Blake Smith
Moore, Oklahoma devastated by EF5 tornado
Cleaning up the pieces after mile-wide tornado wipes out town
Muddied people screaming for help, neighbors pulling neighbors out of the rubble, and parents running for the schools to give their kids a warm embrace. This is the aftermath of the EF5 tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma on May 20, a natural phenomenon that has ceased to exist since 1999 and Joplin.
This tornado season has definitely began with a very windy start, with the onslaught of tornadoes in Texas on May 15, and then the following storms in Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas on May 19. But no one was quite ready for the storms on May 20, when Oklahoma was once again hit hard by tornadoes, and not just any tornadoes.
As Moore, Oklahoma was going about their day, severe weather began popping up all over the mid-western and southern regions of the country, right down tornado alley. Most people do not expect to ever be hit by a tornado in their life, much less see one, but Moore knew too well that is never a reliable feeling. In 1999, an EF5 tornado tore apart Moore and other cities in the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. Now, 14 years later, they have been hit yet again, leaving an approximate 24 confirmed people dead, and 9 of those people were children at school.
Measuring at the diameter between one to two miles-wide, some residents did not even know that a tornado was coming because they thought that the tornado was just a part of a storm cell on the horizon. By the time they knew what it was, it was nearly too late. The tornado lasted approximately 45 minutes and then went back up into the heavens, leaving behind its destruction. Since the tornado moved so slowly, most of the area affected was leveled. After the tornado was gone, authorities then had to worry about gas leaks across the city, one of which caught a house on fire and burnt it to the ground.
James and Paulia Merrell were planning on moving into Moore, Oklahoma, and helped with the recovery efforts in 1999.
“I was on the phone with my dad watching the tornado move through Moore; I was screaming and telling him not to move from where he was at the time,” Merrell said, “I kept telling him that it was headed towards our house and subdivision. On the TV they kept telling the streets and location of the cloud. I know the area well because I graduated from Moore High School.”
Merrell also described the experience of being in the zones hit by the tornado.
“The photo’s you see on TV or the newspapers cannot describe the real disaster. You cannot smell the dirt, mud and gas until you are standing in the middle of it. Trees are stripped, cars and trucks are in the middle of a house, toys are everywhere. Paper is all over the place,” Merrell said.
President Barack Obama has given his condolences and had this to say.
“Americans from every corner of this country will be right there with them, opening our homes, our hearts to those in need,” President Obama said. “Because we’re a nation that stands with our fellow citizens as long as it takes. We’ve seen that spirit in Joplin, in Tuscaloosa; we saw that spirit in Boston and Breezy Point. And that’s what the people of Oklahoma are going to need from us right now.”
One of the worst storms since the 90s and Joplin, this storm has definitely brought neighbors together in order to find the remaining people missing and believed-to-be dead. Although Raymore, Missouri may be distant neighbors with Oklahoma, Missouri is still affected by the same type of storms that occurred in Oklahoma. One concern that arises when schools like Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers Elementary are hit is how safe schools are when it comes to tornadoes. Although Oklahoma reportedly had many reinforced structures for other schools, the only schools hit did not.
Assistant Superintendent Jay Harris said that, “Every Ray-Pec school building has identified tornado shelter areas that have met a higher standard of structural reinforcement required by federal, state and local law. Our District Facilities Director (Dr. Steve Meyers), Building Principals and contracted Architects work with local Emergency Management and Code Departments in Raymore and Peculiar to identify the structural requirements and shelter areas. We also have an Emergency Management Plan for each building that provides instructions for dealing with inclement weather.”
So, Ray-Pec has made sure that its students are taken care of in case Raymore should experience a horrific storm like the one that hit Moore, Oklahoma.
If you would like to contribute to the Moore tornado relief fund, then call 855-666-4440 so you can help without having to go to Moore, Oklahoma.
Moore, Oklahoma devastated by EF5 tornado
Cleaning up the pieces after mile-wide tornado wipes out town
Muddied people screaming for help, neighbors pulling neighbors out of the rubble, and parents running for the schools to give their kids a warm embrace. This is the aftermath of the EF5 tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma on May 20, a natural phenomenon that has ceased to exist since 1999 and Joplin.
This tornado season has definitely began with a very windy start, with the onslaught of tornadoes in Texas on May 15, and then the following storms in Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas on May 19. But no one was quite ready for the storms on May 20, when Oklahoma was once again hit hard by tornadoes, and not just any tornadoes.
As Moore, Oklahoma was going about their day, severe weather began popping up all over the mid-western and southern regions of the country, right down tornado alley. Most people do not expect to ever be hit by a tornado in their life, much less see one, but Moore knew too well that is never a reliable feeling. In 1999, an EF5 tornado tore apart Moore and other cities in the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. Now, 14 years later, they have been hit yet again, leaving an approximate 24 confirmed people dead, and 9 of those people were children at school.
Measuring at the diameter between one to two miles-wide, some residents did not even know that a tornado was coming because they thought that the tornado was just a part of a storm cell on the horizon. By the time they knew what it was, it was nearly too late. The tornado lasted approximately 45 minutes and then went back up into the heavens, leaving behind its destruction. Since the tornado moved so slowly, most of the area affected was leveled. After the tornado was gone, authorities then had to worry about gas leaks across the city, one of which caught a house on fire and burnt it to the ground.
James and Paulia Merrell were planning on moving into Moore, Oklahoma, and helped with the recovery efforts in 1999.
“I was on the phone with my dad watching the tornado move through Moore; I was screaming and telling him not to move from where he was at the time,” Merrell said, “I kept telling him that it was headed towards our house and subdivision. On the TV they kept telling the streets and location of the cloud. I know the area well because I graduated from Moore High School.”
Merrell also described the experience of being in the zones hit by the tornado.
“The photo’s you see on TV or the newspapers cannot describe the real disaster. You cannot smell the dirt, mud and gas until you are standing in the middle of it. Trees are stripped, cars and trucks are in the middle of a house, toys are everywhere. Paper is all over the place,” Merrell said.
President Barack Obama has given his condolences and had this to say.
“Americans from every corner of this country will be right there with them, opening our homes, our hearts to those in need,” President Obama said. “Because we’re a nation that stands with our fellow citizens as long as it takes. We’ve seen that spirit in Joplin, in Tuscaloosa; we saw that spirit in Boston and Breezy Point. And that’s what the people of Oklahoma are going to need from us right now.”
One of the worst storms since the 90s and Joplin, this storm has definitely brought neighbors together in order to find the remaining people missing and believed-to-be dead. Although Raymore, Missouri may be distant neighbors with Oklahoma, Missouri is still affected by the same type of storms that occurred in Oklahoma. One concern that arises when schools like Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers Elementary are hit is how safe schools are when it comes to tornadoes. Although Oklahoma reportedly had many reinforced structures for other schools, the only schools hit did not.
Assistant Superintendent Jay Harris said that, “Every Ray-Pec school building has identified tornado shelter areas that have met a higher standard of structural reinforcement required by federal, state and local law. Our District Facilities Director (Dr. Steve Meyers), Building Principals and contracted Architects work with local Emergency Management and Code Departments in Raymore and Peculiar to identify the structural requirements and shelter areas. We also have an Emergency Management Plan for each building that provides instructions for dealing with inclement weather.”
So, Ray-Pec has made sure that its students are taken care of in case Raymore should experience a horrific storm like the one that hit Moore, Oklahoma.
If you would like to contribute to the Moore tornado relief fund, then call 855-666-4440 so you can help without having to go to Moore, Oklahoma.