Latest Disaster News

Why Was the Moore, Okla., Tornado So Severe?Tue, 21 May 2013 16:26

A monstrous tornado that ripped through Oklahoma Monday (May 20) piling cars on top of one another, demolishing an elementary school and killing several adults and children, may owe its power and deadliness partly to a convergence of jets of air, say meteorologists.

Oklahoma Tornado Rated EF-4 By National Weather Service, Second Strongest RankingTue, 21 May 2013 16:23

Survivors pulled from Oklahoma tornado debris as toll fallsTue, 21 May 2013 16:21

By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital in an Oklahoma town hit by a powerful tornado, and officials lowered the death toll from the storm to 24, including nine children. The 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado tore through Moore outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble, wiping out entire neighborhoods and tossing vehicles about as if they were toys. ...

Nine of 24 confirmed Oklahoma tornado dead were children: officialTue, 21 May 2013 16:21

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Nine of the 24 people confirmed to have died in the massive tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma, were children, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Energy infrastructure largely spared Oklahoma tornado's furyTue, 21 May 2013 16:21

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Energy infrastructure in Oklahoma largely escaped the fury of a vicious tornado that ripped through a central Oklahoma city on Monday, though a natural gas pipeline reported some damage, companies said. Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Inc late Monday declared force majeure on a portion of its natural gas pipeline near Cement, Oklahoma, about 53 miles southeast of Moore, where a 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado killed at least 24 people, injured scores more and pulverized dozens of structures, including an elementary school. ...

Factbox: The 10 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. historyTue, 21 May 2013 16:21

(Reuters) - A powerful tornado devastated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing 24 people, including nine children, according to the Oklahoma medical examiner's office. At one point, as many as 91 were feared dead, but authorities have since scaled back the official death toll. Here are the 10 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history: 1. March 18, 1925 - Missouri/Illinois/Indiana - 695 dead 2. May 6, 1840 - Natchez, Mississippi - 317 dead 3. May 27, 1896 - St. Louis - 255 dead 4. April 5, 1936 - Tupelo, Mississippi - 216 dead 5. April 6, 1936 - Gainesville, Georgia - 203 dead 6. ...

More tornadoes from global warming? Nobody knowsTue, 21 May 2013 16:11

A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts:

Oklahoma Tornado: How to Ease Children's AnxietyTue, 21 May 2013 15:40

Children may develop anxiety, especially about going to school, after hearing the news that children in Moore, Okla., died when a powerful tornado struck schools, experts say.

Moore tornado aftermath: Videos show jaw-dropping destructionTue, 21 May 2013 15:39

A day after a massive tornado tore through Moore, Okla., photos, video footage and eyewitness accounts painted a chilling picture of the destruction left by the deadly F4 storm. Mangled heaps of debris stretched for some 20 miles in the Oklahoma City suburb. Two dozen people, including children, were killed during Monday's storm, and officials [...]

Storms That Spawned Deadly Oklahoma Tornadoes Seen from Space (Video)Tue, 21 May 2013 15:39

The beginnings of Monday's (May 20) disastrous tornado in Oklahoma were caught from space by a weather satellite in orbit.

Hospitals treat more than 200 after Okla. tornadoTue, 21 May 2013 15:34

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Hospital officials say they've treated more than 200 patients, including dozens of children, since a tornado ripped through suburban Oklahoma City.

Why Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn doesn't want tornado relief moneyTue, 21 May 2013 15:33

On Tuesday morning, emergency responders began dealing with the aftermath of a tornado that killed at least 24 people in Moore, Okla., and injured at least 140 more. The White House has announced that "the administration and FEMA stand ready to provide all available assistance in response to the severe weather."

In tornado's wake, worried parents seek out kidsTue, 21 May 2013 15:30

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The parents and guardians stood in the muddy grass outside a suburban Oklahoma City church, listening as someone with a bullhorn called out the names of children who were being dropped off — survivors of a deadly tornado that barreled through their community.

Witnesses describe deadly Oklahoma tornado: ‘All you could hear were screams’Tue, 21 May 2013 15:20

[Updated at 11:12 a.m. CT] MOORE, Okla. – The hell he saw was harrowing, but it’s the sounds at Plaza Towers Elementary that Stuart Earnest Jr. says will haunt him forever. “All you could hear were screams,” Earnest said. “The people screaming for help. And the people trying to help were also screaming.” Plaza Towers, [...]

Oklahoma tornadoes: how you can helpTue, 21 May 2013 15:02

A number of relief organizations are responding to the disaster in Moore, Okla., where a devastating tornado destroyed hundreds of homes Monday, hit at least two elementary schools hard, and killed at least 24 people. The general public can help with recovery efforts through these organizations, which already are helping families and supporting the first responders.

Tornado threat continues, including Dallas-Fort Worth areaTue, 21 May 2013 14:46

By Greg McCune CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tornadoes could form across a wide area of the southern Plains and into the U.S. southeast again on Tuesday, including metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth, the most populous urban area in the threatened area, a government meteorologist said. "There could be a few more tornadoes again, particularly in northern and central Texas," said Brynn Kerr, meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. ...

What tornado-hit cities like Moore have learnedTue, 21 May 2013 14:24

Since 1998, the Oklahoma city of Moore has experienced four tornadoes. Monday’s storm, which packed winds of as much as 200 miles per hour, perhaps brought the worst devastation, leaving more than 50 dead, including schoolchildren, and a need for healing from its grief and loss.

Raw video: Parents reunite with children after tornado levels Oklahoma elementary schoolTue, 21 May 2013 13:22

Dramatic raw video, taken just after a massive tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., on Monday, shows panicked parents reuniting with their shell-shocked children outside of Briarwood Elementary, one of two schools leveled during the storm. The harrowing scene was repeated throughout the Oklahoma City suburb, where dozens of people were killed and many others feared [...]

How to Help: Oklahoma tornadoTue, 21 May 2013 12:51

A huge tornado ripped through Moore, Okla. on Monday afternoon, leaving a 20-mile path of death and destruction.

Oklahoma Tornado Fallout: Disaster Assistance, Weather Detection Spending Cut in SequestrationTue, 21 May 2013 12:27

As disaster personnel and volunteers comb through the havoc left by the tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday, they are going to rely on critical federal funding that was severely cut by the massive cuts known as sequestration and which raises the possibility that Congress will have to cough up more money on future disasters.

More Severe Weather Threatens Recovery from Oklahoma TornadoTue, 21 May 2013 11:17

Residents of Moore, Oklahoma, continue to dig out from yesterday's horrific storms, but the search for any remaining survivors is threatened by more severe weather. Thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches, continue to stretch across Southern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, as the storm that has already killed dozens of people this week continues to churn across the Southeast.

More tornadoes in forecast for central US TuesdayTue, 21 May 2013 11:07

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — More severe weather is in the forecast for parts of the central United States already reeling from powerful tornadoes this week.

Disaster Assistance, Weather Detection Spending Cut in SequestrationTue, 21 May 2013 10:58

As disaster personnel and volunteers comb through the havoc left by the tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday, they are going to rely on critical federal funding that was severely cut by the massive cuts known as sequestration.

Oklahoma tornado rated EF4, second strongest level, agency saysMon, 20 May 2013 22:35

(Reuters) - The huge tornado that struck the town of Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday was given a preliminary rating of at least EF4, or the second highest strength level, with winds of up to 200 miles per hour, a U.S. government agency said. "We believe it was at least an EF4," said Keli Pirtle, spokeswoman for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The Fujita scale rates tornadoes from weakest (EF1) to strongest (EF5). An EF4 tornado can blow away a well-constructed wood or brick home. A final rating will not be known until teams have examined the damage. ...

NWS: Okla. tornado had winds up to 200 mphMon, 20 May 2013 22:12

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Moore, Okla., had wind speeds up to 200 mph.

WATCH: Live coverage of the Oklahoma City tornadoMon, 20 May 2013 20:55

A deadly tornado touched down just outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado emergency for the metropolitan area. The storm has already reportedly claimed two lives, and damaged an estimated 300 homes. More than 171,000 people reside in areas that lie in its projected path.

Tornado churns through Oklahoma City suburbsMon, 20 May 2013 20:44

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A mile-wide tornado churned through the Oklahoma City suburbs, destroying homes for the second day in a row Monday, as part of a severe weather outbreak that was expected to spread in other parts of the Plains and Midwest.

Tornado on the ground in Oklahoma City areaMon, 20 May 2013 20:36

(Reuters) - A tornado was on the ground in the Oklahoma City metropolitan are on Monday, live television showed, and the National Weather Service warned of tornadoes in two counties of central Oklahoma. There were no immediate reports of injuries or death from the tornado, which was located near Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. A tornado warning means that residents should immediately take cover. (Reporting By Greg McCune)

Threat of tornadoes in parts of 10 statesMon, 20 May 2013 19:58

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The central United States braced for another round of violent weather on Monday after tornadoes struck the region over the weekend, killing two Oklahoma men and injuring at least 39 people. Severe storms were expected to pummel as many as 10 states on Monday, the National Weather Service said. It predicted a 10 percent chance of tornadoes in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Parts of four other states - Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Iowa - have a 5 percent risk of tornadoes, the service said. ...

Severe Kansas tornado prompts stark National Weather Service warningMon, 20 May 2013 14:13

By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dangerous, half mile-wide tornado struck near Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon, part of an extreme weather system moving through the central U.S. and stretching from north Texas to Minnesota. Earlier, a "large tornado" touched down near Wichita, Kansas at 3:45 Central Standard time, the National Weather Service reported. Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska are all in the path of the storm system, which is producing 70 mile per hour winds, baseball-sized hail and violent tornadoes. ...