At Least 36 Killed as Tornadoes Rip Oklahoma, Kansas

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tornadoes tore through Oklahoma and Kansas on Monday night, wiping out whole neighborhoods, killing at least 36 people and injuring hundreds.

Police and emergency workers combed through the debris, searching for survivors. Crumpled cars littered highways.

“We are getting so many injuries, we are just tagging them and bringing them in,” said Shara Findley, a spokeswoman for Hillcrest Health Center in Oklahoma City. “We’re getting everything you can think of. It’s real chaotic.”

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating activated the National Guard to deal with what he termed “unprecedented destruction” in his state. He said as many as 1,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed.

Fatalities were reported in a number of communities around Oklahoma City, as well as in the city itself. The Oklahoma death toll stood at 26 early today.

“I heard it, the house started shaking and then the big rumble,” said 74-year-old Katherine Burch, who hid in the bathroom of her southwest Oklahoma City home during the storm. “Glass and everything flew in it.”

In neighboring Kansas, 10 were reported dead in Haysville and Wichita, about 150 miles due north, according to officials. About 100 people were reported injured.

Officials from Oklahoma’s Midwest Regional Medical Center said they were also treating at least 100 injured.

“We fear there are many more,” one official said.

The tornado was one of many that formed over a five-hour period beginning in southwest Oklahoma and stretching northeast. Damage was reported with some of the storms, which were part of a severe storm system over the Midwest.

The National Severe Storms Lab in Norman said the large tornado that swept across Oklahoma City may have been a mile wide at times.

“It is just the perfect type of atmosphere, very unstable and with wind shear, to create super cells,” said National Weather Service forecaster David Andra.

He said forecasters expected the Oklahoma City twister to be categorized as at least F-4, the second-strongest tornado classification, and perhaps an F-5.

The tornado was one of several that formed during the night, beginning in southwest Oklahoma and stretching northeast. There were at least three tornado warnings still in effect late into the evening, including one about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City.

The tornadoes that ripped through south Wichita in Kansas on Monday night damaged dozens of homes and killed at least six people, officials said.

Several mobile homes in south Wichita were blown into a lake and several other homes were damaged, said Fred Irvin of the Sedgwick County Emergency Preparedness Office. Irvin said multiple injuries were reported in both Wichita and Haysville.

The storms, which included high winds and heavy rains, hit the area about 8:30 p.m., Irvin said. Power lines and trees were reported down throughout the county.

“It seems as if more than one tornado touched down,” Irvin said. “They seemed to have hit in spotted areas in south and southwest Wichita.”

Chad Harris’ mobile home was demolished with eight people inside.

“I have no trailer,” Harris, 19, said. “We all rolled in it. It was the worst experience in my life.”

Two people in the trailer were in critical condition.

Courtney Karr, 13, said she saw the bay windows in her house cave in and the tornado swirling inside the house.

“I was freaked out at that point. I was scared for my life,” Courtney said. “I’ve seen it on TV, but seeing it with my own eyes, tearing up my own home . . . it is hard to explain.”

Television reports in Oklahoma City showed hundreds of destroyed homes. Heavy damage was reported in Moore, south of Oklahoma City, where rows of houses were destroyed and scores of trucks overturned.

Natural gas leaked from several locations Monday night. Power lines and piles of carpet were everywhere.

“It’s gone,” LeeAnn Richardson said as she looked toward where her home once stood.

Richardson said she and others were watching the weather on television when they decided to run into the storm cellar after clouds rolled in and rain poured down. Sixteen people and four pets were in there with her.

All survived without injury, but: “We opened up and everything was gone,” Richardson said.

Power lines popped and debris flew as the twister moved along from Chickasha and cut through about eight miles of the heavily populated Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Ruth Seymore sat on the tailgate of a pickup truck being used as a treatment center by a Red Cross volunteer. “It was just demolished,” Seymore said of her home in Moore. “Everything fell in on me.”

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Tornado Devastation

A group of tornadoes on Monday evening caused fatalities and injuries in Oklahoma and Kanasas and destroyed hundreds of homes. The tornadoes began in southwest Oklahoma and moved northeast into Kansas. One huge tornado caused devastating damage in the Oklahoma City area.

Fujita Tornado Scale

Tornados are classified on a scale of severity created by physics professor Theodore Fujita. One of the Oklahoma tornadoes had 260-mph winds and was registered as an F-5.

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Number Wind speed Damage F-0 Up to 72 mph F-1 73-112 mph Moderate F-2 113-157 mph Considerabe F-3 158-206 mph Severe F-4 207-260 mph Devastating F-5 Above 261 mph Incredible

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Sources: The Weather Book; staff reports