Mon, Jul 07 2008
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Published May 11, 2008 12:39 am - A tornado that ripped late Saturday afternoon through Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri is being blamed for at least five deaths in Picher, Okla., and at least six deaths in Newton County in Missouri. Deadly storms slam area From staff reports
news@joplinglobe.com A tornado that ripped late Saturday afternoon through Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri is being blamed for at least five deaths in Picher, Okla., and at least six deaths in Newton County in Missouri. Another fatality was being blamed on what might have been straight-line winds in Jasper County, four miles east of Carthage. The National Weather Service at Tulsa, Okla., was reporting that at least five people were killed in Picher. Other sources were citing larger numbers, but that could not be confirmed. The NWS office at Springfield was reporting that at least three people were killed in the Racine area in northwestern Newton County, but the sheriff said there were six deaths in his county. Approximately 95 people were being treated Saturday night in the emergency rooms at St. John’s Regional Medical Center and Freeman Hospital West in Joplin. Both hospitals had initiated their disaster-response plans. St. John’s sent a mobile ER to Newton County. A spokeswoman for Freeman West said the injured were coming from Granby, an area north of Neosho, Picher, and an area near Highway 43 and Iris Road in Newton County. Spokeswomen for both hospitals said patients were arriving at the hospitals via private vehicles, ambulances and helicopters as late as 10 p.m. Saturday. The tornado struck Picher about 6 p.m. Picher, Okla. Eric Johnson, city attorney for Picher, said a disaster command post had been set up at the Picher Fire Department and that 15 light stands had been brought to the town to begin a house-to-a- house search for survivors who might still be trapped in the rubble. Johnson said that emergency responders were descending on the town from across the region. Johnson said up to 200 houses were damaged or destroyed at Picher. A shelter for those displaced by the tornado was activated at 9 p.m. at the First Christian Church in Miami, Okla. Ottawa County Sheriff Terry Durborow said about nightfall there were some deaths, but he didn’t know how many or if the number would rise during the night. 
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