Local Man From Moore, Okla. Talks Tornado, Missing Loved Ones
PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - A huge tornado has ripped through Moore, Oklahoma and surrounding areas, demolishing homes, schools, and leaving dozens dead or missing.
The residents of Moore, Okla. are unfortunately used to this. This is the fifth tornado to devastate that neighborhood since 1998. When the last big storm hit, officials and experts claimed this wouldn't happen again for a 100 years, but they were wrong.
John Jones was one of those residents who didn't believe that it wouldn't happen again. Now, living on the North Side, Jones came to Pittsburgh to escape Tornado Alley.
"The fear you get when you hear wind come up, and you see a thunderstorm, and now to see this happen, it's just awful," Jones said. "You can't imagine what it's like to go through that, because you lose everything."
Jones talked to KDKA-AM's Larry and John about what life was like in Moore and why he left. As of this morning, he has friends and family who haven' t been accounted for yet.
"The closest I have been able to get to them is TV because communication is down," Jones said.
They call it Tornado Alley because of the geography and climate. With the flat plains combined with cold fronts from the north, it's easy to see why Moore can be called the tornado capital of the world. So why do people stay there?
"When your family has lived there forever, and you have so many roots down, that's your whole world," Jones said. "I must be a different breed because I've seen so much that I can't go through this again."
And as Jones watches the damage on TV and the death toll rises, he can't help but wonder what will happen to his hometown and his unaccounted loved ones.
"The word is wait. You just have to wait and hope and pray that they're okay."
