When I came back home from school. I jumped on the computer to check some updates on facebook. I saw one shocking photo of a Massive tornado hits Oklahoma City. Also the school is completely damaged. I just hope everyone is okay... I hate natural disaster!

Yeah, this has been all over the news for days. Sadly, not everybody is okay. But that's the way it goes with EF5 tornadoes. Entire neighborhoods were leveled, with nothing standing for many of the houses. People are lucky to survive such a thing.

Two schools were hit, and the last time I checked eight children were killed. This is down from the initial count, which had twenty children killed. I'm not sure what kind of miscalculation was made there.

It just makes me wonder why people even live there. And, no, you can't tell me that I don't understand, because I live in the state myself. I just can not understand why you would live in a town that has been through so many tornadoes in recent years, including this one and then the worst tornado in recorded history back in 1999. The area is practically a target for tornadoes. =/

Yep, very sad. They were saying last night that 9 children were killed, 24-deaths confirmed. There are still several missing, so the death toll could rise. I'm actually quite surprised the death toll is as low as it was. The town of Moore has a population slightly higher than Joplin, MO, but the 2011 Joplin tornado killed 161.

I don't know why anyone would want to live there either. Not only does Oklahoma get frequent killer tornadoes, basements are uncommon because the composition of the dirt isn't suitable for basements so most people have concrete slab foundations. So the thing that would protect you best in a tornado, you can't have! Summers get super hot and winters get plenty of cold and it snows too, so climate isn't a compelling reason to live there. I've visited OK several times and there's not any compelling natural beauty, at least nothing you can't find in any other state. Also considering it's a very conservative "red" state and very religious, it's very much not my kind of place.

Then again, I live in Missouri where much of the same applies (except we can have basements), I even live just an hour from Joplin and many homes in my neighborhood were demolished by a tornado 10yrs ago. So why the hell do I stay here? I often ask myself that, and all I can think of is I have a good job and cost of living is cheap.

It is sad. But the residents have to know they're putting themselves in danger living there, right? Maybe they just don't have any other options. Well, that doesn't make it any less sad.

And did you guys see the video of the old woman who lost her whole house, and couldn't find her dog? They found it live, on air. I didn't see it live but my mom did, she said it was pretty amazing to watch while it was happening.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligence...ble-garcia.html

I can't imagine how hard it would be to live through this.
I know the pain of losing a house. The worst part isn't starting over from scratch, but getting over the loss of the one place you've ever called "home". It's like losing a friend.
But my whole neighbourhood..? I don't even want to think about it.

Last edited by StardustX : 22nd May 2013 at 6:38 PM.

sadly pretty much anywhere can be have natural disasters. The East Coast, particularly Florida gets the Hurricanes. The West Coast have the mudslides. All places can have flooding and earthquakes. Then you have the prairies/the heartland that have tornado's. Forest fires. It doesn't make it less devastating when it happens though. All I can hope for OK, is that most people are okay, and have home insurance. But, there will be people that couldn't afford it, or chose not to get it.

Pretty much anywhere you live can be a target for something. Maybe some places have them more than others, and maybe people question why do they live there? it could be where they were raised or they are more affordable towns, than larger cities?

Unless someone knows the only place in the world that has never had a natural disaster, there is no safe place to live. Mother nature can brutal, but it's how people can pull themselves out of the rubble and everyday people volunteering to help look for missing people, or take them into their homes, that should be commended at the end day. The human spirit can be very powerful in times like these.

I'm thinking of them, and praying and sending some money to the Red Cross.

As, The SimWhisperer said, a lot of places are prone to natural disasters. Living in Central Florida, I get that. No matter where you seem to go, there is a chance of something happening. These poor people just got slammed. Tornadoes are difficult to deal with considering with many you have very little warning. Hurricanes I'm used to and always have ample warning, but tornadoes are just hell and generally wreak havoc in short time.

Hopefully, these people will find the inner and physical strength to move forward. A lot of people stand by them, so they will never be alone.

I hope the inhabitants of Moore will get aid in a timely fashion. After 9/11, I'll never give money to the Red Cross again, but maybe I can find some other charity.
And I hope those 2 Oklahoma senators who voted against the Sandy aid will apologize now. But I doubt they will.

I understand.

I still do, because I hope it helps or I'll find a way to help a local church or organization sending supplies, but I understand your mindset.

A friend I grew up with, who is basically like a brother to me, is a missionary. After the earthquake in Haiti he flew over with other members of his church to aid. When he arrived the Red Cross was there, but they weren't doing anything. He said he was going to the heart of the disaster and that he could take some supplies on his truck. They said they didn't have any and no one apparently wanted to go with them. He asked if they could at least give him some gas to help him make the trips, but they declined.

Many webites claim differently and that the Red Cross has given millions, but at times I wonder if they are just telling us what we want to hear. I don't know for certain, but as I look around this world and see what people are willing to do for a buck, I feel uneasy.

This has always been my biggest concern when giving to charities. I want the money to go directly to help these people but in the back of my mind I have this bad feeling that just a handful of people are getting absurdly rich. I sometimes wonder if the photos you see aren't just photo ops and basically everything these people get are being sent by churches, local supermarkets or just the average person sending items instead of donating money.

When I was about ten my mother and I gave - as we always did - to the Salvation Army during Christmas. She was disheartened to see a man pulling up to collect the money in a Jaguar. I guess it just made her think about who was actually getting the money.

My friend told my sister after Haiti that 98% of what people give to the Red Cross or other well known charities goes to 'Administrative Fees'. It's beyond disheartening to think about, but in today's society you have to wonder if they don't do just enough for the media and no more.

Regardless, I'll try and help in any way I can.

I know what it's like to live through a natural disaster; I lived through Hurricane Charley. While I didn't lose everything, I knew people who did, and the storm destroyed my school, damaged my mother's place of employment (which later became my place of employment, 9 years later), and caused us to have to move. So yes, I pray all is well for them in Oklahoma.

From my experience, the Red Cross did provide some help to people after Hurricane Charley; they provided cleaning supplies for people to clean up their property after the storm. But churches, the National Guard, and local employers (Health Management Associates gave my mother and other hospital employees $1,000, for example) provided the most help for people in the community.