JulieCitySlicker
05-09-2003, 01:52 PM
Missouri, Illinios, Tennesee, Oklahoma, and Mississippi got hit pretty good with these storms and They Are Not Over Yet:eek: :eek: :eek: Got more coming tonight and tomorrow to:(
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 9) - Crews worked to restore power and search for possible victims Friday after another round of violent tornadoes, while some of the heaviest rainfall in more than a century swamped parts of the South.
In the Oklahoma City area, the tornadoes demolished well over 300 homes and injured at least 104 people, five critically. Firefighters went door to door to make sure no one remained trapped by debris.
For Kansas, Thursday's round of storms was the second in less than a week. No deaths were reported in either state.
Since Sunday, tornado-packed storms have killed at least 42 people across the Midwest and Plains - 18 in Missouri, 15 in Tennessee, seven in Kansas and two in Illinois. Officials have estimated damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rivers in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia were still fat with rain that began last weekend, and schools remained closed Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the Tennessee River had swollen 6 feet above flood stage.
The Oklahoma twister cut a path of destruction a quarter-mile wide and 3 1/2 miles long through Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, ripping apart homes, uprooting trees and scattering heavy debris.
Moore took the brunt of the damage, losing 335 homes and businesses, but dozens more were leveled in Oklahoma City, Midwest City, Del City and Choctaw.
David Waller was driving an 18-wheeler on Interstate 40 when he saw the afternoon tornado coming his way. He said he parked his rig and ran for a tree.
``I'm scared to death,'' said Waller, shaking, his clothes covered with mud. The tornado picked up his semi and dropped it on its side.
A Greyhound bus traveling through Moore was also toppled, and all 23 aboard were taken to a hospital.
At least seven tornadoes swept across Kansas on Thursday night, and one ripped roofs off homes and apartment buildings in Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas.
Power lines came down, cars flipped, and insulation and debris flew as far as five miles away.
``I saw the debris and said, `Oh, yeah, this is real,''' said Sue Lewis, who had windows blown out of her house and shingles stripped from her roof.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state of emegency for six counties.
``It's hard to believe we are being faced with more damage and destruction so soon,'' she said in a statement.
High wind also hit southeastern Nebraska, tearing a section of roof off a manufacturing company in Filley. Meteorologists had not yet determined whether the damage was caused by a tornado.
To the east, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee were struggling with the leftovers from showers that dropped more than a foot of rain in less than a week.
The swollen Tennessee River has forced as many as 1,600 people out of their homes in the worst flooding to hit Chattanooga, Tenn., in nearly 30 years.
South Chickamauga Creek crested at its highest level on record, 29.5 feet, and blocked access to East Ridge Hospital Thursday, and employees used a pickup truck to reach the entrance.
``I saw a carp in the front parking lot this morning,'' hospital CEO Jerri Underwood said.
In west-central Georgia, hundreds of people were evacuated from homes and businesses in Troup County on Thursday as the Chattahoochee River swelled to its highest level in more than four decades, and Interstate 85 was closed near the Alabama-Georgia line.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in Troup and Harris counties Friday.
Oklahoma City's twister rekindled memories of the May 3, 1999, tornado that ripped a similar path through the Oklahoma City area, killing 44 people.
Terri Morris and her daughter, Kimber, hid in a closet in their brick home when the tornado hit in Moore. When they emerged, stripped tree limbs and debris cluttered their street.
``These little houses, they make it,'' she said. Her home also survived the 1999 storm.
Neighborhoods remained closed until firefighters checked and rechecked damaged neighborhoods and spray-painted a large red ``X'' on each home examined to make sure nobody was stuck inside.
About 37,000 customers in the Oklahoma City area were without power at the peak of the storm, and more than 6,800 remained in the dark Friday morning.
Extensive damage took General Motors' recently renovated assembly plant out of service in southern Oklahoma City, and one supply truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Gov. Brad Henry said Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will start assessing the damage Friday. A request to have Oklahoma and Cleveland counties declared federal disaster areas has also been initiated.
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 9) - Crews worked to restore power and search for possible victims Friday after another round of violent tornadoes, while some of the heaviest rainfall in more than a century swamped parts of the South.
In the Oklahoma City area, the tornadoes demolished well over 300 homes and injured at least 104 people, five critically. Firefighters went door to door to make sure no one remained trapped by debris.
For Kansas, Thursday's round of storms was the second in less than a week. No deaths were reported in either state.
Since Sunday, tornado-packed storms have killed at least 42 people across the Midwest and Plains - 18 in Missouri, 15 in Tennessee, seven in Kansas and two in Illinois. Officials have estimated damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rivers in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia were still fat with rain that began last weekend, and schools remained closed Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the Tennessee River had swollen 6 feet above flood stage.
The Oklahoma twister cut a path of destruction a quarter-mile wide and 3 1/2 miles long through Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, ripping apart homes, uprooting trees and scattering heavy debris.
Moore took the brunt of the damage, losing 335 homes and businesses, but dozens more were leveled in Oklahoma City, Midwest City, Del City and Choctaw.
David Waller was driving an 18-wheeler on Interstate 40 when he saw the afternoon tornado coming his way. He said he parked his rig and ran for a tree.
``I'm scared to death,'' said Waller, shaking, his clothes covered with mud. The tornado picked up his semi and dropped it on its side.
A Greyhound bus traveling through Moore was also toppled, and all 23 aboard were taken to a hospital.
At least seven tornadoes swept across Kansas on Thursday night, and one ripped roofs off homes and apartment buildings in Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas.
Power lines came down, cars flipped, and insulation and debris flew as far as five miles away.
``I saw the debris and said, `Oh, yeah, this is real,''' said Sue Lewis, who had windows blown out of her house and shingles stripped from her roof.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state of emegency for six counties.
``It's hard to believe we are being faced with more damage and destruction so soon,'' she said in a statement.
High wind also hit southeastern Nebraska, tearing a section of roof off a manufacturing company in Filley. Meteorologists had not yet determined whether the damage was caused by a tornado.
To the east, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee were struggling with the leftovers from showers that dropped more than a foot of rain in less than a week.
The swollen Tennessee River has forced as many as 1,600 people out of their homes in the worst flooding to hit Chattanooga, Tenn., in nearly 30 years.
South Chickamauga Creek crested at its highest level on record, 29.5 feet, and blocked access to East Ridge Hospital Thursday, and employees used a pickup truck to reach the entrance.
``I saw a carp in the front parking lot this morning,'' hospital CEO Jerri Underwood said.
In west-central Georgia, hundreds of people were evacuated from homes and businesses in Troup County on Thursday as the Chattahoochee River swelled to its highest level in more than four decades, and Interstate 85 was closed near the Alabama-Georgia line.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in Troup and Harris counties Friday.
Oklahoma City's twister rekindled memories of the May 3, 1999, tornado that ripped a similar path through the Oklahoma City area, killing 44 people.
Terri Morris and her daughter, Kimber, hid in a closet in their brick home when the tornado hit in Moore. When they emerged, stripped tree limbs and debris cluttered their street.
``These little houses, they make it,'' she said. Her home also survived the 1999 storm.
Neighborhoods remained closed until firefighters checked and rechecked damaged neighborhoods and spray-painted a large red ``X'' on each home examined to make sure nobody was stuck inside.
About 37,000 customers in the Oklahoma City area were without power at the peak of the storm, and more than 6,800 remained in the dark Friday morning.
Extensive damage took General Motors' recently renovated assembly plant out of service in southern Oklahoma City, and one supply truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Gov. Brad Henry said Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will start assessing the damage Friday. A request to have Oklahoma and Cleveland counties declared federal disaster areas has also been initiated.