Oklahomans deal with tornadoes. It’s just a fact of life for us. Whether it’s a small EF-1 that barely does any damage at all, or a gigantic EF-5 that wipes clean entire neighborhoods, Oklahoman’s have seen them all. We are one of the few people who know how the people in Joplin, MO feel right now. Due to this, Oklahomans have been forced to adapt to the ever changing weather. The process for how we deal with tornado outbreaks can be broken down into three key phases.
The first stage is before the outbreak. This is where the National Weather Service and the local news meteorologists do their best to predict when and where the outbreaks will occur, and to get the word out to everyone as efficiently as possible. With this week’s May 24th tornado outbreak, the Oklahoma City local television news stations had it almost pinpointed. They told us where it would start, when it would start, when it would come through the Oklahoma City Metro, and what types of storms there would be. They knew days ahead, and the information became more accurate and precise as the day got closer. There is actually an email that an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Captain put out that told exactly what the storm would do. And it did.
The actual storms occur in the next stage. Oklahomans have been educated their whole lives about how to be safe in a tornado outbreak. The basic rules are going underground or to a saferoom if possible. If neither of these is available to you, then go to the interior of your home away from windows and doors, preferably an interior closet or bathroom. Now that you know where to take shelter, how do you know exactly when you need to? The Oklahoma local news stations are almost always on top of it. They will tell you who needs to take shelter and when. People have actually told of taking shelter in their homes during a tornado, and watching their home on a portable television as the storm rolls through.
The final phase starts as soon as the storms pass through. Emergency response teams take over from here. Oklahomans have been through many disasters, whether they are man-made or acts of God. Unfortunately, this has given our emergency response teams much practice. They are so on top of their game that they were actually able to persuade Governor Mary Fallin to let all the state employees go home a couple of hours early. This shows what kind of trust she has in them. As soon as the storm passes through, they are following the damage trails, making sure everyone is alright and accounted for. For those that are missing, they organize search and rescue missions.
For Oklahomans, tornadoes are accepted as part of life. We’ve adapted extremely well through improvements in early warning systems, improvements in shelters, and the progress the emergency response teams have made. Due to this, deaths and injuries have fallen compared to historic numbers. This warrants a great thank you to all of you who help to warn, protect, and respond to the public.
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