When I was in graduate school, one of the tornado disaster scenarios that was frequently mentioned was a F4 or F5 tornado moving through the Dallas/Fort Worth area during rush hour. With tens of thousands of individuals in grid-lock on the freeways with no shelter available, it was theorized that hundreds of individuals could die in such an event.
At the time it opened my eyes to the possibility of a mega-tornado disaster in an urban setting. If memory serves, a made for TV movie or documentary of such a scenario was made a few years later. Then, on May 3, 1999 a large tornado ripped through portions of Oklahoma City clearly demonstrating that such a disaster was more likely than many imagined.
Large tornadoes are always rare, plus the odds of one striking a densely populated area is always low, but this tornado season has sadly reminded us that as urban centers expand, so do the odds of additional tragedies occurring in the future.
Down here in Oklahoma City we had hours of warning prior to the tornado outbreak in the metro area. The NWS put out a special statement that morning, well before there was any thunderstorm development in the state. Many took heed, and were unharmed though their homes were destroyed. Many businesses and state offices closed early in order to let people get home before the storms hit. In spite of that people died because they ignored the warnings or waited too long to seek refuge. Most of the deaths in our area were due to not respecting the power of nature. Damn shame. They just found the body of a 15 month old boy who was ripped from his mother’s arms while hiding in a bathtub in their home. The sad part is their were several storm cellars in here immediate vicinity but for some reason she did not take her family to one of these. This is her second child that has been killed in this storm. Please heed storm warnings. It really is a matter of life and death.
Steve,
Sadly there are other examples of that same occurrence this spring too. Most people sadly just don’t pay attention to the weather.