MAJOR (EF-4) TORNADO DEVASTATES MOORE, A COMMUNITY SOUTH OF

OKLAHOMA CITY Monday, May 20, 2013

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,

Virginia, USA 

THIS NEAR-RECORD STORM WAS THE SECOND TO OCCUR IN TWO DAYS

THE FIRST STORM HIT AROUND MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY; THE SECOND

AT 3:00 PM ON MONDAY

THE EF-4 TORNADO OF MAY 20, 2013

WINDS REACHED 333 KM PER HOUR (200 MILES PER

HOUR)

THE SECOND STORM, A SLOW MOVER, WAS ON THE GROUND FOR

45 MINUTES

AFTER TOUCH DOWN, THE TORNADO CARVED OUT A 1 ½ -TO- 3 1/3 KMS (1 - 2 MILES) WIDE PATH THROUGH MOORE

150-SQUARE KM (60-SQUARE MILE)

AREADEVASTATED: at least 24 dead

ALL COMMUNICATIONS WERE DISRUPTED

POWER OUTAGES

DEVASTATED AREA: BEFORE (top) AND AFTER

DEVASTATED RESIDENTIAL AREA

BEFORE (TOP) AND AFTER

BEFORE (TOP) AND AFTER

DEVASTATION

DEVASTATION

MOORE MEDICAL CENTER: BEFORE (TOP) AND AFTER

SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS QUICKLY FOCUSED ON COMBING THE PILES OF

RUBBLE TO SAVE SURVIVORS OR TO RECOVER

THE DEAD BODIES

EVERYONE HELPING EVERYONE IN MASSIVE SPONTANEOUS

SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS

RESCUE EFFORTS HAMPERED BY FACT THAT MOORE’S TWO LOCAL MEDICAL FACILITIES WERE BADLY DAMAGED

SEARCH AND RESCUE

THE “NIGHTMARE SCENARIO” HAPPENED

A MEGA-TORNADO STRIKING TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

THAT ARE IN SESSION

A DIRECT HIT ON TWO SCHOOLS

All of the cinder block and brick buildings of two elementary schools (57-year-old Plaza Towers Elementary and Briarwood Elementary) were leveled.

BRIARWOOD ELEM. SCHOOL: BEFORE (TOP) AND AFTER

PLAZA TOWERS ELEM. SCHOOL: BEFORE (TOP) AND AFTER

CINDER BLOCK SCHOOL BUILDINGS VULNERABLE

• The mostly one-story public school buildings constructed of cinder-block and brick in the 1960’s had little or no chance of withstanding winds of 333 kph (200 mph) that caused walls to fall like a house of cards and tore off roofs.

NOTE: Given the devastation visible after the tornado swept

through Moore, it’s likely that no school building would have

withstood the intense pressure that the tornado brought to bear on the walls of the two schools.

NEWER SCHOOLS HAVE HAVE REINFORCED CONCRETE WALLS AND SAFE ROOMS

NOW, BUT NEITHER OF THESE SCHOOLS DID

ADVANCE \WARNING

A 16-minute warning gave teachers/students/residents enough time to implement safety plans and look for places to hide (e.g., retreating to hallways, bath rooms, closets, safe rooms, underground storm cellars, etc.).

IMMEDIATE EVACUATION

• School officials evacuated fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders to a church about a quarter-mile away before the tornado touched down, - - -

NOT EVACUATED

• Knowing that it is best NOT to be caught out in the open, the younger students – kindergartners through third graders – were kept at their 440-student school.

THE “IDEAL” TORNADO ALLEY SCHOOL SURVIVAL PLAN

• Students are moved into a hallway or small room away from the southwest corner of the building and any windows and instructed to either sit or crouch.

• The objective: Find a place that is structurally secure, without windows, so you can avoid flying glass and debris.

ACTUAL: The younger students crouched in hallways and

bathrooms, waiting with teachers, hoping, and praying as the

school’s cinder-brick walls started coming apart.

STUDENTS TRAPPED IN THE RUBBLE

GOOD NEWS: Only seven of the third grade students trapped in the rubble of the 57-year-old Plaza Towers Elementary School were victims.

No casualties at Briarwood Elementary School.

THE MAY 20, 2013 TORNADO DISASTER IS EXPECTED TO

ECCLIPSE THE AREA’S MEGA-TORNADO (ES-5) DISASTER OF

MAY 3, 1999

REMEMBERING MAY 3, 1999

• When another monster tornado roared through Moore on May 3, 1999, 300 students and their parents were attending an awards ceremony in the West Moore High School auditorium.

REMEMBERING MAY 3, 1999

• Although the tornado badly damaged the school and tossed 150 cars in the parking lot like tinker-toys, those who hunkered down in the school’s hallways suffered only a few superficial injuries.

Experts now say that having a large number of people

crowded into a big building is a bad idea when mega- tornadoes are touching

down in the area.

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE UNDERWAY

• American Red Cross

• Samaritan’s Purse

• Salvation Army

• Southern Baptists

• Many others

LOSSES EXPECTED TO EXCEED $3 BILLION.

AREA STILL AT HIGH RISK FROM FUTURE TORNADOES

IMPROVED TORNADO RESILIENCE MEASURES ARE NEEDED FOR

ENTIRE TORNADO ALLEY

DEVASTATED; BUT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS STILL ALIVE