It has been a terrible week for folks living in Alabama. For the past week, they have been hammered with lots of tornadoes. Just yesterday, Tuscaloosa and several small towns around the City got slammed by either EF-4 or EF-5 tornadoes. They showed video of these tornadoes on TV and they were very huge. So far, these storms have taken 162 + lives. I am not really sure why there were so many deaths, except that the tornado was massive and about the only way to escape it was to be underground. If people were above ground, they did not have much of a chance….however, reports are that the people in these communities had plenty of warnings…up to an hour in advance. Why don’t people pay attention? Sometimes, even when there are warnings given out ahead of time, people don’t really heed them. They think it won’t hit them…and then it does and they aren’t prepared.
These tornadoes were huge and covering a large area. Everything it hit, it destroyed. I have probably seen around 10 videos of this tornado and it was a monster. The problem is, the tornado hit some of the most populated areas…..homes in neighborhoods and the downtown area. Plus, the storms hit at around 5 pm, when most of the work force was heading home. I just can’t imagine someone driving through the storm, knowing there is an imminent threat of a tornado.
We have been very blessed in Oklahoma. The same storm system that hit Alabama, also went through Oklahoma, but the tornadoes weren’t that big. We did have our share when the tornados hit some of our towns, but our tornadoes were F-2’s and F-3’s, which still do lots of damage, but they aren’t killers…as long as people heed the warnings and take cover. Unfortunately, the storm system stalled out in SE Oklahoma, so while they…and the states east of us were getting tornadoes, we were getting the nice weather. The front stalled for several days, so the severe weather stayed around for a while. Our team has not had to go storm spotting yet because we haven’t had hardly any severe weather…..but, I have been advised by our REACT Weather Specialist, we are in for some severe weather next week, similar to what they received in Alabama. The way our weather is, anything can change.
Not much has been happening this week for me. Several of my REACT team members met with the coordinators of the Memorial Marathon last Tuesday evening. Since our team is providing traffic control and crowd control for the marathon (which is this Sunday), we had to get with the coordinators to see exactly what we needed to do and find out how many of our team members would be needed. This evening, those members that are working this event are having a meeting to go over the final arrangements and schedule for the marathon. The only thing I know is I have to be at the downtown bus station at 4:30 am and will be there throughout the marathon. Geesh, that is early!
http://www.okcentralreact.org/
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association
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