Thoughts and prayers for the tornado victims

By Kevin Henry
Editor, Dental Assisting Digest™

I have lived my entire life in “Tornado Alley” and have only taken cover once. I’ve heard the tornado sirens go off more times than I can count. I’ve personally seen tornadoes dancing in the sky and the damage they can do. I have rarely been scared when a tornado was in the area ... but I can remember May 3, 1999, like it was yesterday.

The day started sunny but reports of strong storms and possible tornadoes reverberated throughout the news all day. By that evening, one of the strongest tornadoes on record had torn through Oklahoma City, completely wiped an outlet mall in Stroud (halfway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa) from its foundations, and was heading toward the outskirts of Tulsa, where my wife and I were trying to decide where would be the safest place for us to hide with our 1-year-old daughter and dog. The sky was a green that I’ve only seen with a few Oklahoma storms, and we knew this was serious.

As the tornado approached, it lifted back into the sky, sparing our city. We were lucky, but many of our fellow Oklahomans were not. That would be the start of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak that would spawn 66 tornadoes in our state, causing more than $1 billion in damages and killing 48 people.

That was a bad time, but nothing like we saw in late April in Alabama or very recently in Joplin, Mo.

Government analysts recently said that there were 362 tornadoes nationwide during a week-long outbreak in late April, including a record-setting 312 in one 24-hour period. Between 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27, and the same time Thursday, 340 people were killed in the storms. That makes April 27, 2011, the deadliest single day for tornadoes since the March 18, 1925, tornado outbreak that left 747 dead in seven states.

Many of those twisters hit Alabama, killing 236 people. We’ve seen the videos from Tuscaloosa and it’s still hard to believe the size of the tornado that came roaring through that town.

I recently talked to Matt Schweikher, the Patterson Dental branch manager in Birmingham, about what he has seen in his state and the devastation that many dental offices suffered.

“This is our Katrina,” Schweikher told me. “You’re just amazed when looking around and seeing the complete loss. It’s truly bigger than you can imagine.”

I did a long interview with Schweikher that you can read by clicking here. After the 15 minutes we spent talking on the phone, it’s apparent that even though the TV cameras have left Alabama to chase the “next big story,” the need is still there.

The same will certainly be said for Joplin, a town about 90 minutes from our home offices here in Tulsa. I have driven through this city in southwestern Missouri countless times on my way to Kansas City or Branson or St. Louis. I can picture the area that was hit by the tornado on May 22 because I’ve exited Interstate 44 for gas or a meal there many times. If you needed something in Joplin, you went to Rangeline Road off I-44. Unfortunately, this is where the massive tornado hit.

What does terror sound like? Listen to this clip that was shot during the Joplin tornado. It truly gives me chills to think these people thought they were going to die.

As I write this, 116 have been confirmed dead from the mile-wide twister in Joplin, making it the single deadliest tornado since one hit Woodward, Okla., in April of 1947 and killed 181 people.

The recovery from the destruction of property will take lots of energy, money, and time. I urge you to give to the Red Cross to help those in need. I also urge you to keep the people affected by these horrible tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers. They are needed.

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