Twisters close KC airport

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Tornadoes damaged or destroyed five homes in rural Neosho County, Kan., Thursday evening, and another storm system prompted officials at Kansas City International Airport to evacuate nearly 2,000 people from its terminals.

Tornado sirens wailed across the northern part of the metro Kansas City area, and unofficial reports had a twister touching down near Weston, Mo. But the National Weather Service office in Pleasant Hill said that tornado had not been confirmed, and there didn't appear to be any damage in the area.

Joe McBride, a spokesman for Kansas City International Airport, said the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the airport's control tower closed around 5:10 p.m. after tornado warnings were issued in the nearby Weston area.

Also because of those warnings, airport officials ushered some 2,000 people from the terminals and into tunnels leading to the parking garages, he said. The evacuation lasted about 40 minutes.

"What we're always afraid of is that people in the terminals can get [to the tunnels] pretty quickly, but buses and cars keep pulling in," McBride said. "And the airplanes on the field, whether they can take off or not."