There are universal standards that actually save lives. It demands people seek safe haven underground. Now, just because the governments in Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri are not compliant with that demand in ZONING ORDINANCES, doesn't mean there aren't standards that work.
The VILLAIN is not the standard, it is the irresponsible government that doesn't value human life enough.
...For Morning Edition (click here) the day after the powerful tornado on May 20, NPR's Wade Goodwyn spoke with Molly Edwards, who was covered in pink insulation and standing on the rubble of her home with her family.
Just before the tornado slammed into her neighborhood, she and her husband had rushed to pick up their children from Plaza Towers Elementary School. Seven third-graders later died at the school after suffocating under fallen debris....
The people of Oklahoma are caught in a meat grinder because they live in a very dangerous area of the country and their ELECTED government never put them first so much as gave into SUBSTANDARD building codes to favor profits.
Now, if the Press wants to make these criticisms, they should put it all out there, stop hedging their bets and actually save people's lives by discussing what can actually save lives. Currently, running from the tornadoes is a viable option ONLY BECAUSE the governments of these states undercut public safety for profits of corporations. Truth. There is no soil in Oklahoma that is so impenetrable there aren't underground shelters and/or basements. That is hideous.
The reason yesterday's storms were so heinously dangerous was because there was a lot of heat energy within them. They were so volatile it was difficult for the vortex to simply form one funnel. If one examines some of the You Tube videos, it is easy to see the touchdowns and return to elevation as repeated over and over by the same circulation center. It is also easy to note the velocity of the circulation was too fast to set down just one funnel. There are reasons why these things happen. They are not mysterious. It is physics and it is measurable. There will be reports to follow from the US Weather Center after all the measurements are examined and conclusions made. There is no MYSTERY in the details and certainly no reason to allow citizens to believe they don't have to change a thing in their lives.
The ONLY mystery surrounding any of these tornado events is how government has gotten away with this level of neglect for so long.
Large clouds are seen as a tornado passes south of El Reno, Oklahoma May 31, 2013.(Reuters / Bill Waugh)
June 1, 2013
The flooding is a separate danger and does not always provide for flooding of underground shelters and certainly not at the time of the tornadoes. Underground shelters don't have to sustain life for months and years on end, they simply have to protect from the tornado for as long as it lasts.
A semi tractor-trailer is seen damaged along Interstate-40 Westbound after a tornado hit the area just east of El Reno, Oklahoma May 31, 2013.(Reuters / Bill Waugh)
Just before the tornado slammed into her neighborhood, she and her husband had rushed to pick up their children from Plaza Towers Elementary School. Seven third-graders later died at the school after suffocating under fallen debris....
The people of Oklahoma are caught in a meat grinder because they live in a very dangerous area of the country and their ELECTED government never put them first so much as gave into SUBSTANDARD building codes to favor profits.
Now, if the Press wants to make these criticisms, they should put it all out there, stop hedging their bets and actually save people's lives by discussing what can actually save lives. Currently, running from the tornadoes is a viable option ONLY BECAUSE the governments of these states undercut public safety for profits of corporations. Truth. There is no soil in Oklahoma that is so impenetrable there aren't underground shelters and/or basements. That is hideous.
The reason yesterday's storms were so heinously dangerous was because there was a lot of heat energy within them. They were so volatile it was difficult for the vortex to simply form one funnel. If one examines some of the You Tube videos, it is easy to see the touchdowns and return to elevation as repeated over and over by the same circulation center. It is also easy to note the velocity of the circulation was too fast to set down just one funnel. There are reasons why these things happen. They are not mysterious. It is physics and it is measurable. There will be reports to follow from the US Weather Center after all the measurements are examined and conclusions made. There is no MYSTERY in the details and certainly no reason to allow citizens to believe they don't have to change a thing in their lives.
The ONLY mystery surrounding any of these tornado events is how government has gotten away with this level of neglect for so long.
Large clouds are seen as a tornado passes south of El Reno, Oklahoma May 31, 2013.(Reuters / Bill Waugh) June 1, 2013
Multiple twisters (click here) have ripped through Oklahoma City and metropolitan area during rush hour on Friday evening, killing nine people, including 2 children. One tornado repeated the route of the Moore twister which killed 23 just 12 days ago.
The Oklahoma office of the Chief Medical Examiner said that 7 adults and 2 children are confirmed dead, including a mother and her child.
Five of the deceased met the fate in their cars. Among the victims were a mother and a baby, found near a car on Interstate 40 west of Oklahoma City. Reportedly, the tornado threw them out of their vehicle.
The number of hospitalized exceeds 50, with five of them in a critical condition, hospital officials report, while the number of injured is growing....
The flooding is a separate danger and does not always provide for flooding of underground shelters and certainly not at the time of the tornadoes. Underground shelters don't have to sustain life for months and years on end, they simply have to protect from the tornado for as long as it lasts.
It is ridiculous to think roads are the safest METHOD for protecting life when tornadoes are inevitable. It would take one accident or one pile of debris to block a highway and all the people behind the accident are then at high risk for injury and/or death. Debris from these tornadoes are found miles and miles from the tornado itself. Traveling during tornadoes is a very sad component to the lives of the people in these states today. I am sure it is a crime, but, I don't see any governments being held responsible for allowing this level of danger in citizen lives.
This is ridiculous. This is irresponsible government and the Press that panders to it.
This is ridiculous. This is irresponsible government and the Press that panders to it.
