Associated Press

Moore Mayor Wants Mandatory Safe Rooms

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:31:14 +0000

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The mayor of the Oklahoma City suburb battered by a monstrous tornado says he is pushing to require safe-room shelters in all new homes.

Glen Lewis said Wednesday he will propose an ordinance in the next couple of days at the Moore City Council that would modify building codes to require the construction of reinforced shelters in every new home in the town of 56,000.

Rogers County Holds Off on Certifying Tax Election

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:19:13 +0000

CLAREMORE, Okla. (AP) — The Rogers County Election Board has voted to not certify results of a recent sales tax election after a resident filed a complaint alleging the county didn't give proper legal notice of the election.

Voters in Rogers County approved a 1-cent sales tax during a May 14 election. But a resident filed a challenge to the election results, saying the county didn't properly publish a legal notice of the election in a county newspaper before the vote.

Parents Face Tough Choice When Tornadoes Bear Down

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:11:44 +0000

Parents in a suburban Oklahoma City school district received a text message as an ominous tornado approached. Their children were being held at school until the storm passed or their parents picked them up.

Suddenly, parents had a gut-wrenching choice. Trust the safety of the school? Or drive frantically ahead of a massive tornado and attempt to take their children home?

Tulsa Agencies Assisting in Moore Recovery

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:08:31 +0000

The city of Tulsa is sending a contingent of workers to help with the recovery in Moore, including its coordinator for grants.

The city said Tuesday that the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency deputy director and the city's finance and grants coordinator are helping with communication efforts.

At the request of emergency managers, the city sent an urban search and rescue team to help with the search at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which collapsed in the tornado.

FEMA Chief: Feds Won't Go 'When The Cameras Leave'

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:04:17 +0000

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says U.S. officials are "going neighborhood to neighborhood" to make sure Oklahoma gets the help it needs.

No New Funds Needed For Tornado Recovery

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:36:00 +0000

Top lawmakers and officials say the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma.

The government has more than $11 billion in its main disaster relief fund. Recovery costs in Moore, Okla., are expected to be a relatively small fraction of that amount. The devastating 2011 tornado that wiped out much of Joplin, Mo., use up about $750 million in federal disaster aid.

OK Pop Museum Request Delayed

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:03:30 +0000

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Historical Society is asking state lawmakers to postpone consideration of a museum funding bill so they can concentrate on tornado relief.

Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Historical Society, said Tuesday that a funding bill for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture should be temporarily set aside following the devastation and loss of life in Moore and other parts of central Oklahoma in Monday's tornados.

Tornado Injuries Mount

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:54:20 +0000

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Hospital officials say they've treated hundreds of patients, including dozens of children, since a tornado hit an Oklahoma City suburb.

About 60 patients remained hospitalized Tuesday following Monday's tornado.

Norman Regional Hospital spokeswoman Melissa Herron says 20 of the more than 100 patients her hospital treated remain hospitalized.

Tennessee Sends Search And Rescue Team To Oklahoma

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:39:56 +0000

A Tennessee-based team of emergency service workers has gone to Oklahoma to help with tornado recovery.

Memphis Fire Department spokesman Wayne Cooke said that Tennessee Task Force 1 left early Tuesday from Memphis.

Cooke says the 80-member team will mostly help with search and rescue efforts after powerful and deadly tornadoes struck cities in Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday. Emergency crews are digging through the rubble of destroyed structures to find trapped people.

Oklahoma Senator Says Tornado Aid Should Be Paid For

Associated Press — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:11:43 +0000

Conservative Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn says that any additional federal aid to help tornado victims and to rebuild devastated areas of his state should be financed with cuts to other programs in the government's $3.6 trillion budget.

Spokesman John Hart says it's a position Coburn has consistently held regarding federal spending on disasters dating to the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.