Oklahoma 1999 by Nick Rissmeyer

Oklahoma 1999 nick rissmeyer 2016

Oklahoma

________ 1999

nick rissmeyer 2016

19 99 The May 3rd Oklahoma tornado is one of the most infamous tornadoes in US history. From May 2nd to May 8th 1999 a total of 152 tornadoes touched down across the Central and Eastern United States effecting Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Arkansas. On May 3rd at around 6pm an EF5 tornado made contact with the ground southwest of Chickasha Oklahoma. It traveled north west until hooking north and dissipating. In its wake it left 1.1 billion in

damages throughout Bridge Creek, southern Oklahoma City, Moore, Del City and many other areas around OKC. This swirling, rain wrapped, massive tornado was about a mile long and had a trail of more than 18 miles. Although the early warning saved countless lives the tornado left 41 Oklahomans dead, later recounted to around 32-34, around 700 injured, 23,000 without power or water, and 3,719 structures were completely destroyed.

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Bridge Creek, Moore, Oklahoma, Del City EF5 tornado 318 mph winds 36 dead 700 injured 1.1 billion in damages

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prediction I watched a ton of footage captured from May 3rd and throughout the recovery efforts of the 1999 tornado. News Nine had a helicopter fly along the path of the tornado which was incredibly visible all the way until the end of the path. A large dusty brown line could be seen for over 18 miles. The tornado was a ferocious 318 mph giant. The national weather service, local weather stations and NOVA helped to let Oklahomans know what to expect and when to expect it. The warnings and coverage of the tornadoes throughout the few days really helped to minimize the loss of life. Many people had ample time to get to shelter and just time to plan and prepare for the worst.

The outbreak was caused by a vigorous upper-level trough that moved into the Central and Southern Plains states on the morning of May 3. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma issued a slight risk of severe thunderstorms early that morning stretching from the Kansas-Nebraska border to parts of southern Texas. As the day progressed and they continued monitoring the situation they raised and raised the risk level. The SPC issued a tornado watch by midafternoon as conditions gathered together for what would be a historic tornado outbreak.

Those who survived the tornado met an unbelievable reality of debris and right after they came out of the shelters or crawled out of the rubble of their former homes, gas lines were hissing all over and police were forcing people to evacuate the area. They returned, after police checked the area, to sift through the rubble to find any belongings that may have survived. In interviews many people said they didn’t want to believe that this had happened to them and it didn’t become real until they visited the wreckage again to see what was left and found nothing. Especially those with children. It’s one thing to go through this as an adult and move on but it’s a million times harder to go through with a child who now has no bed, no clothes, no food, no nothing.

The tornado may have caused incredible damage but those who survived value their lives and are glad to actually be able to start over. There was an overwhelming response from neighboring areas bringing food and supplies and churches acting as relief centers. The people who had just lost their homes and barely survived were immediately out looking for any survivors amidst the rubble. In a news video from the News Nine a reporter said the victims of this storm â&#x20AC;&#x153;managed to sift out the good through all the turmoil.â&#x20AC;? Oklahomans are no strangers to extreme weather, specifically tornadoes. Including May 3, 1999, there have been 43 tornadoes in the Oklahoma City metro area through 2015, an average of two to three tornadoes each year. You can see in news reports and interviews and footage from the aftermath that no matter how many times it happens they seem to pick themselves right back up again. The response of the surrounding communities and the people around the effected area with relief efforts really made something so tragic a little easier.

mitigation The early warnings put out saved countless Oklahomans as they flocked to their storm shelters, basements, bathrooms and bath tubs with their portable radios listening to the news following the tornados path. Gary England said with “an F4 or F5 tornado, if you’re not underground you don’t survive”. Those without storm shelters did what they were told to do and got in their bath tubs, Moore resident Vicky Blesovich clung to her mattress laying in her tub, she survived

the storm with a black eye and a broken wrist. Minor injuries compared to those dead in the rubble or possibly worse those horribly injured, one woman was brought to the nearby Bridge Creek hospital with a board stuck straight through her head.

first responders and search dogs 1999

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Oklahomans who were there for the 1999 tornadoes incredible destruction never dreamt that they would have anything like that again. Many of the affected area found themselves in a similar situation 14 years later. The town of Moore was completely destroyed by the 1999 twister, rebuilt in 2009 only to be destroyed again 4 years later. Meteorologists say you have a 1 in 1 hundred trillion chance of your home getting hit by a tornado more than once. In the tornadoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s path was an elementary school, a hospital and countless homes. The 2013 tornado took 24 lives.

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May 19, an EF4 tornado tracked from Lake Thunderbird on the east side of the city of Norman to near Shawnee, Oklahoma. Then an EF3 tornado tracked from far northeast Oklahoma County into Logan and Lincoln Counties, including the towns of Carney, and Luther. As residents were looking through the debris from these tornadoes the following day, a massive EF5 tornado up to 1.3 miles ripped through the same area.

Moore, Oklahoma EF3,EF4,EF5 tornadoes 210 mph winds 24 dead 212 injured 300 homes destroyed 2 billion in damages

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lasting In response to the disasters caused by the May 3rd tornadoes, FEMA deployed the Building Performance Assessment Team(BPAT). A team of experts who “assess the performance of the buildings affected by the tornadoes, investigate losses and describe the lessons learned.” Also after the rapid increase in tornadoes the US government signed multiple acts outlining ways for home owners and small business owners to fund their own storm shelters through grants and Insured financing.

The storm also raised the question of taking shelter under an overpass. Prior to 1999 people had taken cover under overpasses and thought that to be a good place to go. 3 people died under overpasses in Oklahoma during the tornado outbreak of 1999. “According to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, seeking shelter in an overpass ‘is to become a stationary target for flying debris’; the wind channeling effect that occurs within these structures along with an increase in wind speeds

above ground level, changing of wind direction when the tornado vortex passes, and the fact most overpasses do not have girders for people to take shelter between also provide little to no protection.”

effects After being hit by two massive tornadoes in 1999 and 2013 and two smaller ones on 2003 and 2010, the real question that comes up is should they rebuild again. “In the modern age, no major American city has been permanently abandoned after trauma and destruction,” said Thomas Campanella, an associate professor of urban planning and design at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “There’s a narrative of resilience, this notion of us being challenged and overcoming that to become stronger.”

It seems that it shows that they can overcome anything but I would think that starting over 4 times would show that clearly this area is highly prone to tornadoes and therefore unlivable. Either way the Oklahomans and all of those effected by tornadoes stay strong and recover.

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The storms mentioned were definitely disasters due to the loss of life and incredible amount of property damage.

Nick Rissmeyer Macbook Pro InDesign Illustrator Images from: FEMA Wikimedia NYdailynews Information from: News Nine ABC News Huffington Post Fonts: Univers Gotham Minion Pro Color: d12229