TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN NEAR OKLAHOMA CITY

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TORNADO TOUCHES DOWN NEAR OKLAHOMA CITY
Now
 two schools are gone they don't know where the kids are  comming in live per CNN

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RIGHT NOW TORNADO was two miles wide

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'TORNADO EMERGENCY'
Images show path of devastation
A massive tornado estimated to be at least two miles wide is moving through Moore, Oklahoma, in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, KFOR reports. FULL STORY
LIVE: Copter shows devastation 
See damage left by tornadoes 
Storm chaser's amazing photos 
more on the way
http://www.cnn.com/

[Blonde]

Two-mile-wide tornado slams Oklahoma City area
By Nick Valencia. Catherine E. Shoichet and Dana Ford, CNN
updated 6:46 PM EDT, Mon May 20, 2013

At least one school was in the tornado's devastation zone in Moore, Oklahoma. Lance West, a reporter for CNN affiliate KFOR, said that rescuers were searching for students trapped in debris at the elementary school. There were no immediate reports on the condition of the children.
There were 75 students and staff at the school when the storm hit, KFOR reported.
"Our worst fears are becoming realized this afternoon," Bill Bunting, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, told CNN soon after the tornado struck.





http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/us/severe-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[Blonde]

Massive tornado rakes Oklahoma; schools hit
By HLNtv.com Staff
updated 7:03 PM EDT, Mon May 20, 2013
NEED TO KNOW
City of Moore, Oklahoma, appears to take brunt of twister
There are reports that two school have been destroyed and that children are trapped in at least one of them



http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/05/20/tornado-moore-oklahoma-damage?hpt=hln10_1

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Rescuers searching for kids trapped

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/large-tornado-moves-into-okc-metro
At least 3 dead after mile-wide tornado hits near OKC
Hundreds of homes reduced to rubble
May 20, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP/KXAN) - A monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school.

A man was seen pulling trapped students out of Plaza Towers Elementary School, where he said 75 kids seeking shelter in a hallway when the tornado hit, said a reporter with KFOR, the NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, but the storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, south of the city. Block after block of the community lay in ruins, with heaps of debris piled up where homes used to be. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.
More...

[Blonde]

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/05/20/oklahoma-braces-for-severe-storms/
Search for survivors after mile-wide tornado touches down near Oklahoma City, causing significant damage
May 20, 2013

 
Oklahoma police told Fox News' Casey Stegall, on the ground in Moore, Okla., that at least four people were killed at a 7-11 convenience store as the tornado carved through the area. Integris Southwest Medical center in Oklahoma City said it received 19 patients, seven of which were in critical condition, Reuters reports.

The Oklahoma University Medical Center said it received 20 patients, including eight children, in trauma rooms at the University Medical Center and the nearby Children's Hospital at OU Medical Center.

Television footage on Monday afternoon showed homes and buildings that had been reduced to rubble in Moore, which is south of Oklahoma City. Footage also showed vehicles littering roadways south and southwest of Oklahoma City.

Search and rescue crews are now looking for anyone who may be trapped in the rubble, Fox 25 reports. Aerial flyovers showed crowds of residents picking through debris, while one resident told Fox News that children were trapped under cars at an elementary school.
 
At the Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was also hit, students were hugging and clinging to the walls of the school as the tornado passed over, KFOR reports.

An Associated Press photographer saw several children being pulled out of what was left of the school. The school's roof appeared mangled and the walls had fallen in or had collapsed.

Rescue workers lifted children from the rubble before they were passed down a human chain and taken to a triage center set up in the school's parking lot.

While the tornado was passing over the school, students were hugging and clinging to the walls, KFOR reports. At least 24 students are missing believed to be in the rubble of the school, but the report could not be confirmed.

A Norman, Okla. regional health system spokesperson also told Fox News that Moore Medical Center, the only hospital in the city, also suffered "extensive structural damage," demolishing the second floor of the hospital and tearing off part of the roof.

The center evacuated 30 patients to two other hospitals in Norman, Okla.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was on the ground for nearly 40 minutes, with the first tornado warning coming 16 minutes before it touched down. The preliminary damage rating on the enhanced fujita scale was EF4 -- the second most-powerful type of twister -- and carved a 20-mile path through Newcastle, Moore and South Oklahoma City.
 
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation closed I-35 in both directions near Norman, Okla., to assist with cleaning up the debris.

"This is absolute devastation like nothing I've ever seen before," Betsy Randolph, with Oklahoma State Police, told Fox 25." This may be worse than the May 3rd, 1999 tornado."

The strongest winds on earth -- 302 mph -- were recorded near Moore that year.

In advance of the storm, the Oklahoma House of Representatives stopped work so Capitol employees could take shelter in the basement. Television and radio broadcasters urged residents to take shelter because the storm's strength and size.
More...
Video at Link

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At least 10 children are gone 

[MuffyBee]

At least 10 children are gone 

 

[MuffyBee]

http://newsok.com/gallery/6028704/pictures/2095124
May 20 AP Photos of Moore, Okla., tornado and storm damage
May 20, 2013

[MuffyBee]

So sad.     The number of deaths is expected to rise.

http://cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r620-6e6735d7ebb8cc1215ddc6fed236f479.jpg
Huge tornado hits Oklahoma City suburb, kills 51
May 20, 2013

MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. At least 51 people were killed, and officials said the death toll was expected to rise.
The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, a community of 41,000 people south of the city. Block after block lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.
The National Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.
More than 120 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 70 children.
 
At Plaza Towers Elementary School, the storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal.
Children from the school were among the dead, but several students were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to the triage center in the parking lot.
James Rushing, who lives across the street from the school, heard reports of the approaching tornado and ran to the school, where his 5-year-old foster son, Aiden, attends classes. Rushing believed he would be safer there.
"About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart," he said.
The students were placed in the restroom.
 

[MuffyBee]

 


May 20, 2013 Tweets
https://twitter.com/piersmorgan

Piers Morgan ‏@piersmorgan 35m
BREAKING: 20 of the 51 fatalities confirmed so far in #Oklahoma tornado are children - State medical examiner's office. #CNN

[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/05/live-updates-of-tornado-damage-in-oklahoma/
Live Updates of Tornado Damage in Oklahoma
May 20, 2013

[labubske]

I have a lot of family and friends in Oklahoma (my home state), and in OKC area.  I am still getting updates.  Pray for those babies and everyone.

[MuffyBee]

I have a lot of family and friends in Oklahoma (my home state), and in OKC area.  I am still getting updates.  Pray for those babies and everyone.

I hope your family and friends are safe labubske.  I'm at a loss for words.  It's just heartbreaking.  Praying for those affected by the tornadoes. 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/05/21/children-among-dead-after-twister-strikes-near-oklahoma-city/
Children among the at least 51 dead after massive twister strikes near Oklahoma City
May 20, 2013

 
Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office, said at least 51 people were killed and the death toll is expected to rise. Twenty of those deaths are children and Oklahoma City Police say seven of those were children at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was hit by the tornado, Fox 25 reports. Oklahoma police also told Fox News' Casey Stegall, on the ground in Moore, Okla., that at least four people were killed at a 7-11 convenience store.

More than 120 people were being treated at hospitals, including about 50 children. And search-and-rescue efforts were to continue throughout the night.

Search and rescue crews were looking for anyone who may be trapped in the rubble. Aerial flyovers showed crowds of residents picking through debris Monday afternoon, while one resident told Fox News that children were trapped under cars at an elementary school.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said in a news conference that "hearts are broken" for parents wondering about the fate of their children, and search and rescue efforts will continue throughout the night.
 
OU Medical Center spokesman Scott Coppenbarger said the hospital and a nearby children's hospital are treating approximately 85 patients, including 65 children, with conditions ranging from minor injuries to critical.

Integris Southwest Medical Center spokeswoman Brooke Cayot said 9 of 57 patients being treated at that facility Monday are listed in critical condition. Nineteen are in serious and 29 others are listed in fair or good condition.

Cayot said five of the patients at Integris are children, including two who came from the Plaza Towers Elementary School.

Television footage on Monday afternoon showed homes and buildings that had been reduced to rubble in Moore, which is south of Oklahoma City. Footage also showed vehicles littering roadways south and southwest of Oklahoma City.

Briarwood Elementary School in Moore, one of two schools hit, suffered "extensive damage," according to Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

At the Plaza Towers Elementary School, students were hugging and clinging to the walls of the school as the tornado passed over, KFOR reports.
 
There are 24 students believed to be in the rubble at the school, but the report could not be confirmed.

Children from the school were among the dead, but several students were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to the triage center in the parking lot.
More...

[labubske]

I have a lot of family and friends in Oklahoma (my home state), and in OKC area.  I am still getting updates.  Pray for those babies and everyone.

I hope your family and friends are safe labubske.  I'm at a loss for words.  It's just heartbreaking.  Praying for those affected by the tornadoes. 

Thank you.  Most of my family and friends are more toward Tulsa.  I do have some that live over in that area, but so far everyone is okay.  One of my friends is a teacher at a school less than a mile from the schools that were hit.  She is okay and so are the little ones.  Such a sad day.  This happened back in 1999 in the same area. 

[Green Eyes]

I have a lot of family and friends in Oklahoma (my home state), and in OKC area.  I am still getting updates.  Pray for those babies and everyone.

Prayers for your family and friends labubske.  This has been one of worst ones I have seen.