EF2 leaves two dead, another in hospital and wake of damage
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An OG&E truck is parked in front of the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Madill. The church sustained heavy damage during a tornado on April 22. Charlie Hannema • Office of the Governor -
The tornado wreaked havoc on Smiley Road from Oklahoma Steel and Wire to the trailer park. Charles White • The Madill Record
The Madill City officials, along with Mark Gower – the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management – held a tornado press conference on April 23. The press conference was held on the grassy hill east of the Walmart parking lot, adjacent from Oklahoma Steel & Wire.
Donny Raley, the Emergency Manager for the City of Madill, led the press conference. He opened it by introducing the officials. In attendance were Mike Idleman, the Madill Interim Fire Chief, Madill Police Donald Yow, Madill City Manager James Fullinghim, Madill City Mayor Travis Williams, and Gower.
Raley stated that the tornado came trucking into town at approximately 4:30 p.m. on April 22. It was traveling east and struck J&I Manufacturing at the far western part of the city, first. The tornado apparently hopped – touching ground, then retracting – three or four times.
After hitting J&I Manufacturing, it traveled eastward at approximately 45 mph. It destroyed the Holy Cross Catholic Church in the west part of the city, then almost leveled Oklahoma Steel & Wire.
Once it left Oklahoma Steel & Wire, it hit a mobile home park in the southeast corner of the city, completely obliterating two mobile homes and damaging more.
Raley confirmed there were two fatalities linked to the tornado. One was Chad Weyant, a 46-year-old male from Madill. He was caught by the tornado while driving his smart car. The other fatality was a truck driver.
Even though Raley and the officials could not confirm any names at the time of the conference, the Oklaho-Highway Patrol issued a release confirming the deceased of the vehicle incident.
Idleman stepped up to the mic to dispel the rumors that one of the fatalities was an Oklahoma Steel & Wire employee. It was an out-of-town truck driver who was delivering supplies to the business. Unfortunately, he was caught off-guard. He stepped out of his truck and was hit by debris.
Raley noted that their request for resources from the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management was a nswered in a swift manner. There were 10 teams of emergency managers and volunteers with feet on the ground, assessing the damage and checking debris.
One person was flown to a Plano hospital in critical condition.
Raley said even though the tornado was devastating, it could have been worse. “Except for the person flown to Plano, there were very few injuries, and the injuries were minor,” Raley said.
Raley noted that their request for resources from the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management was answered in a swift manner. There were 10 teams of emergency managers and volunteers with feet on the ground, assessing the damage and checking debris.
As far as monetary damages, that is still be assessed. Currently, seven homes were completely destroyed from the tornado. The city official’s guestimate that the total amount of homes totaled from damage will be less than 15.
So far, the three businesses (including the Holy Cross Catholic Church) were the only ones hit.
Fullinghim approached the mics to address the questions about assistance for the affected residents. He said they are still assessing the damage to figure out what state and federal programs they need to apply for. That process should only take a few days.
The American Red Cross had arrived on scene to assist the residents who were affected by the tornado’s wrath. They will give the residents temporary assistance while the programs are being implemented.
Fullinghim noted that the current pandemic should not slow down the normally fast process. The officials at the federal programs have already been contacted, and they are awaiting the damage assessment to go forward with the process.
Both J&I Manufacturing and Oklahoma Steel & Wire are integral manufacturing businesses for Madill. They employee quite a bit of the city’s residents. Idleman noted that J&I’s employees will not be affected, because they are part of the cleanup crew working to get the business back up and running. Unfortunately, the future of the employees of Oklahoma Steel & Wire is unknown. That business sustained quite a bit of damage, and it is unknown how long they will be out of commission.
At the time of the press conference, it was still unknown what the tornado was rated. However, it was recently rated as an EF2.
A tornado’s intensity is rated on an EF (Enhanced Fujita) Scale. The ratings are determined by the damage caused by the storm. The scale runs from EF0 up to EF5, putting this tornado directly in the middle of the scale.
This rating estimates winds of 111 mph to 135, and rates the damage as considerable. Many times, an EF2 tornado tears roofs from well-constructed houses, shifts foundations on homes, completely destroy mobile homes, snaps large trees, and lifts cars off the ground.