From: TheBlaze:
SHAWNEE, OK – MAY 20: Kasey Clark sorts through
the debris of her grandmother-in-law Thelma Cox’s mobile home after it was
destroyed by a tornado May 20, 2013 near Shawnee, Oklahoma. A series of tornados
moved across central Oklahoma May 19, killing two people and injuring at least
21. Credit: Getty Images
MOORE, Okla.
(TheBlaze/AP) — A monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide roared through the
Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods with winds up to
200 mph, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary
school.
There were no
confirmed injuries or deaths, but the storm laid waste to scores of buildings in
Moore, south of the city. Block after block of the community lay in ruins, with
heaps of debris piled up where homes used to be. Cars and trucks were left
crumpled on the roadside.
Fox News was
reporting the official death toll at six as of Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The National
Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the
enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.
In video of
the storm, the dark funnel cloud could be seen marching slowly across the green
landscape. As it churned through the community, the twister scattered shards of
wood, pieces of insulation, awnings, shingles and glass all over the
streets.
Volunteers and
first responders raced to search the debris for survivors.
At Plaza
Towers Elementary School, the storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and
turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal.
Several
children were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors
down a human chain to a triage center in the parking lot.
James
Rushing, who lives across the street from the school, heard reports of the
approaching tornado and ran to the school, where his 5-year-old foster son,
Aiden, attends classes. Rushing believed he would be safer there.
“About two
minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart,” he said.
The students
were placed in the restroom.
“There’s no
safe room in the school. There will be,” said Rushing, who said his home was
virtually destroyed.
Oklahoma City
Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said downed power lines and open gas lines posed a
risk in the aftermath of the system.
The same
suburb was hit hard by a tornado in 1999. That storm had the distinction of
producing the highest winds ever recorded near the earth’s surface – 302
mph.
Several
stunning time lapse videos of the tornado have been released, showing the
twister’s path in incredible detail. Watch via KWTV:
Via WMC-TV:
Please pray for those still buried alive in the rubble, and for those who have lost loved ones in this terrible disaster!
Revelation 21:4, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
God's best 2 U, Joy J
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