Thread: 37 Killed in Oklahoma Tornado; Death Toll to Rise

37 Killed in Oklahoma Tornado; Death Toll to Rise

MOORE, Okla. May 21, 2013 (AP)

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office says 37 people have been killed by a tornado that hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon. Spokeswoman Amy Elliott says the death toll is expected to rise. Elliott didn't know how many of those killed were children.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/3...-rise-19221137

At least 37 dead in Oklahoma City-area tornado


May 20, 2013 7:22 PM



A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at the Plaza Towers Elementary School following a tornado in Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. A tornado as much as a mile (1.6 kilometer) wide with winds up to 200 mph (320 kph) roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on the elementary school. (AP Photo Sue Ogrocki)

Written by Associated Press and USA Today reports


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MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office says 37 people have been killed by a tornado that hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon. Spokeswoman Amy Elliott says the death toll is expected to rise. Elliott didn't know how many of those killed were children.

A massive, mile-wide tornado with winds up to 200 mph spent 40 minutes on the ground as it devastated homes, schools and businesses across southern Oklahoma City and its suburbs Monday afternoon.

Catastrophic damage was reported in Moore, where two elementary schools were destroyed, including one that took a direct hit. Several children were pulled alive from the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary, but there were no immediate reports of rescues or casualties at Briarwood Elementary.

Reuters said two hospitals reported receiving 29 patients, seven in critical condition.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Gov. Mary Fallin could not confirm the casualty reports.

The twister heavily damaged one hospital in Moore, ripping off its roof. A water treatment was knocked offline, and residents and businesses in southeastern Oklahoma City were advised to stop using water.

The preliminary rating of the tornado that hit Moore about 3 p.m. CT is at least an EF-4, which means wind speeds of from 166 to 200 mph, the National Weather Service said.

On May 3, 1999, a record-setting EF-5 tornado obliterated the city of 55,000 with winds measured at 318 mph, the highest ever on the earth's surface. The storm killed 41 people, injured hundreds, and caused about $1 billion in damages.

The National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., said a tornado warning was in effect Monday afternoon for 16 minutes before the twister developed.

Rescuers are "going house to house and block to block to try and find any survivors that are out there and trapped,'' said state emergency management spokesman Jerry Lojka.

"We can only imagine that there are still many others there that are unaccounted for,'' he said.

Lojka said emergency management officials were working from an underground command center in Oklahoma City and did not yet know how many students were in the two elementary schools in Moore that were destroyed.


Oklahoma authorities were still assessing damage but had no immediate reports of injuries or possible deaths, said Keli Cain, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

Power was knocked out to more than 26,000 customers.

"Right now we really don't have a good idea of the damage,'' she said. "We're seeing a lot of footage on TV of widespread damage in Moore, Okla., but it's certainly too early to have any idea of the number of homes destroyed.... We know there are homes destroyed, businesses destroyed. ... It's very early.''

Earlier in the day, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri had been under a tornado watch, meaning that conditions were favorable for tornadoes to develop within the next few hours.

The National Weather Service said it was tracking "a large and extremely dangerous tornado'' just west of Moore, Okla., which is south of Oklahoma City. The storm was moving to the northeast, and forecasters said they expected "large, destructive hail up to tennis ball size.''

Video aired by KFOR-TV showed a massive, dark funnel-shaped cloud over the area and, later, scenes of massive destruction. Entire neighborhoods were flattened.

Moore is the same community that was obliterated by a powerful tornado on May 3, 1999, killing 41 people, injuring hundreds, and causing about $1 billion in damages.

The five-state area is in the heart of a storm system hovering over the Plains and Midwest all the way to Minnesota.

On Sunday, a tornado packing winds as high as 200 mph, left two people dead in Oklahoma. Tornadoes and high winds injured more than 20 in the region.
　
　
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/viewart/20130520/NEWS/130520027/At-least-37-dead-in-Oklahoma-City-area-tornado?Frontpage

TWISTER KILLS 51

7 die at Oklahoma elementary school

• Rescuers dig for trapped students
• They're racing against darkness
• "Horses and stuff flying around"
• At least an EF4 FULL STORY

CNN At least 20 children are among the 51 people killed in Oklahoma storm, authorities say. At least 145 people hospitalized.

Vast Oklahoma Tornado Kills at Least 91
New York Times - 4 minutes ago

DEATH TOLL LOWERED

Vicious tornado's confirmed fatalities 24, down from 51

• Tornado carved path two miles wide, 22 miles long
• Schools, hospital, homes pulverized
• Workers listen for survivors in rubble DEVELOPING STORY