Published: May 21, 2008 06:18 pm         

Residents line up at recovery center

FEMA sets up in Picher after devastating tornado

PICHER, Okla. — About 20 people were lined up Tuesday morning outside the disaster-recovery center when state and federal officials opened the doors. By noon, they had taken about 40 applications, with more expected throughout the day.

“We’ll be here until we’re no longer needed,” said Brad Craine, public information officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In addition to the standard disaster assistance, Picher will be the recipient of $8 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to expedite the government buyout that already was under way in the former mining town.

“This $8 million in federal funds will be first used to assist the victims of the May 10 tornado in the Picher area,” U.S. Sen. James Inhofe said in an announcement circulated Tuesday night by The Associated Press. The tornado struck the heart of the Superfund site with a history of lead-pollution and cave-in issues.

Sally Lane, 71, was one of those looking for help after the May 10 tornado.

“Everybody says it (a tornado) sounds like a freight train, and they’re right,” Lane said while waiting outside the Picher Community Center, 116 Devilliers Circle, where the recovery center is located. Many community and relief groups providing everything from diapers to bottled water are set up nearby.

The tornado destroyed more than 140 homes in Ottawa County, including Lane’s.

Lane, who is living with her sister three blocks away, had lived in her home since 1975.

“It’s just a bunch of rubble now,” she said. “It was very scary.”

Fred Cobbs, who also was in line Tuesday, spent four days in a hospital with injuries he suffered in the tornado.

Like Lane, he lost his house.

“There ain’t nothing there but bits and pieces,” said Cobbs, who also is staying with family.

Ten days after the storm that killed six people in Picher, signs of life were nonexistent in an area west of Picher where houses were ripped from foundations and reduced to sticks. The area is just a few blocks south of Picher-Cardin School.

A child’s orange and green Nerf football lay beside what once had been a home.

Across the street, a child’s brightly colored parka was sprawled near the road.

A lone recliner on a concrete slab was all that was left of another home.

Ottawa County residents can receive rental assistance and can be reimbursed for the cost of hotels, Craine said. At the relief center, residents also can register with FEMA for assistance and check the status of their applications. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.

FEMA officials want all residents who need help to provide a phone number where they can be reached, a Social Security number and a mailing address, as well as the address of the affected property, a description of the damage and insurance information.

Representatives also are at the center from the Small Business Administration, which offers low-interest recovery loans to homeowners, renters and business owners. The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, and other state and federal agencies also were represented at the recovery center when it opened Tuesday.

Larry Eller, community development director for the city of Miami, and Brian Barger, economic development director for Miami, also met Tuesday with victims of the tornado.

Eller said they had taken seven applications from prospective homeowners for a housing project the city has in the works to help victims of last July’s flooding. The city has 17 lots in a subdivision it purchased with grant money, and can offer low-interest loans and down-payment assistance to qualified buyers.





‘Really huge’



Dennis Darnell recalled the May 10 tornado.

“I opened the back door to the carport and saw the funnel coming down the field,” he said.

After taking a couple of photographs of the tornado, Darnell ran to a ditch and hung onto the grass as the funnel passed overhead.

“It was really huge,” he said. “It sounded like a jet plane thrusting its engines.”

The tornado slid his house off the foundation and carried it about 100 feet, prying off the roof.

“I didn’t know if I was going to survive it or die,” Darnell said.



Debbie Robinson writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.