When Tornado Alley Becomes Hurricane Lane
Kingfisher, Oklahoma is not used to the type of storm damage they're seeing. This is Tornado Alley, not Hurricane Lane. Meteorologists will tell you what a fluke it is that a tropical storm didn't just lose steam but gained a second wind 500 miles inland, four days after it made landfall.
The governor here has declared a state of emergency in 24 counties, perhaps the first step in receiving federal disaster aid. The magnitude or rarity of the weather yesterday will be small consolation to the families of the six dead due to the flash floods. Small consolation to the dozens of families who've had all their possessions caked with rust-colored mud as the flood waters recede.
Folks like David Rasmussen and his wife Jeri are likely going to leave. They've managed to grab all their pets -- dogs, cats, birds and a hamster -- and are salavaging what they can, but the water came up high enough to destory just about everything.
At least they're lucky enough to be able to get to their home today. Rhonda Gailbranch has to wait inch by inch as the water retreats. She moved here just a couple of months ago, was staying in a trailer on her yard while she remodeled her place. She's heard from rescue workers that there was more than five feet of water in her home when they passed by.
The waters are receding, and the sunshine baking the state is probably helping evaporate a bit off, but it'll be days, if not weeks, before life returns completely to normal.