In a scene more reminiscent of a warzone than an American city, parts of Oklahoma City and its outlying suburbs have been wrecked by a mile wide tornado that left devastation in its wake.
Update #3: CNN is reporting that the official toll of dead is 51 but at least 40 more are reported to have died.
Update #2: The total number of dead has risen to 51 with the number expected to continually rise throughout the night.
Update: A breaking news report that quoted the state medical examiner has revealed that at least 37 people have died, with at least 7 of them being children.
The report also confirmed that a third grade class with over 20 children was taking refuge in a hallway of one of the schools that was completely destroyed. Stories of teachers using themselves as human shields are so flooding the airwaves.
The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office says at least 37 people were killed, and the death toll is expected to rise, after a monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide with winds up to 200 mph roared through Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and setting buildings on fire.
KFOR-TV reports that up to 24 children are believed dead at the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore and that it has turned into a search and recovery effort. The storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal. Several children were pulled alive from the rubble, however. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to a triage center in the parking lot.
At least seven of the children drowned after being found at the bottom of a pool at Plaza Towers, according to KFOR.
Original Report:
In a scene more reminiscent of a warzone than an American city, parts of Oklahoma City and its outlying suburbs have been wrecked by a mile wide tornado that left devastation in its wake.
Local news outlets are reporting that two different schools were destroyed, with one being directly hit by the 200 mile per hour super tornado. One report claims that at least 15 children are still trapped in one of the damaged schools.
Oklahoma’s local TV station KFOR is reporting that up to 15 children and staff members are trapped under an elementary school that has been directly hit by the massive tornado sweeping the area at the moment.
The station, who are at the school, said up to 75 people were sheltering when the tornado hit.
Children being rescued from Plaza Towers elementary. Preliminary report: 75 children taking shelter in school.FROM @KFOR ON TWITTER:
KFOR news anchor: “We unfortunately think that some kids were still in those school buildings.”FROM @NYCJIM ON TWITTER:
KFOR’s Lance West: Firefighters trying to save kids in collapsed classrooms, at least 15 kids trapped; 75 were in there, status unknown FROM @ACARVIN ON TWITTER:
Whether or not the children are still stranded at the time of this writing is unknown, with news coming out of the area being extremely hard to confirm.
A report by the LA Times revealed more information on the damaged schools and trapped teachers and students.
Two elementary schools were destroyed, and an untold number of homes and businesses sustained heavy damage near the cities of Moore, Newcastle and Oklahoma City. CNN reported that rescue crews swarmed over Plaza Towers Elementary School, where 75 students and staff had sought refuge in a hallway.
Britane Diacon-Boese of Oklahoma City was worried about students she works with. “I have clients who can’t be found,” she said.
“I’m terrified; I’m completely terrified,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s no power, it’s all down.”
The other school hit by the tornado was Briarwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Local newscasters reported that children were trapped inside.
A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management told the USA Today that officials are still assessing the damage and that they basically do not have an idea as to how bad it actually is besides what can be seen in the horrific images being transmitted on TV from helicopters on the scene.
Oklahoma authorities were still assessing damage but had no immediate reports of injuries or possible deaths, said Keli Cain, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Power was knocked out to more than 26,000 customers.
“Right now we really don’t have a good idea of the damage,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of footage on TV of widespread damage in Moore, Okla., but it’s certainly too early to have any idea of the number of homes destroyed…. We know there are homes destroyed, businesses destroyed. … It’s very early.”
Stay tuned as we will be updating this report as more information comes in.
Daniel Jackson is a seasoned journalist with a passion for exposing corruption and the lies of the global elite. DJ has a passion for truth and liberty that is shown through his extensive reporting on numerous globally significant topics not normally covered by the corporate controlled media. He is is a writer, researcher and editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
Daniel Jackson is a seasoned journalist with a passion for exposing corruption and the lies of the global elite. DJ has a passion for truth and liberty that is shown through his extensive reporting on numerous globally significant topics not normally covered by the corporate controlled media. He is is a writer, researcher and editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
