My understanding is that some of these children are third graders.
This is going to be bad.
Update: Courtesy of CNN:
Areas of metropolitan Oklahoma City appeared to be in shreds Monday afternoon after a massive tornado moved through the region. "The houses are destroyed. ... Completely leveled," a helicopter pilot for CNN affiliate KFOR said. A school was apparently among the structures leveled by the twister.
I have not yet heard of any deaths, but I am having trouble believing that there will not be any fatalities considering the damage I am seeing on the television right now.
Update 2: According to news reports the 4th, 5th and 6th grade classes were evacuated and they are safely at a nearby church. That seems counter intuitive to me, but I don't know any details I don't know the reasoning.
There were 75 people in the school when the tornado hit.
So far they are not reporting any deaths but there is also a neighborhood all around the school and it is flattened like a pancake, so things do not look good.
Update 3: More pictures:
Update 4: Reports of two dozen or more fatalities in that school. They are apparently the missing school children.
Update 5: President Obama has notified FEMA to get "all available assistance" to the area ASAP.
That is good because it is beyond clear that these people need as much assistance as possible right now.
This is a tragedy (and no doubt Obama planned it, right?) Anyone else curious as to why these events are mostly in red states? I do think God is talking to them in the only way they might listen.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Pat Roberston will spin this.
DeleteYeah God is hurting small children as a way to talk to us.... that is very inconsiderate to even talk like that when families are mourning small children... if you had this happen to your children would you be ok with people posting garbage stating your kid died because God has a message for us.... Keep your stupid theories to yourself!
DeleteSphinctors who talk like that are so tone deaf. Best ignored if you're not close enough to give them a pie-in-the-face.
Deletecan you say irony? I believe the earlier poster is just pointing out teh ridiculousness of right wing "logic" by applying it as rwnj's do.
DeleteAre you serious? Your comment is beyond ignorant and cut from the same bolt of cloth as Pat Roberts and ilk are. Ignorant and repulsive.
DeleteObviously the tornado was sent by Obama's national weather service to distract from his numerous scandals. And he sent it to a proud hard working real American red state. No such thing as coincidences. Anything else is a false narrative.
DeleteI just saw some live shots from a helicopter. That area is flattened. They're saying they have no info on casualties yet. The hospitals are overwhelmed. Hard to watch. They said that tornado was a mile & a half wide.
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine after seeing the photos on TV. Prayers to all of them and the rescuers....
ReplyDeleteI can only hope for two results from this. One: the two Oklahoma senators who voted repeatedly to deny even one penny of disaster aid to the Hurricane Sandy victims, and their Oklahoma constituents, will have learned a lesson from their own disaster, and will think twice before knee-jerkingly trying to impose meanness and their own selfishness on others who are hurting.
DeleteAnd two: that the parents of the dead and maimed children in the gun-toting-happy state of Oklahoma will now have some depth of compassion for what the parents of the Sandy Hook School massacre have suffered.
Unfortunately, Oklahoma is one of the reddest of the red states, a hotbed of the tea party, and a place where the 'other' is mostly despised. Therefore, I doubt that either of my hopes will come true.
I just saw pix of that tornado..b iggest thing I have ever seen. Must have been terrifying to see coming. I think of our tornado drills here, and we all have the kids sit along interior walls, which will do nothing for you if the building is flattened. I think someone ought to rethink keeping students inside these old buildings in a storm.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting that, when the local authorities were issuing their warnings to people, they were saying that you had to go underground, that interior rooms would offer no protection. Unfortunately they were right. May God protect them all.
DeleteBeaglemom
Maybe the church had a large basement, so that has been the evacuation plan in case of tornadoes? What a tragedy for all involved. I can not imagaine how it would feel to have your kids at school when something like this happens, and be unable to get to them. My prayers go out to all of the people there, and other places hit by terrible weather.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in south-eastern KS, the small local high school did not have a basement. However the church across the street had a very large basement. They often sent the kids over there during threatening weather.
DeleteBTW, the town was hit with a small tornado back in the late 1960's. That church was the only building in town to receive significant damage.
KWTV: All the kids at Briarwood Elem School have been accounted for. School took a direct hit #okctornado
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/oklahoma-city-tornado-2013_n_3308384.html
Oh, I don't like the sound of "accounted for." That's not the same as "are okay."
DeleteIvyfree
Thank God!
DeleteHard to believe with all that devastation.
President Obama Is Monitoring The Situation
ReplyDeleteA senior administration official passes along the following:
The Administration, through FEMA, is closely monitoring the storm. The President has been notified by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco and is receiving updates from his team as information comes in from the ground. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has spoken with Governor Mary Fallin to make sure there are no unmet needs and to make clear that at the President’s direction the Administration and FEMA stand ready to provide all available assistance in response to the severe weather.
The Administration continues to urge all those in affected or potentially affected areas to follow the direction of state and local officials as this severe weather continues.
Huge tornado slams Oklahoma
ReplyDeletePics, video
http://storify.com/nbcnews/huge-tornado-slams-oklahoma/
We’ve Got Your Back Oklahoma
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2013/05/20/weve-got-your-back-oklahoma/
Remember. There's no such thing as global climate change.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth are public buildings in tornado regions built without shelters? Oh yeah- I forgot- money.
Ivyfree
Well there is the idea that people should pay at least 10 % of their incomes to churches because.. jeebus and bibles andor else hell.
DeleteKeeping the pastors and priests in nice cars and buildings allows them to tell the survivors that "gawd's will has been done and he was watchin' out fer you all".
Other places pay taxes and take preventative measures, aka goovermint interference and socialism. Next thing they'll be tellin' people the tornados and hurricanes are caused by global warming!
The photos and video look like a bad, big-budget action movie.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine leaving a storm shelter to see that EVERYTHING around you is just a massive field of debris.
How do you even start to deal with it?
live coverage on kfor.com. Devastation resembles Joplin, MO but much bigger area.
ReplyDeleteThe church must have had a large basement or storm cellar that the school didn't have that could better accommodate the students.
ReplyDeleteI don't find it counter intuitive. I highly doubt that they brought them to a church because they thought that god would better protect them if they were taking refuge from a natural disaster at his house.
No no you misunderstand me.
DeleteI did not think it counter intuitive to go to a church, I was talking about the choice of evacuating the older children and leaving the younger ones in the school.
Though now it seems that perhaps only the third graders were left there as I have heard no reports about those in kindergarten, first grade, or second.
Leave Gryph alone, Chella. You obviously don't understand him nor know his heart, and now is not the time.
DeleteSorry for the misunderstanding! Thanks for clearing it up.
Deleteanon: ive been a long time reader and commenter at IM. and i was neither rude or disrespectful with my comment. it was a misunderstanding, which gryph cleared up for me.
DeleteWaiting for Fred Phelps and his Westboro gang to make a stupid statement.
ReplyDeleteBachmann usually has a spiffy little reason for regional tragedies too....
DeleteThere is 'NO' excuse for the lawmakers in Oklahoma to have a basement to go into when a tornado threat is heading their way. And the children in school can only hug a goddamn wall to hold onto. This makes absolutely no sense. RIP little angels. Another 24 children dead unnecessarily.
ReplyDeleteI just spoke with my brother who lives in OKC. We were discussing why in hell the school districts didn't learn anything from the 1999 tornado and build basements in the rebuilt schools. One would think that would be very high on the agenda.
DeleteObviously they didn't learn a damned thing.
I don't mean to sound insensitive and wish this never happened but...
DeleteBuilding Codes = Big Government
Personally I don't think they should allow and structure to be built in tornado alley without an underground shelter. But then again, I don't live in fear of my government.
climate change, my gluteus maximus... fucking idiot...
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteThis is business as usual for folks in tornado alley. Not sure why anyone would live there but people do and it happens every year. Joplin MO was the last devastating event with 158 dead. I guess it's as much a fact of life for folks in the midwest as is May snow for us in Alaska. I'll take the snow any day.
Deletewhat an idiotic statement. "Tornado alley" isn't a geographic designation. It tends to shift over time. so may was well say anywhere in the midwest/plains. And hurricanes along the coat, , and wildfires elsewhere, and dust storms in the desert. Get the point - everywhere has its natural disaster possibilities.
Deleteso P.s. if you are patting yourself on the back as you type from your underground bomb shelter - FLOODS!!!!
I'm already sick of people posting that you shouldn't live in "tornado alley". I grew up in tornado alley. This is a HUGE part of the US - from Texas up to Nebraska. From Colorado over to Missouri. Should we just shut down a third of the US?
DeleteAlso - already sick of people saying there should be shelters built everywhere. Yeah, maybe. But how? Building basements isn't really feasable. Where I grew up, people had to use explosives to build even a bit of a shallow cellar. You think that is possible for normal people? What about mobile homes? Think they should have a basement? Yeah - schools should be protected. And that was an old school, which was probably stronger than the newer schools being built today.
But, these "monster" storms are like the hand of god coming down & sweeping everything down. In circles. There are no building codes that can protect against that.
Instead of focusing on making a third of he US barren of people or telling people how they should have built their homes & businesses, let's focus on helping these poor souls.
Well... I guess GOD wanted this, because, you know, those bible thumpers are just that... THUMPERS.
ReplyDeleteSnark
My thoughts are with all those people down there. I hope there are no more fatalities, and the missing are just that... MISSING!
NOW what will the TeapukeliCons say - the ones who were against funding FEMA, and actually cut it? Will they hold out their hands, just like Texas did, too?
ReplyDeleteAn awfully early start of an awfully HUGE tornado season. :(
Oklahoma
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2013/05/20/oklahoma/
Yes, Sarah, "global warming, your ass!!!!" Please for the love of God, just STFU!!!!
ReplyDeleteEVERY time she opens her STOOPID mouth, it is shut FOR her. She doesn't care. Not ONE iota.
DeleteWAIT for her "praying for Oklahoma" post. It's coming as soon as those idiot advisers figure out how to spin it to her favor of what she said.
Tornado Alley. This happens each year in the midwest when warm southern air meets cold northern air. Nothing much to do with global climate change, just a fact of life in the midwest. Still, climate change is real, but this tornado event probably has nothing to do with climate change.
DeleteNo it doesn't, 6:11 PM. Too bad we're giving her, AND her oh-so-smart consultants, their talking points.
DeleteThe Devastation In Oklahoma
ReplyDeleteA terrifying time-lapse here. Mark Berman is live-blogging. A reader writes:
What would you do if there was announcement on a typical spring morning that a bomb would go off that afternoon? That’s what happened today in Oklahoma City. This morning, all of the normally frantic TV weather people were full of stern and serious warnings. Today – like yesterday – had all of the signs of being a terrible and destructive weather day. All we could do was wait.
At about 3 p.m., huge, ugly tornadoes rolled in, just as kids were being dismissed from school and parents were gambling with the idea of head to them or hunker down. Fortunately, just a few miles north or south made the difference between sunshine and wrath. I made it to my kids, picking them up while my wife, a teacher, sat in a basement with her students on the other side of town.
Now here I sit in the living room, watching a swath of death and debris on a loop from Moore, Oklahoma. The movie theatre we go to. Smashed homes in a path like a giant’s footprints. Two schools in rubble.
My thought was to email you, to let Dish readers know that in the midst of rhetoric what real chaos and fear looks like. Today started with the cold feeling that this would likely happen, which is worse and more dreadful than anything I can imagine. Hug your families, Dish readers. And keep Oklahoma, deep Red and crazy Oklahoma, in your thoughts.
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/05/20/the-devastation-in-oklahoma/
‘Utter Horror’: Fox’s Shepard Smith Delivers Emotionally-Charged Report On Oklahoma Tornado
ReplyDeleteFox News’ Shepard Smith had the unenviable job today of reporting the Oklahoma tornado’s devastation as it happened live to his viewers. The anchor clearly let his emotion and empathy shine through as he described the “utter horror” of an entire town destroyed.
“People who are in their short sleeve white shirts and their yellow shirts and their blue jackets,” Smith reported, “who just a little while ago lived in a town with their neighbors and this morning sent their kids off to school, are now on top of piles of completely unrecognizable debris.” He asked, “And you wonder, are they hearing sounds from beneath this? Are they digging in this one place because they know of somebody who needs help?”
While Smith expressed hope that everyone in this town would be “fine” in the end, he warned of a darker outcome. “It would be safe to assume that with of something of this magnitude, the reports of days to come may be quite sad indeed.” He continued describing the unfathomable destruction, remarking that there is no way to truly capture the scope of it on television. “You cannot know how bad it was, because the camera lens is not wide enough to show you how far and wide it stretches.”
Later, Smith described what it was like to be a kid in Mississippi, watching a “little sliver” of a tornado come out of the sky. But in Oklahoma, he explained, those little slivers can come down and widen until they are up to 1-2 miles wide, as happened today. Watching the story unfold, Smith said “you realize the power of mother nature and you realize how fragile all of this really is.”
Watch video below, via Fox News:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/utter-horror-foxs-shepard-smith-delivers-emotionally-charged-report-on-oklahoma-tornado/
When they rebuild it, will they still be screaming, "we (re)built it ourselves!"??
DeleteI do feel sorry for their loss, and imagine that this event must be horrific and life-traumatizing. But I have had quite enough of these angry red-staters refusing to comprehend other people's losses, grasp the extent to which we are all interconnected, and understand that we are all one humanity. We are all in this life, on this planet, and in this nation together: tragedy and misfortune can befall any of us, at any time, and no one is immune. If they can learn this lesson from what they have just suffered, their tragedy will not have been in vain.
OMG it's only devastating to Fox because it happened in America. Where was the Fox outrage over the building collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1100? Bad things are only bad when they happen to Americans, right Fox News?
DeleteAt Least 37 Dead in Oklahoma Tornadoes, Medical Examiner Says
ReplyDeleteHomes were flattened, cars were flung through the air and at least two schools packed with children were destroyed as a huge tornado, perhaps a mile wide, tore through towns near Oklahoma City on Monday, killing at least 37 people and sending rescuers and residents dashing to dig out survivors buried in rubble.
As the injured began flooding into local hospitals, the authorities said many remained trapped, even as rescue workers struggled to make their way through debris-clogged streets to the devastated suburb of Moore, where much of the damage occurred.
Amy Elliott, the spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner, said that at least 37 people had died, and officials said that toll was likely to climb.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/us/tornado-oklahoma.html?emc=na
With all the tornado warning in the area since yesterday..why would the school be open and why would parents send their kids to school with all the warning s out there.
ReplyDeleteOMG. That is EXACTLY what I have been thinking all afternoon????????? They have been warning since last night that today, MOnday, would be particularly bad there.
DeleteWhy would you send your child to school???
Twenty dead children already.
The pictures of the children being carried out of the school that was destroyed.
I just went and peeked at my sleeping 6 yr old. I'm lucky.
My prayers are with the people of OK tonight...and with those who have lost their little angels.
Apparently you have not lived in the Midwest. The storm predictors had the area where tornadoes were possible across four states. No one can predict exactly when or where one will hit, only where it is most likely to occur. With luck, you will have ten minutes to seek shelter when they do spot an actual tornado on the ground. But we can not shelter during every possible threat.
DeleteSchools are usually safer than homes. You think it would be safer for children to be home - probably by themselves, because parents do work you know. Some homes are apartments. Some are mobile homes.
DeleteAnd....you saw the homes that were flattened. Usually, when bad weather comes, the school is one of the safest buildings in an area.
In the olden days of the cold war, most schools were considered evac. shelters.
Plus - tornados come QUICKLY. You can't outrun a tornado. Tornados will throw a car in the air. I've seen a locomotive that was picked up & moved down the street by a tornado.
Prayers for all those affected.
ReplyDeleteYes - these folks should get all the federal help available.
The senators from there though do not support federal aide to other states for any reason -- like Texas -- they have had the harsh reality hit them full force -- we are all in this together - one nation -- and government can help during times like this. Too bad the senators are too blinded to learn that lesson.
But right now what matters is helping everyone in need and prayers for all.
Worst tornado in history? Who's hysterical now? You Liberals, as usual, constantly prove your ignorance. Look up the Great TriState tornado of 1925....
ReplyDeleteIt's the internet. Every disaster is the worst disaster ever. Folks don't bother to learn history they live in the moment on their internet connections and they really just knee jerk react to every little thing. While this is terrible, people live in harms way all over tornado alley and in the midwest. Shit happens, people die. It's sad, but it happens all the time. Our first world tornado woes can't hold a candle to the terrible things that happen in the second and third world countries. Bangladesh building collapse? Anyone remember that? 1100 dead?
DeleteIt's weather and it's life and death and sometimes it's not pretty.
Shut the Fuck UP!
DeleteAs usual, you constantly prove your callousness and hatred by spewing bile.
DeleteMy prayers to OK.
51 people (at last count) are dead, and all you can do is bitch about how stupid liberals are? I'll take Gryphen's kind of "stupid" over your lack of compassion and empathy any day.
DeleteThank you to 6:40 and 6:43 from Oklahoma. I appreciate you saying what you did.
DeleteThe other two posts....meh....no one is impressed with you.
Thank you to all on here who have the graciousness to feel compassion for your fellow countrymen....and children.
To be clear I was merely quoting what the newscasters, and those who were first on the scene, were calling the tornado.
DeleteI did not do any independent research because I did not feel it appropriate to fact check those on the ground, and those who have dealt with this kind of disaster many times in the past.
So sad, I couldn't imagine living in tornado alley. People must be afraid all of the time from May until October. No way to live. So very sad.
ReplyDeleteNo - they are only afraid duing tornado weather. If it is still & the sky is green or purple--be afraid.
DeleteA teacher hugs a child at Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south OKC Oklahoma City, OK, Monday, May 20, 2013.
ReplyDeletehttp://immasmartypants.blogspot.ie/2013/05/photo-of-day-teachers-love.html
OMG!
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/NicholasOxford/status/336653413314097152/photo/1
Sigh, one MORE TIMEates taht have "t I have lived in numerous states that have "tornado alley" designations. Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa.
ReplyDeleteIllinois had the Plano one. we weren't that far. No damage. Had one awning bender one year.
Used to watch tornado roll across the fields form a berm built house in KS. Crack open the keg.
Seriously, there is no area safe from natural disaster. And you don't "live in fear." Just know your emergency plans and listen to reliable weather reports.
The emergency plan will not help with a storm this size. Hiding in a bathtub is useless when the building is flattened around you.
DeleteI've heard descriptions of the different levels of tornado. When I was growing up, an F4 was when grass or straw would go through a trunk of a tree & get stuck. An F5 was when NOTHING was left - pipes would be pulled out of the ground, the fields would look like large swaths of dirt.
DeleteYes - with a big enough tornado, a bathtub & a mattress does no good.
As of 9:58 pm Central time Skanky has not made a FB post about Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteShe tweeted a message. 5:01 PM
Deletehttps://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/336632857541873664
FEMA Response Update
ReplyDeleteThe White House released new details Monday night of efforts underway in Oklahoma by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FEMA initially "deployed a liaison officer to the Oklahoma emergency operations center" on Sunday night, "in anticipation of severe weather," the White House said in a statement.
On Monday, "FEMA deployed an Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) to the state emergency operations center in Oklahoma City to coordinate with state and local officials in support of recovery operations. The agency also dispatched "Urban Search and Rescue Teams and a Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) Team." In addition to the officials in Oklahoma, the agency said its Denton, Texas regional office was "on alert."
By Monday afternoon, as tornadoes ripped through the suburbs of Oklahoma City, FEMA "activated the National Response Coordination Center in Washington," to coordinate the multi-agency federal response to the catastrophic damage and loss of life. Additionally, there is a FEMA liaison officer stationed at the Oklahoma emergency operations center to help coordinate between the Denton, Texas command center and Oklahoma first responders.
The disaster relief agency also said it had dispatched agents from FEMA and from the U.S. Small Business Administration to assess "preliminary damage," and help identify what would be required by the area's residents and businesses in order to begin the recovery process.
As frantic rescue missions continued Monday in Oklahoma following the catastrophic tornadoes that ripped through the state, it appeared increasingly likely that residents who lost homes and businesses would turn to the federal government for emergency disaster aid. That could put the state's two Republican senators in an awkward position.
ReplyDeleteSens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, both Republicans, are fiscal hawks who have repeatedly voted against funding disaster aid for other parts of the country. They also have opposed increased funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which administers federal disaster relief.
Late last year, Inhofe and Coburn both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy. In a December press release, Coburn complained that the Sandy Relief bill contained "wasteful spending," and identified a series of items he objected to, including "$12.9 billion for future disaster mitigation activities and studies."
Coburn spokesman John Hart on Monday evening confirmed that the senator will seek to ensure that any additional funding for tornado disaster relief in Oklahoma be offset by cuts to federal spending elsewhere in the budget. "That's always been his position [to offset disaster aid]," Hart said. "He supported offsets to the bill funding the OKC bombing recovery effort." Those offsets were achieved in 1995 by tapping federal funds that had not yet been appropriated.
In 2011, both senators opposed legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA when the agency was set to run out of money. Sending the funds to FEMA would have been "unconscionable," Coburn said at the time.
Hart said Coburn had "never made parochial calculations" about Oklahoma's disproportionate share of disaster funds, "as his voting record and campaign against earmarks demonstrates." Hart added that Coburn, "makes no apologies for voting against disaster aid bills that are often poorly conceived and used to finance priorities that have little to do with disasters."
A representative for Inhofe could not immediately be reached for comment. Inhofe earlier tweeted: "The devastation in Oklahoma is heartbreaking. Please join me and #PrayforOklahoma. Spread the word."
Coburn also put out a message on Twitter, writing, "My thoughts and prayers are with those in Oklahoma affected by the tragic tornado outbreak."
Oklahoma currently ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declarations, which kickstart the federal emergency relief funding process. Just last month, President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for the state following severe snowstorms.
And despite their voting record on disaster aid for other states, both Coburn and Inhofe appear to sing a different tune when it comes to such funding for Oklahoma.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/oklahoma-senators-disaster-relief_n_3309234.html
With a broken heart, America reaches out to the brave souls of Moore, Oklahoma. Our prayers for strength are with all of you.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/336632857541873664
Wonder if they'll be a vote by Congress to release "Disaster Relief Money", or will they walk away like Hurricaine Sandy? Oh wait, it's a red state...and President Obama's already on it.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin needs new fb ghost writers and new consultants who earn their $5 million.
ReplyDeleteSarahPac consultants hasn't yet notified Sarah Palin's fb ghost writer to write heart felt words of encouragement for Sarah and post it for her.
Don't forget to tell Sarah the important info like Oklahoma is an American state located in the lower 48 and tell her what exactly happened to Oklahoma.
No Sarah
ReplyDeleteNot Okinawa.
Oklahoma freshmen representatives vote against Sandy relief
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Oklahoma_freshmen_representatives_vote_against_Sandy/20130104_335_0_washin472571
As did both their Senators, who are even now looking for ways to CUT the budget to pay for relief for OK. Even though the deficit is shrinking faster than their bloated egos. And even though cuts to FEMA and EPA are the worst thing to do to citizens. Morons.
DeleteAt least 51 people were killed, including 20 children, and rescue workers frantically searched the rubble of a collapsed elementary school for two dozen more students who were still missing after a mile-wide tornado flattened an Oklahoma City suburb.
ReplyDeleteThe storm cut a swath of devastation 20 miles long across the suburb of Moore, with cars littered like toys, firefighters and police swarming over chunks of buildings and the town’s Plaza Towers Elementary School reduced to a pile of rubble.
The death toll was likely to climb, said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer for the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Oklahoma City.
More than 75 students were in the Plaza school when the tornado struck, and as many as 30 may have been rescued, KFOR-TV reported.
The search took a grim turn just before 7 p.m. local time, when authorities at the scene told reporters that there didn’t appear to be any more survivors, KFOR reported. As night fell, darkness hampered the search effort.
“It’s like a war zone down there,” said Moore resident Melissa Burton, whose children at Kingsgate Elementary School were returned to her unharmed. Her house was destroyed by the tornado, she said.
“My F-150 truck is gone, and we don’t know where it is,” Burton said. “We think it wound up two streets over.”
The tornado was at least an EF-4, said Ryan Barnes, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman. An EF-4 has wind gusts of 166 to 200 miles per hour.
Burton said she and her friend, Lisa Green, were in Burton’s house when the tornado arrived.
“We ran into the bathroom, got pillows, blankets, all that,” she said. “The shower wall was one piece, and it just collapsed. It was like a train engine.”
As she spoke, Burton hugged her children, who were in school when the storm struck. Their school wasn’t damaged by the tornado, she said. A relative brought them home after they were released, she said.
Joe Johnson, Burton’s neighbor, was draped in an American flag and carried a satchel with a few clothes he had salvaged from his wrecked home.
“Everything from about 11th to 19th street is totally destroyed,” he said.
Hundreds of people were injured in the tornado.
Moore is the hometown of country music star Toby Keith.
“Rise again Moore Oklahoma,” Keith said on his Twitter feed. “Godspeed.”
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Moore_tornado_At_least_20_children_among_the_dead_2/20130520_11_0_MOOREA53131
With their bodies they saved children.
ReplyDeleteThere were kids running around screaming. The school is just gone, you can't tell what was the front and what was the back. People were screaming for their children.
One witness at Plaza Towers told KOCO television: "We pulled a teacher out and she was on top of three kids. The kids were fine but the teacher was in a bad way and we wheeled her into an ambulance. As far as I know most of the kids got out.
One teacher described lying on top of six children in a bathroom to protect them.
Students and faculty took shelter inside both school buildings when the tornado hit, and Parton said he'd been told that teachers shield children with their bodies in both school buildings when the strong winds ripped the roofs away.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/20/1210569/-With-their-bodies-they-saved-children
Why are these schools not built with storm shelters underneath? It seems to me that building codes should require storm shelters for all buildings, but specifically for schools and hospitals for sure.
DeleteWhy are building permits issued without a requirement for storm shelters beneath the structure, be it a home, a school, a hospital - whatever. While it may cost more, these shelters do save lives.
DeleteI'm sick of this type of comment. NOTHING can withstand this kind of storm. What - you gonna pay for all buildings, schools, businesses to build underground? You gonna provide the explosives to blast underground to build these buildings? Are you gonna figure out a way to keep these things from flooding?
DeleteAn obscene number of people died in this tornado (confirmed fatalities were at 51 as I typed this paragraph) simply because it was unsurvivable if you weren't adequately protected. This tornado will be rated an EF-5. It scrubbed homes from their foundation. It ripped the grass out of the ground. It destroyed several solidly-built school buildings. Dr. Greg Forbes (a brilliant man who studied under Fujita Scale inventor Ted Fujita, and helped develop the Enhanced Fujita Scale) says he saw a steel tank bolted to the ground ripped up and tossed hundreds of feet, which clearly indicated EF-5 damage.
ReplyDeleteEven in this case, being in an interior room or bath tub didn't guarantee survival. It was hell on earth.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/20/1210555/-Thoughts-On-Tornadoes-and-Moore-Oklahoma
When Leslie Hagelberg went outside of her West Tulsa, Okla., home on Sunday evening to check the weather, she noticed what appeared to be insulation and pieces of paper falling from the sky.
ReplyDeleteBut it wasn't until she found a photograph near her mailbox that it dawned on her what was happening: debris and belongings from the tornado that had struck in Shawnee -- 90 miles away -- had made their way to her yard.
Hagelberg logged into Facebook and found that many of her neighbors had reported finding items, so she decided to start a Facebook group to reunite victims of the tornado with their missing belongings.
The Facebook group was expanded Monday, to help people who were affected by the devastating tornado that ripped through Moore, Okla., killing dozens of people.
The Facebook group has taken off. As of Monday evening, nearly 7,000 members had joined and pictures of hundreds of items had been posted to the page.
So far, Hagelberg estimated that 60 items -- mostly photos and artwork -- have been claimed by their owners.
Even an urn was claimed after a picture was posted to the page.
"I'm just trying to help," Hagelberg told The Huffington Post. "I couldn't imagine losing my kids' pictures."
"I want eveyrone to know they're welcome to post whatever they find," she said, noting that people should refrain from posting documents that may contain personal information, like Social Security cards and blank checks.
Visit the Facebook page to help reunite victims of the tornadoes with their belongings.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/tornado-facebook-group-_n_3310067.html
https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php
ReplyDeleteSafe and Well
After a disaster, letting your family and friends know that you are safe and well can bring your loved ones great peace of mind. This website is designed to help make that communication easier.
Register Yourself as “Safe and Well”
Click on the “List Myself as Safe and Well” button to register yourself on the site.
Search for Loved Ones
Concerned family and friends can search the list of those who have registered themselves as “safe and well” by clicking on the “Search Registrants” button. The results of a successful search will display a loved one’s first name, last name and a brief message.
Please post any pictures or documents that blow into your yard in hopes of returning them to those impacted by the tornado. DON'T POST PRIVATE INFO SUCH AS SS#'s or BANK INFO!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/MAY192013OKTORNADODOCSPICS/
Reports from Moore, OK that 91 people are now confirmed dead.
ReplyDeleteWas there no warning on this tornado?
ReplyDeleteOF COURSE there was a warning. You evidently have never lived in tornado country. The people had taken cover, but you can only do so much. Geez....
DeleteI actually had to turn off the coverage. If I saw one more humna say it was "gods will" I was going to throw something at my expensive TV.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a god, he would have made sure the people in that town had brains and rebuilt their buildings after the 1999 storm to code
No god wants babies sucked up into a vacuum and have their brains and heads implode.
Whaat sort of god gets off on this crap and why would you want to follow it??