Tornado tales: An update

I recently posted a story about tornadoes that struck Tushka and Atoka, Oklahoma, in mid-April.  Since that time, far more severe tornadoes and storm systems have wreaked havoc all across the southern United States, with Alabama taking the most direct hit.  The pictures of devastation in Tuscaloosa are unimaginable.  Recent reports put the death toll in Alabama at 236, with over 2,200 injured.  Nationwide, 362 tornadoes occurred during last week's storms, including a record-setting 312 in a 24-hour period.  April 27 was the most deadly day in the United States for tornadoes since 1925.  This video (below) shows the awesome power of the tornado that tore through Tuscaloosa.

Meanwhile, back in Oklahoma, recovery efforts in Tushka and Atoka continue.  A disaster recovery center operated by FEMA, the Oklahoma Emergency Management Department, and the Small Business Administration has opened in Tushka for those affected by the April 14 tornado.  The Red Cross is also offering aid to local residents.  Governor Mary Fallin has requested federal financial aid to help local towns, the county and utilities with infrastructure repairs and other storm-related costs.  And finally, country music is helping to raise funds.  Reba McEntire, who was raised in Atoka County, and Blake Shelton, a native of Ada and a current resident of neighboring Johnston County, will host the “Tornado Relief Concert” on May 26 in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Choctaw Casino Resort at the Choctaw Event Center in Durant.

Tornado tales

Elliot survived the recent round of Oklahoma tornadoes unscathed, as far as we know.  Severe storms and at least five tornadoes hit Oklahoma Thursday night but none in the immediate area where Elliot is currently.  Among the hardest hit areas were the towns of Tushka and Atoka, Oklahoma, about 100 miles southeast of Elliot, where two sisters living in a mobile home were killed and dozens more were injured.  According to one news report,

[Gilbert] Wilson [emergency management director and county commissioner for Atoka County] said the tornado started four or five miles west of Tushka and traveled east, destroying homes and the school in the town about 120 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.

As many as 100 homes and businesses, including the Tushka public school, were destroyed by the storm that hit about 7:30 p.m., Wilson said.  Authorities still are trying to determine the extent of the damage.

While we're glad Elliot appears to have been unaffected by this round of tornadoes, our thoughts and prayers certainly go out to those in Oklahoma and beyond who were not as lucky.

I did a little checking and found some good advice about what to do in a tornado from the University of Oklahoma Police Department tornado safety information page.  I also discovered an online weather radio station that we can monitor the next time storms are predicted in the Oklahoma City area.  As the charts below show, Oklahoma is the hot spot of tornadoes in the U.S., and highest number of tornadoes happens in May, so we'll keep watching.