22nd May, 2013
Chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s rapid response team are among those who have rushed to Oklahoma City in the wake of a devastating tornado which swept through the town of Moore to the city’s south on Monday afternoon, killing more than 20 people.
“It”s just carnage,” one of the chaplains, Carolin Perez, was quoted as saying in a story on the organisation’s website. “It looks like everything has been through a blender.”
The three kilometre wide tornado – classified as EF5, the highest category for tornados – moved at speeds of up to 320 kph as it cut a swathe of destruction across the southern part of Oklahoma City.
Initial reports claimed more than 90 people had died in the disaster but the official death toll now stands at 24 with more than 200 people injured. About 100 people have been pulled alive from the rubble.
– DAVID ADAMS