<p>I live in Oklahoma and have been in OKC for the past few days. I left today at 2:45 and thankfully got out of town in time. Yesterday we had to take shelter in the hallway of a hotel. One of the tornadoes was 3 miles away from where I was located. Many people do not have basements around the area due to the soil and safe rooms are expensive. I’ve been thru earthquakes and absolutely ‘prefer’ those over tornadoes. Tornadoes are absolutely frightening. It was said multiple times today on the news that if you were in the path of the tornado and you do not have a safe room, you will not survive. It’s simply unimaginable. Oklahoma needs prayers.</p>
<p>prayers…</p>
<p>Watching in horror and wiping my tears.<br>
The majority of homes in the SW don’t have basements. It has nothing to do with local water tables here but with local building practices. I didn’t have a basement in New Orleans or Houston (water table about ground level) or in Albuquerque (elevation around a mile and very dry) or in OKC.<br>
I’ve been through some near-miss and minor tornadoes. The scenes from Moore look more like Florida after Hurricane Andrew.
Praying for all.</p>
<p>Thank God my BIL is safe. He lives in Moore, and the 1999 Moore tornado bypassed his home. This time, it looks like it passed only blocks away. He was at a doctor’s appointment, then to the home of his late wife’s mother, so I doubt that he has seen his house or knows whether it is intact. Houses can be replaced, but not him.</p>
<p>A tornado struck about 2 miles from my house last week. Many of my friends’ homes suffered major damage, but no one was hurt or killed. We were so fortunate. I have cried lots of tears tonight with the news of the lives lost in Moore. To make matters worse, the wind is blowing really hard here right now and there are storms in the area. Very scary.</p>
<p>yalemom, it’ll change their minds for this occurrence, but not in general.</p>
<p>My heart goes out to the children’s families. It’s so incredibly sad.</p>
<p>My prayers and thoughts and tears are with the families. I am praying that the rescue teams can find survivors and re-unite them with their families. Stay strong little ones!</p>
<p>Lots of children lost. </p>
<p>One report was that a water main broke and the kids were trapped and drowned. Prayers for all affected.</p>
<p>We went thru a major tornado 2 years ago. It’s unbelievable. Things end up looking like a war zone.</p>
<p>Heartbreaking to lose so many children.</p>
<p>I saw video of that tornado. It was a monster. Terrifying.</p>
<p>Apparently they are expecting to find 40 more bodies, and the death toll is already over 50. This is so heartbreaking. And dragonmom, yes, it does look like Miami/Homestead after Andrew. My family’s home was right in the path of Andrew and it was years before the area looked anything like “normal.” My parents had left but my sister had stayed in the house with her cats. She said it was the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. At least with a hurricane you generally get a few days’ notice. Not so with tornadoes.</p>
<p>Prayers to all involved - along with hopes of finding survivors rather than bodies… it must be excruciating to those who are missing loved ones right now.</p>
<p>This is heartbreaking news. :(</p>
<p>Pictures speak louder than words.</p>
<p>I found it difficult to watch too much coverage last night but came across these pictures this morning. God bless the teachers at the school for stepping up and being there for these children. </p>
<p>[Two</a> men survey the damage done to the Moore Medical Center by the deadly tornado. Darkness begins to fall and lights are brought in so work can continue. | Tornado Flattens Suburb Outside Oklahoma City, Kills Dozens | TIME.com](<a href=“http://nation.time.com/2013/05/20/mile-wide-tornado-flattens-oklahoma-city-suburb/]Two”>Tornado Flattens Suburb Outside Oklahoma City, Kills Dozens | TIME.com)</p>
<p>Heartbreaking.</p>
<p>I was watching one interview with a burly rescuer who described removing debris at the school to rescue an injured teacher. When they pulled her out, they found she had successfully used her body to cover three children and shield them from injury. He was drawn to tears as he described, “that’s one good teacher.”</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>God bless those who shielded the younger, weaker and more vulnerable.</p>
<p>Now they’re saying that the death toll is actually 24 not close to 90. How does that happen?</p>
<p>Sensationalist journalism.</p>
<p>Oh my, did any of you see the elderly woman who was being interviewed by CBS in front of her completely destroyed home, talking about her dog, and during the interview they saw the dog buried in the rubble? Amazingly, he was okay and they lifted the debris on top of him and pulled him out. Talk about tears!</p>