In Our View: Numbers add up to tragedy

May 16, 2008 12:54 pm

— 23: The number of lives lost.
$30 million: The cost of the destruction to the residents of Newton County.
21: The age of Tyler Casey, the volunteer firefighter who warned three people to take cover before he was killed in the powerful tornado that swept Iris Road.
5:20 p.m.: The time on Saturday that the storm sirens sounded in Picher — a full six minutes before the National Weather Service station at Tulsa issued a tornado warning for the area.
6: The number of times Newton County has been declared a federal disaster area by President Bush in the past 28 months.
175 mph: The wind speed of the EF4 tornado that hit Picher and then Newton County.
1 mile: The estimated width of the tornado that hit Picher at its widest point.
150-plus: The number of people injured in Picher.
141: The number of homes destroyed in Newton County.
300: The number of structures in Picher that were destroyed.
EF1: The ranking of the tornado that hit a mobile home northeast of Carthage, killing 17-year-old Casey Coggin.
We could keep listing numbers, and we know more estimates will be coming as officials take stock of the damage from the May 10 tornado that tore through Northeast Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri.
As we look back at a disaster that will leave its mark on our readers for years to come, we also look ahead to the rebuilding of communities.
We realize that it takes more than just numbers to tell a story.
That’s why we will never underestimate the power of the human spirit.