My Dad's bravery and preparation saved us from a Tulsa tornado's direct hit in 1974
All Oklahomans are eventually touched by a tornado in some way. Fifty years on, I still dream of that a tornado coming down my street, says Mark Liotta. On June 8, 1974, the Liotta family of Tulsa, Oklahoma, were directly hit by a Tulsa tornado. Their father, Tony, ordered them to huddle in the hallway under a blanket of blankets and pillows. The family had no air conditioning, but an attic fan was used to vent the hot, heavy, humid air through their house. The tornado swept over their street, lifting their house off its foundation and setting it back down, destroying all of their neighbor's roofs and shattering windows. The Liotta's home survived the storm, but at least 30 tornadoes were reported across Oklahoma that day, killing 17 people.
发表 : 10 个月前 经过 mark liotta, Mark Liotta 在 Weather
A typical Oklahoma summer was underway for the Liotta family on June 8, 1974; daytime heat was withering, nights were humid and sudden storms could erupt and blow through at any time. We didn’t have air conditioning, just an attic fan to pull the hot, heavy, humid air through the house.
Our Dad, Tony, was always “weather aware.” When the television news reported potential storms, he would pull out his transistor radio and tune to KVOO-FM radio for the latest reports. Today was another storm watch, but this late afternoon was going to be different.
Storms always seem to move northeast, generally following Interstate 44, and we always seemed to be in their path at 21st Street and Mingo Road in Tulsa. If a tornado warning was reported, we began our routine of bringing our small mattresses and pillows into the hallway and getting settled in to wait it out. We were ages 8, 10, 11 and 13.
On this June 8th, our Dad seemed unusually concerned. He began to bark orders at us, “GET IN THE HALLWAY NOW!”, and we obeyed without hesitation. We huddled together, listening to the radio reports of a tornado headed our way, the AM transmission regularly interrupted by the crackle of lightning strikes.
For several minutes we waited, and prayed the best we knew how.
As the tornado set its sights on our street, surely moving directly over our house, the air was filled with the wind's roar, the impact of debris, and the wailing of air being pulled through the copper stripping that insulated our front door; the tornado was playing our house like a harmonica.
So there we were, four terrified kids in the hallway, in the midst of a shredding storm, a mattress on top of us, and our Dad on top of the mattress holding it down with his body, begging God to spare his family. I can’t imagine our Dad’s terror as we called out to him.
I remember feeling with amazement the air being sucked through our wood floor as the twister passed over. The loud chaos and destruction went on for what seemed like several minutes.
And then suddenly, for us, it was over.
The tornado continued its path of destruction further into east Tulsa. We waited, then slowly crawled out of our makeshift shelter and walked outside to see what was left.
The storm had lifted our house off its foundation and set it back down. The roof was gone, as were all of our neighbor’s roofs. Every window in the Volkswagen and station wagon was shattered and blown out.
The Marina Apartments were under construction then, and their massive steel construction panels had been slung through our neighborhood like tissue paper, and wrapped around trees. Their landscaping railroad ties had been lifted into the air, and then dropped through our neighbor’s roof. Everything was splattered black from the hail of roofing shingles. Mangled trees and debris were everywhere.
But we were lucky. Our home was still standing. The closest total destruction was at the end of our street; a home was demolished.
On this day, at least 30 tornadoes were reported across Oklahoma, and 17 people lost their lives.
All Oklahomans are eventually touched by the destructive power of a tornado in some way. Fifty years on, one of the common dreams I still have is of a tornado coming down my street. You don’t forget.
But each June, I also get to remember our Dad, putting himself second, doing everything he could to protect his family from another Oklahoma storm.
话题: Tornadoes