Residents begin clean up efforts after multiple tornadoes hit Oklahoma
Residents in Enid and other Oklahoma communities on Friday were picking through rubble after at least six tornadoes swept through parts of the state.
About 40 homes were either damaged or destroyed in Enid and Garfield County after an EF4 tornado was on the ground for about 9 miles Thursday night, emergency officials reported Friday afternoon.
No one was killed and 10 non-life threatening injuries were reported from the tornado, which struck Enid, a city of about 51,300 residents, located about 85 miles north of Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt - public domain
Governor Kevin Stitt, who toured the damage on Friday afternoon along with U.S. Senator James Lankford and others, said Vance Air Force Base, which trains fighter pilots, was also hit by the tornado. Air Force personnel will have to inspect all of its planes, which were repositioned before the tornado hit. The base also had some of its fences knocked down and some of its runway lighting system were damaged, Stitt said. The base has deployed security to patrol the perimeter until repairs to the fencing can be made, he said.
The tornado missed all of the base’s housing, he said.
State lawmakers, who represent the Enid area, said there were reports that the base also sustained damage to perimeter structures and there were downed power lines.
The base did not respond to requests for comment. A Pentagon spokesperson on Friday referred comment to the base.
Bill Waltz, who lived in the Gray Ridge Estates neighborhood just east of Vance Air Force Base, said he and his wife have lived in the neighborhood for six years and their daughter lives next door. He said he was standing outside watching the storm when his wife urged him to get into their storm cellar where they waited out the tornado.
His and his daughter’s homes were both destroyed after sustaining a direct hit from the tornado, but the important thing is they’re all alive, he said. The tornado also destroyed more than a dozen other homes in their subdivision.
He said their grandson helped the couple out of the cellar after the storm because they had become trapped inside.
Waltz said he and his wife had bought a new car the day before the storm. It is now totaled with only 8 miles on it.
Stitt issued a disaster declaration for Garfield and Kay counties.
In Kay County, which the National Weather Service confirmed was hit by at least an EF1 tornado, emergency managers reported power outages and damaged barns in Blackwell and Braman.
The Enid tornado was classified as an EF4, with winds starting at about 170 mph, said NWS spokesman Rick Smith.
Stitt said he was thankful there was no loss of life, and said residents should not take severe weather warnings for granted.
Officials asked that the impacted areas be avoided as damage assessments, debris cleanup and power restoration efforts were ongoing.
The Department of Emergency Management asked that residents impacted by the storms report damages to homes and businesses at damage.ok.gov to better coordinate response and recovery efforts.
Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary, said that his prayers were with everyone impacted by the tornadoes.
“As an Oklahoman, I know how resilient our communities are, but I also know the heartbreak these events can bring,” Mullin wrote in a social media post. Mullin most recently served as Oklahoma’s junior U.S. senator.
He said a FEMA team, including the acting regional administrator, were on the ground working closely with Oklahoma officials to “assess needs and support recovery.”
He said the storms are the beginning of a multi-day severe weather pattern that is expected to impact the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley.
An American Red Cross shelter was set up at Enid’s Chisholm Trail Expo Center. One family stayed the night, said Karvin Vega, community disaster specialist for Northern Oklahoma.
Vega said he went to a neighborhood on the south side of the city that was impacted by the tornadoes Friday morning.
“There were several families sifting through the remains,” he said. “Most of them stayed in hotels, but they’re just kind of trying to gather what’s left.”
Several restaurants have agreed to feed the first responders and victims, he said.
Enid Mayor David Mason said the outpouring of support has been remarkable.
