Oklahoma Recovering After Strong Storms
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MOORE, Okla. (CBSDFW.COM) - It was just two years ago that a huge tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, killing 24 people. Now, families from Oklahoma City to Tulsa -- including Moore -- are cleaning up after another round of storms struck the area on Wednesday night.
Many families did not get a good view of the fallout until the sun came up on Thursday.
A quick look around Moore shows the damage that has been done. Roofs are gone from homes. The front of one house is now collapsed. Strong winds shattered windows and took the roof off of an elementary school. Trees were torn in half and debris now lines the streets. Metal carports are wrapped around fences.
A baby bassinet could be seen hanging out of a home's window. The family who lives in that house has no idea where it could have come from, but it is not theirs.
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis called Wednesday's storm a "junior" tornado, compared to what the city has felt in the past.
"It was over there, down the street a little ways," recalled Moore resident Bobby Williams. "I ran and got in my bathtub and listened to the TV as loud as I could to hear what was going on."
Nancy Coffey said that there was not much warning. She was sitting on her couch when the power went out, she said. A few seconds later, her roof was ripped off and she was staring at the sky. Her whole house was shaking, she stated, and she feared the worst. "I actually thought we were going to die. I really did," Coffey said. "There was so much pressure. It just felt like it was going to explode."
Coffey's home was spared by the tornado two years ago. This time, she was not so lucky.
People in the city are still recovering from the tornado that hit two years ago. But, that storm prompted many residents to install storm shelters, which could have been a saving grace this time around.
One woman went across the street to her neighbor's storm shelter to escape Wednesday's severe weather. And, after the storm had passed by, her house was left in shambles. "She broke down," said neighbor Charles Wages. "It was tough on her. She lives there by herself. Of course, the last tornado did a lot of damage. She just got it all fixed back up."
At least 20 people were treated at hospitals across Oklahoma, mostly for minor injuries like cuts and bruises. There has been one confirmed death near Tulsa. Gov. Mary Fallin spent Thursday morning touring the damaged neighborhoods.
Fallin said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who sustained injury and loss of property, and with our family in the Sand Springs area that had a loss of life. We hope and pray that there's no other loss of life in our state."