Auto Glass Shops Pick Up the Pieces after Moore, Okla., Tornado
May 21, 2013

by Jenna Reed, jreed@glass.com

A local resident allowed by security officers into an otherwise sealed off neighborhood walks past the rubble of destroyed homes, one day after a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Though her sons lost their homes in the tornado Monday that devastated Moore, Okla., Ginger Strudgeon of Binswanger in Bethany, Okla., is at work today doing what she can to help others recover. Auto glass shops in the area are seeing an increase in demand due to the tornado.

"Both of my boys lost their homes," she says. "They are both okay and were out of their houses when the tornado hit. And one of our guys here also had some damage. He's taking tomorrow off to deal with it."

Bethany is about 25 miles from Moore, Okla., which is where the most devastation occurred.

"The stores down there are just getting inundated with glass work," she says. "We're getting lots of calls. This will keep us busy into fall and winter. Oklahoma is good about pulling together. We just really need prayers right now."

She adds that the Norman, Okla., Binswanger location, which is even closer to Moore., Okla., is getting even more calls. A shop representative from the Norman location says they are very busy.

"There is lots of glass damage," she says. "It's a catastrophe. We're trying to handle it as well as we can. Right now, we're just doing vehicles that were hit early on."

Chezaray Priddy, a representative of City Glass OKC in Oklahoma City, says the focus within the tornado-damaged area remains on rescue efforts and after that they will have a better assessment as far as damages.

"Right now we're okay. The tornado was late afternoon yesterday, so I expect we will be busy by tomorrow," she says.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma Body Works, in Bethany, Okla., is still recovering from the storm damage that hit the area a few weeks back.

"We're not seeing a lot of demand due to tornado damage," says Sean Mooney, of the shop. "We're just dealing with hail from three weeks ago."

The Moore area, a suburb of Oklahoma City, has been declared a major disaster area by President Obama, according to a report from Reuters.

The death toll, initially cited as 51 and expected to climb to as many as 91 people, with more than 200 injured, was later revised by the Oklahoma chief medical examiner to 24 dead and more than 120 injured, reports NBC News.

Additionally, a Washington Post article cites the tornado as ranking a 4 or 5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which ranks the level of intensity and damage for tornados. The scale, which ranks 0-5, labels a 5 as the most destructive with winds reaching over 200 miles per hour.

This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
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