I don't know how many people follow weather here, but there is a massive storm hitting OKC right now. So far, there have been 7 different vortex's out of this storm. This is exactly what OK didn't need to happen after Moore. Also, if you're anywhere near this storm TAKE COVER! More here.
There's one heading towards Saint Louis too... More info Also, here is a map that has all of the current tornado warnings on it.
Ya the storm is headed directly towards us, we have friends coming over to take cover with us in our shelter. A tornado just hit Moore AGAIN right near where it hit Monday. This is insane.
Lesson learned...DON'T LIVE in Oklahoma!! So tragic as to what's happened P.S. I've gotten ads on Youtube about "visiting Oklahoma". YEAH RIGHT.
It really is insane. These storms went from a cloud to a 10,000 foot tall storm within 20 minutes.. Also, a weather channel car took a direct hit from one of the tornados. Most of the interstates in OKC are closed. People on the freeways are currently sitting ducks... these people need to get out of their cars and take cover. The police are calling this a "nightmare situation".
You really have to be prepared no matter where you live. Even though severe weather does not happen very much in an area does not mean that it cannot happen.
Oh my gosh, it must take a lot of guts to survive in Oklahoma, between the crazy right-wing politics/homophobia and the crazy insane weather/tornadoes. :eek: I heard that the ground in Oklahoma is mostly bedrock so tough that most homes don't even have basements to retreat into whenever these tornadoes hit?
Ya we don't even have a shelter, we have a closet that is specifically built to survive damage, like a safe room. ---------- Post added 31st May 2013 at 08:02 PM ---------- A woman got out of her car with her baby to take shelter about 30-45 min. ago and was killed along with her baby. 5 fatalities have already been reported. It's dangerous no matter where you are in the storm.
But what about what happened in May '99? Shouldn't that have prompted someone to say: hey, we need to do something for protection? It's shocking that Alabama is the only state that requires storm shelters in schools. Why not Oklahoma? Yes, you Oklahomans, this is a fact of life where you live....it's just sad that there could have been more precautions for this.
You should try not to be so derogatory to Oklahomans. They've been hit hard lately and I don't think they need you berating them when they're trying to recover. And it's certainly a bit rude to discourage going somewhere. Every place has it's troubles. Stay safe, guys. <3
Yeah that's what I heard on the news during the last tornado, most people just have a safe room closet instead of a basement, but at least in the case of the tornado that hit Moore a few weeks ago, that wasn't going to be strong enough to hold up against it, everything above ground got destroyed. :eek:
I know that Moore has a proposal that all new schools have tornado shelters. The problem with tornado shelters in Oklahoma is that they are really expensive to build. It costs thousands of dollars to build these shelters. Above ground shelters have to be built while the structure is being built, so that would not help existing structures. I wasn't saying that the storm was more dangerous in your car. I was saying that if you have a tornado coming towards you, then you need to get out of your car and find shelter. It's sad that they were killed. They were stuck in a death trap... because that's what those interstates became after they were closed down.
The really nasty storms mostly follow the I35 corridor through Oklahoma. Western and Eastern Oklahoma, don't get hit as often. My parents live in North East Oklahoma. I spent last weekend up there, and it is a really nice area. My brother lives near Oklahoma City. He was out of town for the last batch, but his girl friend posted on Facebook they were driving home and saw one of them forming. Hopefully it misses where they live.
The lack of basement shelters in schools and for the communities in Oklahoma, is apparently actually tied in to the problem of right-wing politics in the state that I mentioned earlier, since the Republicans in charge of the state would rather cut taxes for the rich than spend that money on safety, leaving communities to fend for themselves: Daily Kos: The Day Journalism Died in Oklahoma
I'm bothered by the fact that you chose to politicize this event. Yes, it's tragic. However, school districts in Oklahoma get their funding from property taxes, and property taxes are set by the local counties, not the state government. It's expensive to build shelters in already constructed buildings and most school districts can't afford to retrofit buildings with tornado shelters. I won't disagree with you that Oklahoma is a right wing, conservative state, but know the facts first. Yes, the state Government could help schools out, but like most states, there is a budget deficit in Oklahoma.
No one's berating anyone here. I'm saying....I think more precautions should be taken...like putting storm shelters in school (and making that a requirement).
These are the facts, and it's not "politicizing" the event to point out that people continue to die unnecessarily and the long-term financial costs will be greater since tornadoes are virtually guaranteed to hit the state again but the right-wing state government won't make any initial investments in the safety of its own people. The state has plenty of federal aid to spend. Will the state government cut corners again or will they fund and mandate that the destroyed schools be rebuilt to withstand future tornadoes? If they had done that in 1999 after that tornado, a bunch of children might still be alive today.