In the afternoon of May 20th, disaster struck in Oklahoma. A massive tornado destroyed many houses and schools. Most people never knew it was coming.
This tornado was 1.3 miles wide as it moved through Moore in the southern part of the city. Weather services have reported that this tornado was an EF5, and the winds of this tornado peaked at 200 to 210 MPH.
About 2,400 homes were demolished and 10,000+ people were impacted by the tornado, which was described as being “in a blender.” Unfortunately, schools were still in session during the tornado, and the lives of nine children were lost in the tragedy.
Because this tornado was so sudden, many people could not find any shelter. Searches have continued to find other people trapped under the rubble of other buildings. The death toll is now up to 24 people, 9 of them being children, and 7 of the children have been identified of students from one of the Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was totally flattened into rubble.
To try to ease the costs and help in the relief efforts , a concert, Healing in Heartland, was televised and managed to raise over 6 million dollars in pledges and tickets. Several country music stars with Oklahoma ties performed during the concert in Oklahoma City. The included artists were Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, and Rascal Flats. The money goes directly to the United Way of Central Oklahoma.
How we can help here in Westhampton Beach is by donating school supplies. This includes anything, from binders and books to pencils and pens. Cards and other encouraging letters are also acceptable for the donations. Any donated items do matter, let it be a little eraser to a binder full of paper, anything you can do will show your support for Oklahoma. See Mrs. Tracy in room 124 for more information.
Our thoughts are with the people of Oklahoma during this difficult time.