2013 — May 20, Tornado, Moore, OK — 25
— 25 Baker, Kelly. Oklahoma State Department of Health. CDC Webinar, 3-11-2014.[1]
— 25 News9.com. “Victims Remembered 6 Months After May 20 Tornado.” 11-20-2013.
— 24 Chicago Tribune. “Oklahoma City tornado: Death toll lowered as crews…” 5-21-2013.
— 24 Christian Science Monitor. “Oklahoma tornado’s aftermath: How safe…” 5-21-2013.
— 24 Mellor, Richard. “Moore Oklahoma school deaths could have been avoided…” 5-22-2013.
— 24 NWS WFO, Norman, OK. The Tornado Outbreak of May 20, 2013. 5-6-2014 modification
Mellor: “The death toll in Moore, Oklahoma after a tornado battered the town for 45 minutes stands at 24, ten of them children, more than 240 have been injured according to reports in the media. Seven of the children were killed when the tornado tore through the Plaza Towers School destroying it completely. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado had winds of 200 miles an hour, was about 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide.
“As we always remind people when the big business press talks about money shortages for this or that social investment, it is important to reject that argument as there’s lots of money, it’s simply a question of allocation.
“So once again, the deaths in this instance are largely market induced, they were far from inevitable. Some building and homes have underground shelters or “safe rooms”, rooms built of reinforced concrete in which residents can take cover when these storms hit. These safe rooms cost a few thousand dollars apparently.
“Many schools have them as well. The Plaza Towers School didn’t have an underground shelter and Oklahoma state law doesn’t require schools to have above ground shelters despite this area being a tornado prone area. There are about 100 schools in the state do have safe rooms built with federal funds. But that money “has dried up” the Wall Street Journal reports and many of the schools are now on a waiting list. Plaza Towers won’t have to wait, as it no longer exists.
““The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground there for them, beside them as long as it takes for their homes and schools to rebuild,”, president Obama said today. But this is typical after the fact. The same with the West, Texas explosion, workers killed by the explosion on the deep water rig in the Gulf of Mexico and other disasters that inflict more damage and destruction than they should due to the attacks on public spending and the way capital is allocated in society and the priorities as determined by the politicians in the two Wall Street parties. As I wrote before, OSHA shows up after workers die.
“Glenn Lewis, Moore’s mayor said he would propose an ordinance requiring a reinforced shelter to be built in every new home which will also save lives in the future and assumes the bill will pass easily. But we need to instill firmly in our minds the understanding that certainly the human deaths and most likely structural destruction in these disasters are greatly increased by the priorities of capital. We do not control the allocation of capital in society otherwise we wouldn’t be spending a few trillion dollars on foreign wars and other expenditures aimed at protecting the rights and bank accounts of the 1%.
“There are many instances where measures taken that would improve the quality of our lives, communities and our safety, regulations and government oversight for example, are squelched by politicians in the pay of lobbyists representing the 1%. Mustn’t cut in to profit taking.
“A simple thing like a safe room would have saved the lives of six Oklahoma children at least. But the money’s “dried up” it’s called Austerity.” (Mellor, Richard. “Moore Oklahoma school deaths could have been avoided with proper safety measures.” 5-22-2013. Accessed 5-31-2013 at: Facts For Working People.)
NWS: “A tornado outbreak occurred during the afternoon and evening hours of the May 20, 2013, and was the last day of a three-day stretch of significant severe weather from May 18-20. This event also produced the most deadly and devastating tornado of the year for Oklahoma and the United States.
“Several supercell thunderstorms developed during early afternoon of May 20th along a dryline in central Oklahoma. One of these storms developed near Chickasha and rapidly intensified, producing a tornado which touched down at 2:56 PM CDT on the west side of Newcastle. The tornado became violent within minutes, then tracked east-northeastward across the city of Moore and parts of south Oklahoma City for about 40 minutes before finally dissipating near Lake Stanley Draper. The tornado caused catastrophic damage in these areas, and was given a maximum rating of EF-5. The tornado claimed 24 lives, injured scores of people, and caused billions of dollars in damage.
“Several other tornadoes also occurred in Stephens and Lincoln Counties during the afternoon of May 20. In addition to the tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds caused damage in many areas….” (NWS Weather Forecast Office, Norman, OK. The Tornado Outbreak of May 20, 2013. 5-6-2014 mod.)
Newspapers:
May 21: “….Officials in Oklahoma City said on Tuesday that 24 bodies were recovered after a 2-mile wide tornado tore through Moore, a sharp decline from the 51 deaths they previously reported. “We have got good news. The number right now is 24,” said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer at the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner’s Office. The prior figure of 51 dead may have included some double-reported casualties, Elliott said…. In addition to the fatalities, at least 60 of the 240 people injured were children, area hospitals said. “The whole city looks like a debris field,” Glenn Lewis, the mayor of Moore, told NBC.
“The National Weather Service assigned the twister a preliminary ranking of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning the second most powerful category of tornado with winds up to 200 mph….
“Firefighters from more than a dozen fire departments worked all night under bright spotlights trying to find survivors at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit. Rescuers were sent from other states to join the search….
“Another elementary school, homes and a hospital were among the buildings leveled in Moore, leaving residents of the town of about 55,000 people 11 miles south of Oklahoma City stunned at the devastation and loss of life. Many residents were left without power and water.
“The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center warned the town 16 minutes before the tornado touched down at 3:01 p.m., which is greater than the average eight to 10 minutes of warning, said Keli Pirtle, a spokeswoman for the center in Norman, Oklahoma. The notice was upgraded to emergency warning with “heightened language” at 2:56 p.m., or five minutes before the tornado touched down, Pirtle said….
“Briarwood Elementary School, which also stood in the storm’s path, was all but destroyed. On the first floor, sections of walls had been peeled away, giving clear views into the building; while in other areas, cars hurled by the storm winds were lodged in the walls.” (Chicago Tribune. “Oklahoma City tornado: Death toll lowered as crews search for survivors.” 5-21-2013.)
May 21: “(CNN) — Dozens of people — including several children — were killed when a massive tornado struck an area outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, officials said.
“At least seven of those children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, according to a police official. Emergency personnel on Tuesday continued to scour the school’s rubble — a scene of twisted I-beams and crumbled cinder blocks.
“The tornado was estimated to be at least two miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore, in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, KFOR reported. The preliminary rating of the tornado was at least EF4 (166 to 200 mph), the National Weather Service said.” (CNN (Sterling, Joe). “Oklahoma City tornado.” May 21, 2013.)
Nov 20: “Moore, Oklahoma — Six months after a tornado roared across Moore and south Oklahoma City, survivors plan to mark the sad milestone and remember the 25 people killed. The EF5 tornado began its destructive path just before 3 p.m. It destroyed both Briarwood and Plaza Towers elementary schools, and significantly damaged Highlands East Junior High…..
“Seven children were killed in Plaza Towers….” (News9.com, Oklahoma City. “Victims Remembered 6 Months After May 20 Tornado.” 11-20-2013.)
Sources
Baker, Kelly, MPH (Director, Center for Health Statistics, Oklahoma State Department of Health). “Using Electronic Death Registration Systems (ERDS) to Conduct ‘Real-Time’ Disaster Mortality Surveillance” (Webinar). Sponsored by International Society for Disaster Surveillance. 3-11-2014.
Chicago Tribune. “Oklahoma City tornado: Death toll lowered as crews search for survivors.” 5-21-2013. Accessed 5-21-2013 at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-oklahoma-city-tornado-20130520,0,7920720.story
Christian Science Monitor (Amanda Paulson). “Oklahoma tornado’s aftermath: How safe were schools in Moore?” 5-21-2013. Accessed 5-22-2013 at: http://news.yahoo.com/oklahoma-tornados-aftermath-safe-were-schools-moore-213400287.html
Mellor, Richard. “Moore Oklahoma school deaths could have been avoided with proper safety measures.” Facts For Working People. 5-22-2013. Accessed 5-31-2013 at: http://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/2013/05/moore-oklahoma-school-deaths-could-have.html
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Norman, OK. The Tornado Outbreak of May 20, 2013. 5-6-2014 modification. Accessed 6-1-2015 at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/?n=events-20130520
News9.com, Oklahoma City. “Victims Remembered 6 Months After May 20 Tornado.” 11-20-2013. Accessed 6-1-2015 at: http://www.news9.com/story/24020267/victims-to-be-remembered-6-months-after-may-20-tornado
[1] Includes one “indirect” death.