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Tag: tornado damage

  • Baxter Springs, KS Reeling From Damages

    Baxter Springs, KS Reeling From Damages

    Baxter Springs, in southeast Kansas, is still reeling from the damage caused by a tornado on Sunday evening. One man was killed in nearby Quapaw, Okla. and 25 people were injured, nine which were serious enough to be hospitalized.

    The tornado, now rated by the National Weather Service as an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, touched down at Quapaw and slashed an eight mile path of destruction through the nearby city of Baxter Springs.

    According to newson6.com, the tornado was approximately 150 yards wide at one point.

    Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin and Kansas governor Sam Brownback declared a state of emergency for the area and President Obama promised in a press conference from the Philippines to help the victims rebuild.

    “Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes,” Obama said.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQbnzvuld0M

    Over 100 houses and buildings were destroyed in downtown Baxter Springs, and the one aforementioned casualty was a man from Baxter Springs who was passing through Quapaw when the tornado hit. He drove his car into a vacant building for shelter, but the building collapsed on top of the car.

    Quapaw Police Chief Gary Graham said that the area had no warning whatsoever and didn’t sound the tornado sirens.

    “You know it’s hard to warn other people when we don’t know. It’s unfortunate that it happened that way and I’m not happy that it happened that way but I don’t know what else we could have done.”, he said.

    The tornado left behind twisted metal and rubble and many devastated lives.

    People like Sue McBride, 71, a Baxter Springs resident, have a long road of recovery ahead. She was sitting on her front porch when the twister hit town. When the sirens went off, she had enough time to run into a hallway before her windows were blown out and glass flew everywhere.

    “I didn’t have one scratch on me and I was fine,” she said, even though she woke up in a Red Cross emergency shelter. “Some angel was watching here. I am just so thrilled to be alive and not hurt.”

    So many were not so lucky.

    Image via YouTube

  • Tornado Damage Leaves 18 Dead In Southern Towns

    Tornado damage in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma has left survivors with the task of trying to rebuild after storms barreled through the states over the weekend and left behind devastation.

    The storm system cut a wide swath through Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina on Sunday, leaving at least 18 people dead and hundreds more injured. Officials say they fear the death toll will climb as they search through the rubble in areas of Arkansas, where 16 were killed. A death in Quapaw, Oklahoma and the tragic death of an 11-month old baby in North Carolina have also left many communities in mourning.

    Sunday was the anniversary of a deadly outbreak of storms across the Midwest and south, a system which spun out 122 tornadoes and killed 316 people across Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. Sunday’s tornado in Arkansas grew to about half a mile wide and spat hail onto residents; officials say they believe it was at least an EF3 on the damage scale, which includes winds of up to 136 mph.

    “We don’t have a count on injuries or missing. We’re trying to get a handle on the missing part,” Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said on Monday. “Just looking at the damage, this may be one of the strongest we have seen.”

    Among the destroyed buildings in the area was a $14 million school that was due to open this fall; now, funds will have to come from somewhere to rebuild.

    “There’s just really nothing there anymore. We’re probably going to have to start all over again,” Vilonia Schools Superintendent Frank Mitchell said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Tornado Damage Extensive, 17 Dead In Aftermath

    The damage from last night’s tornados in Arkansas and Oklahoma will not even be fully known for a few days, but as residents continue to comb through what is left of their possessions, they are also mindful of the 17 who have been reported so far as victims of this nasty storm.

    A possible EF3 tornado touched down about 10 miles west of Little Rock at around 7pm and ran an 80-mile path of utter destruction through the land, killing 16 and injuring many others.

    This tornado was the largest of a huge storm system that battered the central and southern parts of the country, also spawning a tornado that killed one in Quapaw, Okla. before crossing the state line into Kansas where it destroyed up to 70 homes and injured a reported 25 people.

    The tornado that did so much damage and killed so many in Arkansas narrowly missed several other victims in cars and trucks who were traveling along I-40 north of Little Rock.

    Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said, “About 30 vehicles — large trucks, sedans, pickup trucks — were going through there when the funnel cloud passed over.”

    The tornado will most likely be rated as the strongest that the country has seen so far this year, according to AP.

    “It has the potential to be EF3 or greater. Based on some of the footage we’ve seen from Mayflower and where it crossed Interstate 40, things were wrecked in a very significant way.”, said meteorologist Jeff Hood. EF3 storms are storms that have winds greater than 136 mph.

    A very significant way, indeed, for the residents who will face the damage on Monday as the sun rises to reveal what is left of their lives. Karla Ault, a Vilonia High School volleyball coach, took shelter in the school’s gym when the sirens went off. Her husband then got in contact with her as the storm passed and told her that the twister had reduced their home and everything in it to a bare slab.

    “I’m just kind of numb. It’s just shock that you lost everything. You don’t understand everything you have until you realize that all I’ve got now is just what I have on,” Ault said.

    President Obama made a promise from a press conference in the Philippines that the government will do all that it can in helping the people get back on their feet after last night’s terrifying storms.

    Image Via YouTube