As I write this, it’s too early to know how extensive the destruction in Oklahoma is. Property damage is immense, but there aren’t any reliable reports of casualties yet. Hopefully all Man Boobz readers and their loved ones in the area are safe.
Use this thread to discuss the disaster, and anything else that’s been concerning you of late.
EDITED TO ADD: The death toll has now reached 51, and is expected to rise. now stands at 24.
@pecunium,
Oh yeah, almost all churches are reaching out with compassion and support to the victims, and they are mortified that groups like WBC or the 700 Club claim to speak for their religion. Even though I’m not a Christian anymore, I know that they can not gloat over people suffering and dying and then call themselves Christians. It’s not compatible with the teachings of Jesus.
@Little Blue Dress, I agree with you completely. There is “no money” for states like Oklahoma or Missouri to offer rebates so poor and middle class people in tornado alley can get storm shelters in their homes, but there is always money to cut taxes. So families have no choice but to hide in closets and bathtubs and hope for the best.
Why won’t the federal government offer grants to schools in the south and midwest to put storm shelters in public schools? Instead, struggling communities like Joplin have to pass bonds issues to get them. We barely passed the bond to rebuild with storm shelters, and that was just one year after an F5 destroyed most of our schools. What kind of hope is there for other communities to buy storm shelters, if they don’t have such a history? Probably not much. Now I bet Moore will rebuild their schools with shelters, but there are still many other schools that still have the outdated storm plans of “hide in a hallway and duck”, even though hallways become wind tunnels full of sharp debris during tornadoes. Arggh, it’s very frustrating!
Very frustrating indeed. As a society we go totally ape-shit about terrorism when the threat of natural disasters caused by global warming should be what keeps us up at night, since climate and weather cause so much more damage and take more lives. Fighting climate change and implementing stringent, energy-efficient building codes to protect people should be our focus. There absolutely is money to help communities build storm shelters, if only we’d put tax dollars toward domestic social causes instead of spending billions to remodel Gauntanamo Bay, or giving GE, Apple, and Mitt Romney extra cash to stash away in the Cayman Islands.
And who are these MRA-republican dumbshits that think attacking feminism and stopping abortion will save the world? It’s all about those evil feminists, even when a tornado or deregulated fertilizer factory explosion demolishes their kid’s school. These guys are stooges. Here’s my 2 cents: if a person isn’t a progressive thinker in this day and age, they’re useless. Democrats are no prize but republicans are the ones blocking progress.
Yes, this. Please be the next POTUS.
And if any MRA says one word about how women never risk their own safety during a crisis, then they need to explain the actions of Anna
Cannady During the storm, she used her body to cover the students and prayed
Thankfully she survived as well as the kids with her. Even though she was trapped under a car, her main concern after the twister were the kids.
bionicmommy: Her actions weren’t noble though, merely what a decent woman would do, so they aren’t worthy of comment.
pecunium – good to hear the Pope saying that!
I apologize if this thread is too old and if I’m necro’ing, but I really wanted to share some happy news on this subject. I just got my monthly school newsletter and found out that my son’s school safe room will be completed this coming December, with plenty of time left over before the next storm season. This will give me so much peace of mind when school is in session on a stormy day. Another benefit is that they open the shelters to the public during after school hours if there is a tornado warning for Joplin.
Great news, thebionicmommy!
Thanks, kittehserf. I’m just on cloud nine thinking of that shelter being there just in case, so I can be assured that my children can be safe at school, even during an F5. I think I will get ice cream for the family tonight because I’m in such a celebratory mood.
Yay for school safe rooms and shelters! Ice cream for everybody!
@thebionicmommy
Yay for safe schools!
Yay for the safe room. Many Yays!
Right now Oklahoma City is getting hit by a huge tornado. Mike Bettes from the Weather Channel said his vehicle was thrown 200 yards by it and now it’s heading straight into the downtown area where the capital building and Will Rogers airport is. There might be another tornado in northern Moore, but I don’t know if that’s in the same area that was hit on the 20th. Sorry I don’t know the details that well yet.
Saw the weather channel vehicle on twitter, I really hope no one was in it.
thebionicmommy — please keep us posted and stay safe!
Gods, poor Oklahoma! 🙁
Thanks, Argenti! The sky here in Joplin looks ominous, and I’m keeping a close eye on the supercells firing up in NE OK and SE KS. A few tornadoes have formed in SW MO tonight but luckily they are not hitting populated areas. I hope we stay lucky all night, and I feel awful for everyone in Ok City going through this again so soon after their last one.
And The Weather Channel crew was in the vehicle, I think, but the airbags kept them from getting hurt. And sorry if any of this info isn’t accurate. I’m getting it all from their twitter feed, and the media doesn’t always get the details right before they send out information to the public.
thebionicmommy — looks like they were inside, but only minor injuries — http://www.szsu.com/2013/05/31/oklahoma-twister-destroys-weather-channels-tornado-hunt-vehicle/ (images of the SUV before and after, no pics of tornado or people)
I saw that on the news and came here. So scary. I hope everyone is safe once it passes.
So far everything is okay here tonight. We had two different tornado warnings and the sirens sounded twice, but nothing bad happened. The storms were scary, though, very intense.
I don’t know too many details on OK City or El Reno, OK yet. I have heard some parts of St. Louis got hit tonight, including the St. Louis airport. I don’t know if anyone was hurt or not. Thankfully, the Cardinals cancelled their game tonight so a there wouldn’t be a lot of people out in a stadium during a dangerous situation like that.
glad you’re ok! the news coverage has been uncllear on the amount of damage, though there are reports of several deaths.
There’s a petition going round for OK school’s to have storm shelters — https://www.change.org/petitions/mary-fallin-and-the-oklahoma-state-legislature-enact-legislation-to-ensure-ok-schools-have-adequate-tornado-shelters