A tornado sliced through Tonganoxie about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, causing severe damage to the city’s downtown area, as well as numerous homes in this southern Leavenworth County town.

According to reports, a 4-year-old Lawrence girl was injured Friday morning and taken by Life Flight helicopter to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The girl’s grandfather was working on the roof of a porch when the porch collapsed. The child was on the porch at the time of the accident.

The storm originated east of Topeka and slid across southern Jefferson County and northern Douglas County before roaring into southern Leavenworth County.

Part of the roof was lifted from Tonganoxie Elementary School, exposing at least eight classrooms to the elements.

The storm’s path was centered on the downtown business district, and two to three blocks south and north of the downtown. A number of businesses lost their roofs. And the Assembly of God Church at Sixth and Church streets, south of downtown, was severely damaged.

The Mirror will continue to update this Web site, and the newspaper is planning a special edition for its readers on Saturday morning.