Oklahoma launches recovery efforts after tornadoes
From staff reports
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Published: February 12, 2009
Storm-struck communities across Oklahoma launched cleanup efforts Wednesday, a day after deadly tornadoes and dangerous thunderstorms tore a course of devastation through the state.
Damage from Tuesday's tornado in Long Grove, Oklahoma, as seen on Thursday February 12, 2009. Photo by Johnny Johnson.
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In Lone Grove, home to about 5,000 people, residents mourned the deaths of neighbors. State authorities on Thursday confirmed eight dead.
Carter County Sheriff Ken Grace had previously said a ninth victim died at a
Dallas hospital, but state emergency management spokeswoman
Michelann Ooten said that is incorrect.
Fourteen people suffered serious injuries, and a number of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed, according to the state Department of Emergency Management. Officials said four mobile home parks were damaged by the EF-4 tornado, which packed sustained wind gusts of 165 to 170 mph.
Other confirmed tornadoes touched down in
Oklahoma City and
Edmond, Pawnee and
Logan County, according to the state Department of Emergency Management and the
National Weather Service.
Gov. Brad Henry declared an emergency in 17 Oklahoma counties, a first step in seeking federal assistance.
Lone Grove
On Wednesday afternoon, Henry toured a Lone Grove mobile home park destroyed by the tornado. While some homes remained standing, most were reduced to piles of twisted metal, cinder blocks and debris.
"The devastation and the path of this tornado is tremendous," Henry said. "It takes your breath away."
Henry said
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano called him at 7:45 a.m. pledging support.
President Barack Obama also called Henry today, expressing condolences and assuring that assistance will be provided.
Victims' names were not released Wednesday, but a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner's office said no children were among the dead.
Most mobile homes in the Bar-K park were swept away. The park was left with twisted steel foundations, clothes and housing insulation strewn in trees and numerous personal belongings strewn for acres.
Residents were allowed to return and find belongings, and some met with the governor during his visit.
They included
George Lovell, 18, who returned a few minutes before Henry's arrival and stacked some of the home's few remaining possessions — six DVDs including
CSI: Miami and The Little Mermaid, a folded green jacket and his mother's pink motorcycle helmet.
He also picked up a framed picture belonging to a neighbor who he said is in the hospital, and a remote control that had been missing for years.
“My dad had been giving me a hard time about that,” he said.
Kyla Campbell of the
American Red Cross said 15 people stayed Monday night at a shelter established at
Heritage Hall Center, 220 W. Broadway in Ardmore. More were expected to stay Tuesday night, and Campbell said the shelter will remain in place until the need dissipates.
The Red Cross also has two mental health professionals staying at Heritage Hall, along with two emergency response vehicles traveling the town and serving food. Campbell said the
Salvation Army is also serving food and Baptist disaster relief is doing much of the cooking.
Survivors share stories
Survivors repeated their stories Wednesday for anyone who would listen.
Lana Hartman and seven others were huddled in a small closet, about 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide, in a one-story brick house when they felt the tornado roar past. No one in the home was hurt.
Hartman said they could feel wind beneath the closet door. A teenager in the closet began rising off the ground, and others had to hold her down by grabbing her T-shirt.
Hartman moved into the house on Tuesday, just hours before the tornado struck. Hartman's house is next door to the remains of John's Furniture on
U.S. 70, which was destroyed along with the adjacent chamber of commerce building.
Wednesday morning, couches and recliners were lined up in the store, but several walls and part of the tin roof and insulation were missing.
"We'll start over"
Matt Opsahl, 25, was watching television news in his mobile home when he saw that a tornado was approaching Lone Grove. Opsahl, his wife, their 3-year-old daughter and his wife's mother quickly went to a hallway.
The tornado blew off some walls and part of the frame of the home.
A washing machine struck Opsahl, but he was not seriously injured. All of his family members suffered bruises and scratches.
Still, Opsahl's daughter said, “That was fun.”
One of Opsahl's two trucks was blown to the other side of the mobile home park, and his mother-in-law's car was flipped onto its top.
Asked what he'll do next, Opsahl shrugged. “We'll start over,” he said. “I'll buy me another home.”
Mike Graham, 47, of Lone Grove, went to check on his parents at their single-story frame home. He and his parents gathered in the center hallway, and the tornado struck the home.
“My ears pressured as it came through,” he said.
The home was destroyed, but he and his parents survived.
His mobile home, which was nearby, was also destroyed, as was a brick home next door.
'Like a thousand jet engines'
Wes Pack on Wednesday evening stood outside what used to be his parents' two-story home.
The tornado that came from Lone Grove hit the Majestic Hills area just outside Ardmore, destroying the home. The National Weather Service estimated wind gusts reached 180 to 185 mph in the Majestic Hills area.
Pack was in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, and his girlfriend noticed a tornado warning for Carter County on television. He called his parents, Rick and
Susan Pack. They went to their cellar and were joined by six neighbors.
“It was deafening like a thousand jet engines,” Rick Pack said.
Pawnee
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado was on the ground in Pawnee Tuesday, but it was news to
Pawnee Fire Chief James Novotky.
“There is no evidence a tornado touched down,” he said Wednesday.
Novotny said the storm hit the southwest part of
Pawnee County and tracked northeast to the city of Pawnee, striking the south side of the community.
“For the most part, there is a lot of structural damage in the county, a lot of outbuildings,” he said. “Inside the city, there are mostly downed tree limbs, and one camper trailer was turned over.”
About a dozen houses suffered roof damage, he said.
Damage in other communities
The
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management collected information on damage throughout the state.
Logan County reported 20 homes damaged, 16 in the Oak Cliff Fire District and four east of Guthrie. No injuries were reported.
Shawnee/Pottawotamie County reported damage to an
Oklahoma Department of Transportation maintenance building two miles east of Tecumseh.
One house was damaged in Wilson in Carter County.
Two mobile homes were overturned and oil field equipment was damaged near
Wardville in
Coal County.
Two homes suffered major damage in
Love County.
States of emergency
Henry declared a state of emergency Wednesday for 17 counties where Tuesday's tornadoes caused damage.
The counties in the governor's declaration are: Canadian, Carter,
Cleveland, Garvin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Murray, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Nowata, Osage and
Washington.
More counties can be added if conditions warrant.
Under the declaration, state agencies are allowed to make emergency purchases and acquisitions needed to expedite the response to the disaster.
Henry said state officials are ready to provide eligible assistance.
“The state of emergency declaration strengthens our efforts to help those areas, but it also serves as a first step toward seeking federal assistance," Henry said.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland also declared a state of emergency. Her declaration will enable emergency claims adjusters to be licensed temporarily to expedite the insurance claims process and provide immediate assistance.
Oklahomans with insurance questions or concerns are encouraged to contact the
Oklahoma Insurance Department's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-522-0071.
CONTRIBUTING:
Staff Writers Bryan Painter,
Michael McNutt,
Ron Jackson,
James Tyree,
Michael Kimball,
Sheila Stogsdill and
Ken Raymond
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