Can't stop crying, 2 schools hit, 1 leveled by tornadoes

[Happyhippychick]

I can't stand it, I can't stand it.

[uppityperson]

1. I feel like throwing up. I so hope the kids weren't in the one that was leveled. The other one looks

much better, just bad damage but survivable.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. I hope to God no kids were in the second one.

I almost threw up when I saw it.

[uppityperson]

3. +++++++++++

[lpbk2713]

4. Oh no.

I'm hoping for the best.

[Happyhippychick]

5. I revised my title, I'm glad one wasn't leveled. I really feel sick.

[uppityperson]

7. Plaza Elementary is flat, oh damn

[Texasgal]

8. I just hope they were underground.

Or not there at all... this is awful.

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. When the tornado was on the ground, the reporters were saying a lot of these buildings were not on

basements.

A lot of that land won't support a basement.

[Texasgal]

12. I know this area has been hit before

I am hoping that during their rebuild they built shelters. I hate tornados. I've been stuck in many of them through out my life, they are scary!

[wercal]

31. Fewer basements the further south you go

Footings have to be built below frost depth. Frost is 8 ft in North Dakota, so you've practically built a basement just getting down to frost. South Texas doesn't get frost...so footings are only a ft deep. In all areas in between, it gradually goes from very few basements in TX to almost all houses in North Dakota.

Alot of new construction in the plains, however, has above ground shelters. They make one of the closets out of concrete.

[ScreamingMeemie]

36. I'm in Houston.

Sometimes, they'll dig out underneath a garage slab (a crawl space, if you will) as a storm cellar. Our "storm area" is a reinforced walkin closet in the exact middle of the house. It's not concrete. A lot of new construction is reinforced steel beams.

[LeftInTX]

39. Oklahoma City is on solid rock and requires dynamite to create storm shelters.

One of the schools doesn't have a basement or even a sublevel. I'm not sure about the other school.

Yeah, full basements like the ones in North Dakota, aren't the norm in OK City.

[wercal]

40. Somebody mentioned a cellar

I don't know which school or if that was even accurate.

[kentuck]

10. Oh My!

[riderinthestorm]

11. By this time of the day virtually all midwestern schools should have been let out @ an hour ago

During a regular school day.

Let's hope the superintendent of those area schools was watching the storm system and let them go even earlier. Plainfield IL was a national lesson and many, many schools learned it the hard way. My daughter's N IL school is very proactive in letting the kids go early as the storms develop and it looks like trouble.

I really, really hope nobody was in there...

[redqueen]

14. Yes.. please god let them have been let out early...

It is an incredibly frightening situation to be in... Those of you who have been through it know exactly what I'm talking about.

Please let them have been at home with their families please please please

[Texasgal]

15. This storm hit over an hour ago.

It lasted forever too... It was on the ground for a long time.

[uppityperson]

16. Tornado was on the ground for at least 1 hr, they locked down the schools until it passed

[riderinthestorm]

19. Aw dammit. Simply awful.... there's no words for this kind of terrible event. nt

[uppityperson]

21. way

[Demo_Chris]

13. Horrific. nt

[sufrommich]

17. I feel the same. Horrible,horrible.

[a la izquierda]

18. Just moved out of the area..,

After 8 years. I'm heartsick.

[LeftInTX]

20. It's devasting

All we can do is hope they are safe. I hope the schools have basements (sub-levels)

[freshwest]

27. I know some in Houston used to.. but IDK about OK. I hope they had them.

On the ground an hour - guess they are several different funnels or one huge one. There was one like that through the Panhandle years ago, but it wasn't in a very populated area. This is going to be awful there. I thought it was going to be over yesterday when about a dozen were reported to have been killed, but no such luck for today.

OK, KS, all of it.

[LeftInTX]

30. No basement in one of the schools

Congressman Cole lives in the neighborhood and was on CNN.

[freshwest]

33. Hopefully got to the bathrooms? Don't know about the construction of these.

What does CNN say - can you see the building?

Pretty dangerous even reporting this if it's not going to let up.

[LeftInTX]

38. Aerials of the schools.

Some of the pics are posted here on DU.

Other than that, it is a dangerous situation for reporting. They have rescue on the scene and triage set up in the school parking lot.

[LeftInTX]

41. Pic of one of the schools

https://twitter.com/nbcnightlynews/status/336584197072379904/photo/1

[freshwest]

43. That's terrible. In just a few minutes. It looks hopeless, LeftinTX.

[sheshe2]

35. They reported that it 2+ miles wide.

I haven't heard if there was more than one.

This sounds pretty bad, freshwest.

[freshwest]

42. Everything in its path would be destroyed by the debris it picked up. Worse than the winds alone.

[Hissyspit]

22. @BuzzFeedAndrew: Farmer being interviewed on KFOR: "There's maybe 75-100 dead horses." @adolwyn: M

@BuzzFeedAndrew: Farmer being interviewed on KFOR: "There's maybe 75-100 dead horses."

@adolwyn: Multiple reports of cars crushed on I-35 with people trapped in them from scanners. I-35 is closed both directions. #okwx.

[Hissyspit]

23. LBN Thread Here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014487867

[uppityperson]

24. Plaza towers school, pulling 3rd graders out of the destroyed school, helicopters, fires, fuck

They are pulling kids out of the flattened school. Children were in the Plaza Towers elementary school.

[freshwest]

34. They are on the scene helping - hope they find them all soon. Just little kids.

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Poor reporter on live news broke down, unable to finish sentence

and the anchors in the news room were very very supportive of him.
He had just arrived at one of the devastated schools, where they were pulling kids out.

[tosh]

29. Yeah, I'm watching that one.

[CBGLuthier]

32. I think it was near or at his own neighborhood

Lance West, the helicopter pilot, he has heard his family is OK but yeah it got to him.

[hrmjustin]

26. Cnn says they are pulling out children alive.

[freshwest]

28. Oh, happy, hope they got to ground before that hit. I know the teachers did all they could.

to your area.

[Rex]

37. You can!

I agree this is horrendous, but you and I have to handle it for the kids there that are trapped! I am crying but we can handle it! Pray or give out good vibes for the first responders freeing kids from the rubble! You CAN handle it, even if you cannot stand it. I cannot stand it either, but maintaining composure is good during a crisis like this. REMEMBER, they are saving kids RIGHT NOW pulling them from the debris.

YES YOU CAN!