OKC Twisters ...Tragic Scene at Briarwood Elementary Searching For Children Trapped Under Debris

Writing this in real time while following Twitter, talking to friends and watching TV. It's mind boggling. And, I keep thinking on the discussion this morning about when do you shut school for the day in these areas with high chances for tornadic disaster. In Florida we have Hurricane Warnings or Watches and we shut down the school. In Oklahoma you have a Tornado Warning when the tornado has been spotted.. the kids are in school.

I'll say it again and again and again. If you have to choose a natural disaster.. I'll take a hurricane any day. You can prepare, get your family together and hunker down and pray. There is some semblance of security in the illusion of being in control that I will take over a Twister any day...or an Earthquake for that matter.





Massive damage near the Orr Family Ranch near SW 134th and Western in Moore Oklahoma.

It's like Deja Vu all over again, for me at least as I was online with friends during the last Moore Twisters and I remember that night very well.

The tornadoes today are considered worse than the ones in 1999. The damage trail is at least a mile wide and two miles in some area. There is preliminary talk this could have been an F5..that is just early discussion based on visual damage reports such as "grass torn out of the ground" and satellite imagery. A large wedge tornado that remained on the ground for over a half an hour.. maybe 45 minutes.

Moore, for those of you who don't know, is a suburb to the south of Oklahoma City.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore,_Oklahoma

Be aware...there were kids in the school when the Tornado went through. There seems to be a big concern about 3rd graders as well as others who were in lock down and may or may not have been in some of the damaged parts of the building. The building seems to have been... destroyed.

You know this morning we had a whole discussion on Facebook about why school was not cancelled or is not cancelled on days like this and in retrospect I have to say there is something to be said for that arguement.

Briarwood Elementary is said to have been destroyed.

BREAKING: "Children trapped---children hurt" at Briarwood Elementary School in Moore, OK after tornado - @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/m8m2wrj4ZL

75 children were in the hallway that is destroyed, approximately 15 to 30 kids are still trapped under debris. This is a real time search and rescue.

Children... adults, cars... horses on the farm ... parents unable to get inside. Parents are not allowed into the "debris pile" and parents who have tried to get inside and have been stopped so emergency workers can do their job.

Understand the "safe spot" is a hallway as it seems in this region they don't have basements often or "storm shelters" which to me is hard to understand, but I'm a Florida girl who does hurricanes definitely not tornadoes.

Look at the swath, the width of the line that moved SLOWLY through Oklahoma City today...

This is really tragic... the hospital there is damaged as well.

Search and recovery are going on at Moore County Medical Center, Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers Elementary.

Prayers are needed here, serious prayers.

Tweets tell a sad and tragic story of horses having to be put down that survived the storm, but are injured.



Stori Kelso ‏@StoriMichelle 4m
They are having to put the animals down by shooting them at the Orr Family Farm because they are in so much pain

 Lana Bo-banna ‏@LanaLanaBobanna 4m
Those poor horses at the Orr family farm.

 LEXI JONES❤ ‏@lexijones32596 4m
The Orr family farm got hit and approx. 75 horses were killed😭.

 Patriot Lemonade ‏@PatriotLemonade 4m
75 to 100 Horses dead at Orr Family Farm in Moore Oklahoma. #PrayForOklahoma



http://kfor.com/

Incredible Live Time reports with pictures in this fast moving news feed:

http://livewire.koco.com/Event/Live_Wire_Tracking_Oklahoma_storms_May_18

I'll be back later.

If you are in the line of these storms later today... take them very seriously.



Besos Bobbi.