Residents are trying to remain strong and pick up the pieces of their lives, after a massive 2-mile wide tornado slammed Oklahoma City yesterday, killing 91 and injuring more than 150.
As of this writing, at least 20 children are among the 91 deceased victims, after the Plaza Towers Elementary School took a direct hit from the deadly twister that carried winds of up to 200 MPH. An area hospital lost the top 2 floors of its entire building. Neighborhoods now appear as a war zone and it’s difficult to differentiate where houses once stood. Sadly, the death toll continues to rise as authorities continue finding bodies among the rubble and strung along the storm’s path.
Hundreds of residents are now homeless after the storm literally leveled entire neighborhoods. Thousands more are without power, cell phone and general services. Many other residents are trapped at various locations throughout the city, as most roads are impassible and unsafe to travel due to heavy debris.
The devastation is wide and the recovery will take weeks, if not months to overcome. President Obama has declared Oklahoma a disaster area and pledged to Gov. Mary Fallin that the federal government “stands ready to provide all available assistance” to aide the victims.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed a team to assist state operations, and additional personnel are ready to be dispatched as necessary. Mr. Obama told Fallin “the people of Oklahoma are in the first family’s thoughts and prayers.”
I really haven't watched a lot of this sad story because:
1. I'm so tired of the way the media tends to exploit these tragedies…..in particular, CNN.
2. I'm so tired of lives being lost needlessly. Children have no choice but to live where their parents choose to live. WHY pray tell do adults…especially PARENTS….choose to keep rebuilding their homes in areas well known as HIGH-RISK Tornado magnets?!
Btw: I feel the same about people who keep rebuilding in high-risk flood-plain areas. It makes no sense to me especially if you have children.
The major point of devastation with this last Tornado happened in an area that's been hit 3 TIMES in the last 11 years.