CNN's Gary Tuchman takes a look at a metal storm shelter in Moore that survived the deadly Oklahoma tornado while the house above it was completely destroyed. At least 24 people, including nine children, died in the region after the winds, peaking around 200 miles per hour, pummeled the town.
The sliding door of the shelter reveals a small space that could hold a few family members and a limited amount of belongings for a short period of time. In this particular shelter, there are materials inside although the owners didn't use it on Monday because they left the area.
It took six people to pull Barbara Jarrell from the wreckage of her house after the tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma on Monday. She believes the rafters pinning her to the ground was fortunate because it prevented her from getting sucked out of her home by the powerful winds.
"The glasses all start breaking, popping out. My ears started popping. I felt the suction ... I heard my house just flying apart," she says. She survived the storm, but immediately after panic set in because no one could hear Jarrell screaming for help.
Even the sound of a bullhorn app on her phone couldn't be heard above the rubble. She was able to call her brother but service was going in and out.
Janice Brim heeded her husband's advice and found a safe place to protect her students at Plaza Towers Elementary during the Oklahoma tornado. Mark Brim immediately raced to his wife's school after the storm; when he saw the carnage, he feared the worst. The couple tells Anderson Cooper what happened when the tornado hit and why they believe seeking shelter in the closet was a lifesaving decision.
Janae Hornsby didn't survive the deadly tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma on Monday. Her family remembers her as a sweet, fun and unique child. Janae's father is praying it's a mistake; he says he hasn't yet accepted the painful reality that his daughter isn't come back.
Anderson Cooper talks with teacher Waynel Mayes about what it was like in her classroom when the tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma. Mayes gave instruments to her students and told them to play loudly and sing as a way to drown out the frightening sounds of the storm passing through. Plaza Towers Elementary had practiced emergency safety procedures, and Mayes says she is thankful the students listened to directions when the disaster hit.
Residents begin to process the scope of the damage and loss in Oklahoma the day after the deadly tornado hit. Anderson Cooper reports.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis talk to Anderson Cooper about the tornado that killed seven children in Plaza Towers Elementary School on Monday.
Emergency room Dr. Stephanie Barnhart helped coordinate the plan that saved patients at Moore Medical Center during the tornado. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
A day after a twister 1.3 miles wide ravaged the city of Moore, Oklahoma, the scope of the damage is evident. At least 24 people died, including nine children. Some of the youngest victims who lost their lives were in Plaza Towers Elementary School, which collapsed in the storm.
The estimated peak wind was about 200 mph, which would put the tornado in the most powerful category, an EF5, according to the National Weather Service. Today more than 40,000 customers are still without power, a utility spokesman said
This afternoon Anderson Cooper was standing in front of twisted metal and layers of debris. The bowling alley would have been completely unrecognizable except for the bowling balls scattered in the wreckage. That scene is replicated throughout the town – pile after pile of crumbled buildings and homes.
Country singer Toby Keith talks to Anderson Cooper about the massive tornado that hit the town where he grew up on Monday. Earlier in the evening he tweeted a message of support for the Moore, Oklahoma community:
Hometown got hit for the gazillionth time. Rise again Moore Oklahoma. Godspeed.Prayin – T
— Toby Keith (@TobyKeithMusic) May 20, 2013
"I grew up in those neighborhoods that got hit today ... it's just devastating," he said on AC360. Keith believes the destruction would be worse if it weren't for the work of the state meteorologists and media preparing residents when they knew the storm was coming.
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