximo.

Una advertencia de tornado fue dada en Nebraska, al norte de Kansas. Greensburg, a alrededor de 200 km de Wichita, recibió el tornado directamente el viernes. Los residentes están siendo evacuado, mientra la Guardia Nacional se ha encargado de la seguridad y los esfuerzos por el rescate. "Tememos que todavía muchas personas se encuentren atrapadas en los escombros de las construcciones", advirtió Steve Hewitt, el alcalde de la ciudad. "La taza de muertos podría aumentar".

"Esta es una catástrofe inmensa para este pequeño pueblo", dijo en una conferencia de prensa. "Mi hogar fue destruida, los hogares de mi staff fueron destruidos". "Debemos encontrar el modo de hacer que esto trabaje y volver a las raíces. Será difícil".

Los residentes reportaron que la alarma contra tornado fue dada 20 minutos antes de que el tornado colisionara, dándoles la oportunidad de refugiarse. Pero la tormenta arrasó con las contrucciones y algunos refugios bajo-tierra. Una de las estructuras que aún se encuentra en pie incluye el tribunal. El ayuntamiento, las escuelas, y las empresas también fueron destruidas junto con los hogares.

Al menos seis personas fallecieron en el condado Kiowa, donde Greensburg se encuentra, y una en un condado vecino.

El servicio meteorológico nacional dio a conocer que el tornado era un F4 según la escala Fujita. ''Devastadores''.