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Twisters keep returning, but Oklahoma still short on shelters

May 22, 2013 00:45
By Mary Wisniewski and David Bailey (Reuters) - The people of central Oklahoma know all too well the destructive power of a tornado, but when a big one rolled toward the town of Moore again on Monday, residents had few basements and storm shelters to run to when the alarm sounded, officials said.

Factbox: Tornado damage and the Enhanced Fujita scale

May 22, 2013 00:45
(Reuters) - The tornado that slammed into the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people, was upgraded on Tuesday to a rating of EF5, the category reserved for the most damaging twisters on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the National Weather Service said. The Enhanced Fujita scale is an updated version of an earlier chart to measure the ferocity of tornadoes published in 1971 by University of Chicago professor Ted Fujita.

'Dancing With the Stars' and 'The Voice' pay respects to Oklahoma City tornado victims

May 21, 2013 19:31
By Lee Hernandez LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" and NBC's "The Voice" both honored the victims of the Oklahoma City tornado last night on their Monday night broadcasts. On DWTS, co-host Tom Bergeron requested that the audience not applaud coming back from a commercial break during season 16's final performance show.

Moore shows that as cities grow, tornado damage grows with them

May 21, 2013 17:17
By Ben Berkowitz and Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) - Moore, Oklahoma, has had the bad luck of being hit by two highly destructive tornadoes, both in the month of May, 14 years apart. But the Moore that got struck on Monday is not the same as in 1999. Like a lot of towns across America and in the so-called "Tornado Alley," rapid growth has made it a bigger target, vulnerable to more damage.

Oklahoma tornado damage likely to exceed Joplin: commissioner

May 21, 2013 17:16
MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - The damage from Monday's tornado in a suburb of Oklahoma City is likely to exceed that caused by the 2011 twister in Joplin, Missouri, that killed 158 people, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak said. In an interview with Reuters after touring the area, Doak said that losses were likely to be greater than in the Joplin storm, which he said caused about $3 billion in damage. "This will likely exceed that," Doak said.

Oklahoma tornado was strongest category

Agence France-PresseMay 21, 2013 17:01
The massive tornado that cut a wide and deadly swath through a suburban Oklahoma City town was a top category EF5 system with winds over 200 mph (321 kmh), a weather official told AFP Tuesday. "It's an EF5," the most powerful tornado classification, said Kelly Pirtle of the NOAA national Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, of the wedge tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma on Monday. "We have looked at the damage, and estimated windspeeds, and they've determined that the damage is EF5," she added by phone from Norman.

Oklahoma tornado upgraded to EF5, highest strength rating

May 21, 2013 16:46
(Reuters) - The tornado that struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday was a rare EF5, the highest rating the National Weather Service assigns in classifying the strength of tornadoes. An EF5 tornado can pack winds exceeding 200 miles per hour and damage is devastating, the service said. Damage assessment teams also determined that the huge tornado cut a path of approximately 17 miles by 1.3 miles wide.

Factbox: The 10 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history

May 21, 2013 15:02
(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

Only 'few' still missing after US tornado

Agence France-PresseMay 21, 2013 15:00
Almost all those reported missing after a tornado ripped into the outskirts of Oklahoma City are accounted for and the total death toll is expected to be around 24, police said Tuesday. A two-mile-wide twister tore through the Oklahoma suburb of Moore on Monday, demolishing homes and schools and spreading terror and chaos. "I think overall, the medical examiner has actually confirmed 24 deaths. But four of those are in Oklahoma City, the remainder would be in Moore," Oklahoma City police chief Bill Citty told a news conference.

Moore tornado a rarity

Agence France-PresseMay 21, 2013 13:15
Tornados, among the most violent of atmospheric storms, rarely reach the size and brutality of the twister that swept through an Oklahoma City suburb on Monday, experts say. And seldom do they hit built-up areas. "Typically, they could be about 100 metres (110 yards) across, and they last maybe five to ten minutes on the ground," according to University of Reading meteorologist Ross Reynolds -- who said the people of Moore were in many ways unlucky.
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