Just turned on CNN for the first time today, looking for reports on yesterday’s tornado damage around Oklahoma City.
I was met with live coverage of damage, but it was from a tornado today that had flattened a large area across Moore and south OKC, including two grade schools. Rescuers are still pulling children from the debris.
It looks much, much worse than yesterday. EF4 or EF5. It looks as bad as the F5 that hit Moore in 1999. One report said it was much worse. And it’s not over yet.
Say a prayer for Oklahoma.
I just caught a piece about it on my local news PT. They’re saying this could end up be the worst tornado in history. Good grief I hope it’s not as bad as that! 😯
I heard that too. It looks that bad. It really does. And I’m going by what I’m seeing, not by what the reporters are saying.
Hi Piedtype. I just read a comment from you that said you live in OKC, and I wanted to make sure you’re doing OK and to let you know I’m thinking of you. Since you’ve been posting, you must be well. Sorry to hear about all the damage, deaths and injuries in OK.
Hi, Deb. Thanks for coming over. I’m okay, just very upset. I lived in OKC for 50 years (now in Denver) and have a lot of family there. They’re all okay; they live on the north side and were untouched by the Sunday tornado. Yesterday’s storm went across the south side of OKC. Still, that’s my hometown …
I saw this on TV as it started up – huge quickly – moving very slowly. At first over open land then hit Moore. 2 schools: kids in the halls and in a bathroom. Roof gone and cars tossed on top of school. People in the neighborhood were immediately pulling kids out. One school accounted for – not sure about the other school some still missing?
Storms headed to Dallas, too.
Keep them in your thoughts and prayers
Hey, Washington – no foreign aid until our own are taken care of and storm shelters for all schools in Tornado Alley.
Not too much to ask.
I don’t recall that Oklahoma schools have storm shelters, but it seems like a no-brainer now. Cost prohibitive, of course, to build shelters large enough for all a school’s students and teachers. Maybe they’re gambling on schools being dismissed before storms hit (usually late afternoon). We always thought “duck and cover” in the hallways would be sufficient. Obviously not good enough today. No rationale sounds good enough right now.
Cost- not so much. Concrete culverts buried under ground with air vents/fan/good door – like the old cheap bomb shelters. Sure instructions are still available. It doesn’t have to be fancy with beds and all – it’s shelter underground in emergency. People used to build root cellars with sandbag walls underground? There must be underground shelters for kid in schools.
This happens yearly. How about a WPA type program?
In any case – No foreign aid until our own are taken care of – the whole country has needs. Fix America first.
More storms tonight and tomorrow.
Great last line on your comment
How about no corporate aid (tax “relief”) for large corporations? We that we could build shelters in every school in tornado alley….
Unlike a lot of tornadoes, there was not enough lead time on this one to do anything but shelter in place. And there was no shelter.
You’d think this would galvanize an appropriate response, but politics will probably get in the way. Rather like thinking Newtown would galvanize an appropriate response …
Dead children are an emotional appeal….until the next tragedy
This town had a big tornado skim the west side in 99, and another skim the east side a few years later – now a direct hit. Sensible people had shelters and listened to warnings that said 16-18 minutes to get underground or you won’t survive. They were wise to keep the kids off the buses. The schools had drills – they know the danger – cheap last resort shelters can be created – but people follow their priorities. Those who live/have family in tornado country probably do see things differently.
As you say, politics – would be better if the states kept more of the tax money so each could spend it as their state needs? Insane to be funding other countries when so much needs doing in our own.
An update I saw on TV today: Gov. Mary Fallin and the Moore mayor saying newer schools in Moore are required to have shelters. I wonder what percent of the schools there are “newer.” Now they need to go in and retrofit the older schools like this one was. Kids shouldn’t die just because their school happens to be one of the older ones.
We must have seen the same interview. They did say it was up to the districts and some were growing so fast the buildings were going up too fast (and state ed. dept was trying to insist on multiple safe rooms/pods built inside each school) I would worry about being trapped under collapsed buildings – sister in law in west TX buried a culvert “hole” to dive into beside house…always reminds me of Wizard of Oz. Lots of companies with $5,000. units to bury busy advertising here.
Really proud of OK residents – they show the rest of the country how to respond: neighbors ran to help immediately knowing responders would have to fight to get in there. Awareness, planning, and brave good people
If I ever moved back to OKC, I think I’d opt for a safe room, especially after hearing that some of those children made it to the school’s cellar and then were trapped there and drowned. The rooms are quicker and easier to get into than those little cellars they bury under your garage floor. My sister had one of those, and they had to move the car out of the garage before they could get into it. Plus access was difficult for those with physical problems. Another relative years ago, who was wheelchair-bound, had a safe room in her house that was decorated to look like just another interior room and was used every day as a sitting room, etc. For many years I had no idea it was a safe room.
Neighbors running to help neighbors. I like to think that’s nothing special, that people everywhere would do the same thing. But yes, they do know how to respond to tornadoes. Lord knows they get enough practice.
Older I get, the more I look at options – the ones under the garage seemed odd to me.
These days OK residents are out of the norm as far as immediately jumping to help – and not just sitting around whining…but as you and the Gov says, there’s been plenty of practice. There’s animal shelter networks moved into help with pets found, lost, or no where to go. That’s a real kindness too. One less trauma. One hurricane here they ripped pets out of elderly arms refusing to allow animals on transport or in shelters – result was the next time the people refused to go…policy has changed now. Kindness and common sense used to be so ordinary.
I am never so tempted to adopt another pet as when the dog or cat has been displaced by a storm.