MOORE, Okla. — Three days after a deadly EF-5 tornado touched down in Moore, Okla., residents have begun to pick up the pieces. Neighbors — some strangers to each other — now united with one mission: heal and recover.
FOX 4’s Matt Hensley and Gia Vang are in Moore, Okla., where they spoke with some who have lost everything.
“Everything just happened really fast,” one tornado victim said.
In the aftermath, stunned residents stood disbelieving. Some, broken-hearted that 10 children were among the 24 people who died.
“I didn’t realize the impact at that time, but I look back now and know — I just couldn’t imagine being a parent trying to get my child out of that rubble,” said one woman, tears welling up in her eyes.
All around Telephone Road in Moore are heaps of debris where buildings once stood. Trees stand bare, their branches stripped of leaves. Some even lost the very bark on their trunks.
Residents, although shaken and exhausted by waves of emotions, have not been defeated. Many have found the resolve to begin picking up the pieces — with the help of friends, neighbors and strangers.
“I have wonderful friends that are helping me,” said one tornado victim whose husband is currently on the Afghan, Pakistan border. “I’m so thankful, I’m so blessed.”
Over and over, FOX 4’s Matt Hensley heard those words from victims, professing that even in the darkest of times they have been blessed through the help of others.
“When you have these types of disasters and then you see how many people have good spirits and kind hearts and just come together to help,” said one woman who is working to clear a cemetery hit by the tornado.
Others in Moore focused on working to reopen a movie theater. Others worked to restore power. All over the city of Moore, people were devoted to something — or someone, inspiring a nation by their sense of pride, hope and desire to overcome.