Monday, May 20, 2013

Pray for the babies in Moore, Oklahoma

Last night ( May 19th) I could not drag myself away from the Weather Channel coverage in Shawnee Oklahoma and the damage there. I went to bed hoping that the damage was done and hopefully the weather will calm down. Peak season for tornadoes is right now but one can hope that it will not be memorable one
Sadly, today (May 20th) that was not the case for Moore, Oklahoma. A EF-4 level tornado struck causing damage in an area two miles long and two miles wide for what must have seemed an eternity but in reality was only forty minutes at two hundred miles per hour. The wind shear was so severe it stripped the bark from the trees. I looked at the trees in my yard and shook my head in amazement that the wind could do that.
Two elementary schools were hit badly one school the children luckily survived but the children in the second school are not accounted for. The death toll is up to fifty one at the time I am writing but it is anticipated this number will double if not more.. They are looking for the remaining children with the assumption there are no survivors remaining in the crushed building that was once their school.
In just an hour's time life for the residents of Moore changed dramatically. So many poor babies terrified, wanting to be with their mommy and daddy. I cannot imagine the terror they must have endured during those forty minutes of winds in excess of two hundred miles per hour huddled together.  I cannot imagine how the parents of the children feel knowing their children are trapped and presumed dead in the rubble.
If I was one of those parents I know I would be screaming their names over and over. I would be angry that I trusted my children to your care and you placed them in the hallway while the building fell down around them ending their lives before they really have begun.
I'm not even their parents and I am consumed with such rage that they died a senseless death. There has got to be better ways to protect our children in schools than outdated measures that don't work. How many lives does it take to realize that construction most change to meet the needs of the environment not the cost.
The pictures show so many houses destroyed beyond recognition. Even people that know the area are finding it difficult to recognize buildings. The images are horrific. I cannot begin to imagine trying to find pieces of my life among the rubble but the coverage has shown people  picking pieces of their prized possessions and embracing them. Some unfortunate people have already experienced this unimaginable horror..
This town has had a tornado in 1999, 2003 and now today. It is said history repeats itself but does it have to happen so often in one place. The news coverage estimates that of the fifty one death twenty are children.
I cannot write anymore, I wish I could bring myself to stop watching the coverage over and over. My mind says enough but my heart keeps hoping they will find more of the children alive. God, Please hear our prayers that the babies will be found alive.

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