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OU campuses escape storms’ fury University reports no injuries, minimal damage from Tuesday’s tornado outbreak ENJOLI DI PATRI
The Oklahoma Daily
OU campus was spared from injuries and death, and accrued minimal damage after three of six tornadoes across Oklahoma touched down and caused damage in nearby towns before weakening just outside of Norman. No injuries or deaths have been reported, said Lt. Bruce Chan, OUPD spokesman. The only damage from the storm was minor wind damage to the Kraettli Apartments, said Brian
Ellis, facilities management director. OU’s campus closed at 4:30 p.m. before the severe weather hit, according to Daily archives. Students, faculty, staff and Norman residents took shelter across campus while the storm approached. The severe weather produced six tornadoes throughout the day, meteorologist David Andra said. One of the tornadoes started in Chickasha before moving toward Newcastle and missing Norman, Andra said. The closest damage to Norman was from a tornado that touched down in the Washington and Goldsby areas, Andra said. A weak, third tornado in the Norman area was close to Lake
Thunderbird before heading to Pottawatomie County, Andra said. Tuesday’s tornadoes are similar to the tornadoes that occurred a year ago May 10, 2010, Andra said. “The intensity of the tornadoes have not yet been given a numerical value, but we have people out today looking to determine that,” Andra said. “At least two or three of them were probably an EF3 or higher though.” Aaron Scott, meteorology junior, said he decided to chase the storm rather than take shelter. SEE STORMS PAGE 2
Citizens seek out shelter on campus Students, locals turn to OU buildings for protection from Tuesday’s violent weather CARMEN FORMAN The Oklahoma Daily
In addition to students seeking shelter from the storms at OU, some citizens from the community sought protection in buildings on campus. All three OU campuses shut down Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., according to Daily archives, but some buildings stayed open Tuesday for people looking to seek cover from the storm. Former OU student Hamza Miftah was lifting weights with a couple of friends in the Traditions East clubhouse a mere hour after the tornado scare. Miftah said he was in the Sarkeys Energy Center when the tornado sirens started going off, so he went into the basement of the building for safety . “I was surprised, there were a bunch of people there, Miftah said.” “I’m going to have to guess at least 300 or 400 people, families, pets, students, everyone.” Miftah is from Morocco but said he has been dealing with tornadoes. This was the second time he had been in an extreme tornado situation in the U.S., Miftah said.
‘It was absolutely terrifying’
CART driver looks after himself and his riders PROVIDED BY SHERYL FENDER
A tornado wreaked havoc Sunday in Joplin, Mo. The death toll from the twister was 122. Two OU students survived the ordeal and documented the damage done to the city in the photo above and three photos below.
Sooners survive Joplin tornado OU students in Joplin, Mo., survive when tornado rips through apartment complex ALYSSA GRIMLEY The Oklahoma Daily
The tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo. Sunday had an impact that stretched beyond Missouri state lines. OU students Sheryl Fender and Matt Walker were in Joplin when the tornado touched down, and they witnessed the force of nature first-hand. Fender, public relations and communication junior, said in a phone interview she was helping her boyfriend Walker, mechanical engineering graduate student, move into his apartment in Joplin. Walker said he was preparing to start a summer internship with a Joplin General Mills plant. The next day, the two had lunch and Fender prepared to return to Oklahoma. That’s when the tornado sirens began to wail, Fender said. “I walked out on the porch and the sky was clear,” Fender said. Her mother, watching the weather at home, called her and told her to stay put. “All of a sudden, it got dark really fast,” Fender said. “It started raining sideways. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
When debris started flying through the air, Walker said he knew it was time to get inside. The two took shelter in the walk-in closet of their bathroom. As an extra precaution, Walker said he braced his feet against the closet door. “We were in there for not 20 seconds, and then it got really loud,” Fender said. Fender said she heard glass breaking, and the sound of the bathroom door being wrenched from its frame. As rain splattered the floor just outside the closet, Fender said she had an absurd thought. “I’m going to be in a newsworthy situation,” Fender said. As winds from the tornado surged inside the apartment, Walker said he struggled to hold the buckling door shut with his feet. “We were holding each other and everything started shaking,” Fender said. “It was absolutely terrifying.” The storm ended as quickly as it began. The two said they cautiously made their way out of the wreckage. Walker said his apartment, which was on the second floor, now opened to the sky. The third floor had been completely torn away.
C ART bus driver Dannie Goeringer took his passengers into the basement of the zoology building to wait out the severe weather. “Mostly the supervisors at our office monitor the storms and they let us know,” Goeringer said. He said about 30 to 40 other people were in the basement of the zoology building until his supervisors called and gave the all-clear. “We use our own discretion, like if we were up by Norman North we would go in there, or if we were up at the airport, we would go in the terminal and into the bathroom, it’s kind of driver discretion thing,” Goeringer said.
Citizens from Moore seek shelter at OU
Heather Ferrin, Nick Huber and their dog Brody made the trek from Moore to seek safety in the basement of Bizzell Memorial Library. “There were tons of other people with dogs and cats, and there was a rabbit,” Ferrin said of not being the only person with a SEE SHELTER PAGE 2
SEE JOPLIN PAGE 2
OU regents approve outdoor communication system Speakers will help alert students, faculty and staff in emergency situations, university spokesman says BRENDAN COUGHLIN The Oklahoma Daily
The OU Board of Regents recently voted in favor of President David Boren’s recommendation for a $318,450 addition to the university’s Emergency Communication System. The addition will consist of
inconspicuous speakers affixed to buildings across campus, said Chris Shilling, university spokesman. These speakers will transmit voice and tone recordings in case of an emergency. The contract was awarded to VOX Public Audio of Oklahoma City, the only applicant for the contract based in Oklahoma. VOX Public Audio is also the same company that built the Oklahoma Memorial Union clock tower speaker system 50 years ago, according to the regents’ agenda. “ V OX i s v e r y e x c i t e d t o b e d o i n g
A LOOK AT WHAT’S ON Visit OUDaily.com to read about students taking intercession courses having trouble finding leasing options for early summer.
something of such magnitude in the state of Oklahoma, particularly for OU,” said Jeff Besdeck, VOX spokesman. The new speaker system is a direct supplement to the present security notifications in place at the university, which currently has an Emergency Notification Service to send text alerts and recorded messages to cell phones, according to the regents agenda. “The Memorial Union speaker system can be heard chiming every hour. The new system will be similar, with more speakers
THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 151 © 2011 OU Publications Board www.OUDaily.com www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily
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across campus capable of alerting the OU community to an emergency situation,” Shilling said. “This is another step to get a hold of the university students, faculty and staff in case of an emergency.” The recent shooting tragedies at Virginia Tech and the University of Texas prompted Boren to recommend this system be implemented at OU, said Shilling. The emergency speaker system will be built this summer — starting June 1 — with hopes to be finished in time for the fall semester, Besdeck said.
TODAY’S WEATHER
79° | 63° Tomorrow: Chance of thunderstorms, high of 90 degrees