2008's Tornado Toll Deadliest In A Decade
Elizabeth Warren / Getty Images
Survivors began cleaning up from a deadly blast of storms and tornados that killed 22 people in three central U.S. states over the weekend. Officials said this year is the country's deadliest for tornado-related deaths in a decade.
In Picher, the devastation was complicated by the town's status as one of the most polluted sites in the nation. The government's Environmental Protection Agency planned to check Monday for high levels of lead, which can pose a health risk in the long term, especially to young children.
Several tornados combined to kill 22 people in Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia over the weekend, raising the nation's 2008 total to about 100, the worst toll in a decade.
This year is on pace to see the most deaths since 130 people were killed in 1998, the eighth highest total since 1950, according to the National Weather Service. The record is 519 tornado-related deaths in 1953.
On Saturday, a tornado with the second-strongest rating killed six people in the 800-population town of Picher, destroying a 20-block area and blowing dust off mountains of mining waste, or chat piles. Authorities patrolled the area overnight into Monday to prevent looting.
The tornado's winds were estimated at 165 mph to 175 mph, and the damage track stretched 74 miles - 29 in Oklahoma and another 45 in Missouri, where 15 people were killed. On Sunday, storms rumbled across Georgia, killing one person.
Because of Picher's pollution, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is unlikely to grant assistance to homeowners to rebuild in the northeastern Oklahoma town, said the state's emergency management director, Albert Ashwood.
Many families have moved away to escape the lead pollution, taking advantage of state and federal buyouts in recent years. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, who toured the area by air and on foot Sunday, said the buyout program won't stop just because homes were leveled. He went so far as to say he would "guarantee" that those awaiting buyouts who lost their homes would be treated fairly.
One of the homes those crews likely will examine will be that of Jeff Reeves, 43, who has followed his grandfather and father as Picher's fire chief. He has lived in Picher all his life and has watched it slowly decline.
"With everything else that's going on here, I'm not sure there is a recovery," he said.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, heavy rain knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers, flooded roads and chased people out of their homes, mostly in the region near Washington, D.C.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In Picher, the devastation was complicated by the town's status as one of the most polluted sites in the nation. The government's Environmental Protection Agency planned to check Monday for high levels of lead, which can pose a health risk in the long term, especially to young children.
Several tornados combined to kill 22 people in Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia over the weekend, raising the nation's 2008 total to about 100, the worst toll in a decade.
This year is on pace to see the most deaths since 130 people were killed in 1998, the eighth highest total since 1950, according to the National Weather Service. The record is 519 tornado-related deaths in 1953.
On Saturday, a tornado with the second-strongest rating killed six people in the 800-population town of Picher, destroying a 20-block area and blowing dust off mountains of mining waste, or chat piles. Authorities patrolled the area overnight into Monday to prevent looting.
The tornado's winds were estimated at 165 mph to 175 mph, and the damage track stretched 74 miles - 29 in Oklahoma and another 45 in Missouri, where 15 people were killed. On Sunday, storms rumbled across Georgia, killing one person.
Because of Picher's pollution, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is unlikely to grant assistance to homeowners to rebuild in the northeastern Oklahoma town, said the state's emergency management director, Albert Ashwood.
Many families have moved away to escape the lead pollution, taking advantage of state and federal buyouts in recent years. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, who toured the area by air and on foot Sunday, said the buyout program won't stop just because homes were leveled. He went so far as to say he would "guarantee" that those awaiting buyouts who lost their homes would be treated fairly.
One of the homes those crews likely will examine will be that of Jeff Reeves, 43, who has followed his grandfather and father as Picher's fire chief. He has lived in Picher all his life and has watched it slowly decline.
"With everything else that's going on here, I'm not sure there is a recovery," he said.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, heavy rain knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers, flooded roads and chased people out of their homes, mostly in the region near Washington, D.C.
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So, I now request ALL posters to leave me out of the discussion and work it out for yourselves! Thank you very much! :)
Posted by squidly8 at 12:16 PM : May 13, 2008
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My response:
First, nice try! It''s not your responsibility to bail him out! I think he WAS referring to science run thru the political clearinghouse!
Second, I''m glad you DO recognize that even amongst scientist---politics aside---they disagree on this!
Third, I agree Al Gore''s comments mistake reality.
Fourth, if you''re a thermodynamics engineer, I doubt you''re a good one!
Fifth, DO NOT align me with Al Gore! I''ll now return the insult by suggesting you''re of dubious parenthood!
Sixth, WHERE in either post did I proclaim a final result,mister?! I believe I stated models rarely exceed 90% accuracy, people expect too much, science is observable, often times it is not testable---where in these statements do you SEE this declared definitiveness you have ascribed to ME?!! ONLY IN YOUR OWN MIND! GEEZ!
Seventh, I''ve asked no one,''to get in line behind'' me!
That---more or less---is EXACTLY what the man you''re defending was attempting to do!
Finally, I''ll try to be as clear as I can---for any idiots reading this! Do your own thinking, at least consider using the scientific method in making your determinations, and don''t be railroaded into excepting conclusions by others that you disagree with!
Sorry, I am way too curious to stop looking at the science. You are apparently content to look at the politics of it.
Those that imply that we should close off debate on a scientific topic do not know anything about science. Science is about forming a hypothesis, doing the experiments to confirm or deny and then re-evaluating the original hypothesis. This happens over and over and requires repeatable results in objective testing by other scientists. It isn''t that some majority believes some hypothesis is true so they tell the others to quit working on it and berate them if they dont follow the majority.
I am an engineer with a specialty in thermodynamics. About 120 years there was scientist that claimed that the world has learned all there is to learn about thermodynamics. Then along came different gases and refridgerants, rockets, airplanes, solar cells and a million other inventions. Where we would we be if every thermo scientist threw down their pencils and stopped investigating just because one guy said there wasnt anything else to learn?
Al Gore and people like you want to throw the pencils down and claim it true. No further investigation necessary. Everyone should just get in line behind you.
If not, it is only because of jacka-s-ses like you.
always. And the facts speak for themselves. Sometimes these facts can be agreed upon by large numbers of people and sometimes not! This is how it is.
But one of the worst things we''ve experienced under the Bush administration is the politicizing of science where information that is not convenient is ignored, suppressed, or distorted; and one of the means of this effort has been those who attempt to persuade you that science is attained or achieved by looking at it from a certain political ''side''!
RUBBISH!
Posted by s1ckd09 at 11:17 AM : May 13, 2008
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My response: What is this...BOTH sides...crapola, son?!
Thank you, for illustrating my point! I don''t look for science reports that have been written by a liberal or a conservative!
I''m NOT INTERESTED IN the politicizing of science! OBVIOUSLY, you ARE! That''s your right, to accept science through whatever political vetting it has emerged from, but don''t expect me to accept or follow your errant lead! I wouldn''t consider it!
I''m not interested in being mislead or ''conned'' by psuedoscientists who would sell this planet down the drain for political considerations!
I''m not as easily duped as you are! Believe as you want and I''ll do the same!