OKLAHOMA CITY - The death toll reached 45 today after fiercetornadoes de stroyed entire neighborhoods in Oklahoma and Kansas.One monstrous twister chewed across miles of Tornado Alley for fourhours.
The state medical examiner said 40 people were killed in Oklahomaalone in Monday's storms.
The combined death toll makes this the deadliest tornado outbreaksince 90 people were killed on May 31, 1985, in Ohio, Pennsylvaniaand Ont ario.The largest twister formed about 45 miles southwest of OklahomaCity and cut a path at least a half-mile wide. While many tornadoesare short-lived, this one stayed on the ground for about four hours,said Wayne Ruff, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Local TVstations followed it with live broadcasts.The damage "looks like the Murrah Building, but instead of ninestories tall, it's spread out over a large area," Oklahoma Cityassistant fire chief Jon Hansen said, referring to the federalbuilding bombing in 1995.In Washington, White House press secretary Joe Lockhart saidPresident Clinton would act quickly on Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating'srequest for an emergency declaration. "My heart goes out to thepeople of Oklahoma and Kansas who suffered through a night of terrorand devastation," Clinton said in a statement.More severe thunderstorms with scattered tornadoes rippled acrossthe Plains this morning, and tornado warnings were posted for partsof central Oklahoma. A tornado watch covered much of the rest of thestate.About 150 miles north, a tornado spawned by the same storm systemtossed mobile homes like tin cans, damaged houses and killed atleastfive people in Wichita, Kan., and its suburb of Haysville. Hospitalsreported treating more than 80 people."It is worse than what you can see," said Bob Thompson, a firebattalion chief in Sedgwick County, Kan. "We'll probably find moredeaths. I don't think we've seen the end of it."Chad Harris was with seven people inside his mobile home inHaysville when it was flipped over and demolished. Two of hiscompanions were critically injured."I have no trailer," Harris said. "We all rolled in it. It wasthe worst experience in my life."In Oklahoma, the dead included 11 people in Bridge Creek, about 30miles southwest of Oklahoma City, said Ben Frizzell, spokesman forthe state Office of Emergency Management.Others died in Oklahoma City and nearby Midwest City, Moore, DelCity and Norman."We're really just getting started on the foot-by-foot search,"Clayton Taylor, a Red Cross spokesman, said today in Oklahoma City."We have whole communities that simply aren't there anymore,"Keating told NBC's "Today" show. "It certainly looks like a hugebattle has taken place."The number of houses destroyed in the Oklahoma City areaapproached 2,000. Cars were tossed about and crushed. Natural gasspewed from ruptured lines. Utility poles were splintered intokindling.Hospitals in the Oklahoma City metro area treated 563 people fortornado-related injuries, police Capt. Charles Allen said.The National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman said the tornadomay have been a mile wide at times. The weather service's DavidAndra predicted the twister would be categorized at least an F4, thesecond-strongest tornado classification, defined as a storm withwindat 207 to 260 mph.The official classification wasn't expected until later this week,after meteorologists survey the damage and compile more data fromthestorm.The system also spawned twisters in north and west Texas, but didno major damage there.The main tornado in Okla homa formed near Chick asha, about 45miles southwest of the capital.It plowed across the flat countryside, toppling trees, powerlines, buildings and cars until it ripped into south Oklahoma City.Television stations went live as soon as the storms formed, usingcameras on the ground and in helicopters, as well as radar, tofollowtheir charge across the state.In suburban Moore, Catherine Meyers hid under a mattress when thestorm hit her home."My mattress didn't help me," she said, bleeding from her head andarm. "I got hit four or five times on the head by something. I'velost a lot of blood."Mary Pat Faris, who weathered the storm in her bathtub, wore anightgown at Del City High School and waited for word about missingfamily members."I heard it," she said. "I heard the popping and then I heard thetrees crunching and then my house was gone."In Kansas, Wichita's tornado tore a 10-mile path that reached 31/4 miles wide. Smaller twisters struck Sumner and Butler counties,as well as other parts of Sedgwick County, but none causedsubstantial damage or injuries.Kansas Gov. Bill Graves declared a state of disaster for SedgwickCounty, while Keat ing declared a state of emergency and activatedtwo National Guard units.Last year, tornadoes killed 42 people around Kissimmee, Fla., onFeb. 22-23, and 34 people died in the area of Birming ham, Ala., onApril 8.
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