Massive Deadly Tornado Rips Across Oklahoma City Suburbs

At least 37 killed, many injured in OKC gigantic twister attack

The massive tornado first touched down in Newcastle and barreled toward Interstate 44, Moore and South Oklahoma City, killing at least 37 people, as of posting, injuring scores of others, destroying hundreds of buildings and  leaving a path of destruction behind.

The deadly twister was at least an EF4 tornado packing winds of about 200mph (320km/h) and was reportedly as much as ‘two-miles’ wide.

It struck about 15:00 CDT (UTC -5hrs) on Monday in Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb south of Oklahoma City, and remained on the ground for at least 40 minutes.

Massive tornado hits Okla. Screen grab of damage in Moore, Oklahoma from massive tornado that swept through on Monday afternoon. Credit: CBS News

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who had already declared a state of emergency in 16 counties after the previous round of tornado attack, told CBS: “Well, we know we’ve had a massive tornado that has come through a major metropolitan area in Moore, Okla. It was a very wide tornado, a very strong tornado. It has damaged lots of neighborhoods, it’s hit two schools that possibly had school children in them. It’s also it a hospital and a big movie theater and a commercial area.”

Latest SPC Filtered Storm Reports for May 19 – 20

Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley

The Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale – Quick Chart

EF0: 65 TO 85 MPH
EF1: 86 TO 110 MPH
EF2: 111 TO 135 MPH
EF3: 136 TO 165 MPH
EF4: 166 TO 200 MPH
EF5: Wind speeds greater than 200 MPH

DISASTER Diary – May 20, 2013

88 Killed, more than 150 injured in Iraq shooting and bombing attacks

At least nine bomb explosions ripped through predominantly Shia districts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, killing dozens of people and wounding over 130 others, reports said.

Two car bombs hit the predominantly Shia city of Basra in southern Iraq also on  Monday, killing at least 13 and injuring 40 others.

Meantime, the authorities found the bodies of 13 people kidnapped on Saturday in a desert in Anbar Province with bullet wounds to their heads and chests. At least 6 of the victims were policemen.

The death toll from Iraqi violence exceeded 200, with hundreds of others injured.

April was the deadliest month in Iraq since 2008, as bombing attacks and shootings killed more than 700 people and injured at least 1,600 others across the country, said the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Baghdad was the deadliest province, with at least 211 killed and about 500 injured, UNAMI reported.

-oOo-

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 20, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,027 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,027 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Powerful Tornadoes Strike in Six U.S. States

State of emergency declared as deadly tornadoes tear through Oklahoma

Powerful twisters strike U.S. states of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Illinois, and Oklahoma.

Governor Fallin declared a State of Emergency for 16 Oklahoma counties: Caddo, Cleveland, Comanche, Creek, Garfield, Grant, Greer, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, McClain, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne and Pottawatomie.

The state of emergency was declared in the 16 counties because they sustained  the heaviest damage from the twisters, straight-line winds, fist-size hail and flash flooding, which began late Saturday evening.

The worst damage was caused by a deadly tornado that struck near the town of Shawnee, about 50km from Oklahoma City, leveling a mobile home park.

At least one person was confirmed dead in Pottawatomie County and two dozen others were reportedly injured.

In addition to Shawnee, several other towns and communities were severely affected by the extreme weather including Bethel Acres, Carney, Edmond, Little Axe, Norman and Wellston.

Storm-related injuries have also been reported in other parts of Oklahoma, as well as in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa.

SPC Filtered Storm Reports for May 19, 2013

Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley

Severe Weather Threat to Continue Through Monday Across the Central States —NWS

After over 300 reports of severe weather on Sunday, another round of dangerous severe weather is expected Monday with the greatest threat once again in the southern Plains targeting Oklahoma and parts of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. However, severe weather is possible much further north towards Chicago and Madison as well.