Situation Update 2

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management

Situation Update 2

May 1, 2019 – 5 p.m.

As a result of severe weather across the state Tuesday and additional severe weather expected overnight and tomorrow, the State Emergency Operations Center remains activated. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) remains in contact with emergency managers across the state and coordinating with agencies and organizations including the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma National Guard, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Oklahoma Insurance Department, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, National Weather Service, Oklahoma American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief and the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.

Governor Kevin Stitt today declared a State of Emergency for 52 Oklahoma counties due to severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding that began Tuesday. Under the Executive Order, state agencies can make emergency purchases and acquisitions needed to expedite the delivery of resources to local jurisdictions. The declaration also marks a first step toward seeking federal assistance should it be necessary.

The counties included in the declaration are: Adair, Atoka, Bryan, Canadian, Carter, Cherokee, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Garvin, Grady, Haskell, Hughes, Jefferson, Johnston, Latimer, Le Flore, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Marshall, Mayes, McClain, McCurtain, McIntosh, Murray, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Rogers, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Tillman, Tulsa, Wagoner, and Washington.

Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reports two fatalities attributed to the storms.

Male, 55 years old, Tulsa

Female, 58 years old, Bokchito

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 22 injuries have been reported by area hospitals as a result of storms in southeast Oklahoma Tuesday night.

American Red Cross is providing canteen services to first responders in Nowata and assisting three families displaced by the storms. Cleanup Supplies Buckets are also available in Nowata. Additionally, they are providing casework support in northeast and southeast Oklahoma.

Residents who need assistance with chainsaw or debris removal may contact Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief at (405) 516-4822 or www.okdisasterhelp.org/request-assistance.

When disaster strikes, the best way to support survivors of emergencies or disasters in Oklahoma is with cash donations to reputable voluntary organizations. Cash donations allow relief organizations or survivors to purchase what they need, when and where they need it. Buying supplies locally helps the local community recover by helping local businesses pay salaries and by keeping tax revenues in the community.

Other donated items are not needed or requested by local officials at this time. Do not send unsolicited donations of used clothing, miscellaneous items or perishable foods, which must be sorted, warehoused, transported and distributed. This requires more efforts and staffing to manage those resources and takes away from recovery efforts.

Damage assessments are ongoing in the affected areas.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management continues to ask residents impacted by the April 30 storms to report damages to their property at damage.ok.gov or by calling (405) 496-9329. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts. Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online survey.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission reports 1,151 outages statewide.

OG&E

Bokchito:  660

PSO

Hartshorne: 170

Kiamichi Electric Cooperative- Total: 554 

Latimer County: 81

Le Flore County: 308

Pittsburg County: 155

Pushmataha County: 10

Southeastern Electric Cooperative- Total: 127 

Atoka County: 52

Bryan County: 75

Oklahoma Department of Transportation reports the following highways are closed due to flooding:

Atoka County -SH-131 is closed west of US-69 just east of Wardville.

Cotton County -SH-5B is closed between US-70 and SH-5A.

Delaware County- SH-127 is closed near Jay just west of US-59 due to a damaged drainage structure

Johnston County- SH-48A is closed at the SH-48 junction in Coleman; SH-48A is closed two miles north of Milburn.

Nowata County- SH-10 is closed at Cedar Creek east of US-169 near Lenapah

Pittsburg County- SH-63 is closed between Haileyville and Bache Rd.; SH-31 is closed west of McAlester between the industrial park and Haywood Rd.

To check current road conditions in Oklahoma, visit www.okroads.org.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Consumer Assistance division is ready to help anyone who received damage from yesterday’s storms. Here are some tips for storm victims:

• Contact your insurance company to start the claims process
• Take photos or video of the damage before removing debris or cleaning up
• Make temporary repairs to prevent further damage

You can also call the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 800-522-0071 if you have questions about your policy or about the claims process.

For Oklahoma residents seeking non-emergency disaster or health and human service information, please contact your local 2-1-1. Services are available 24 hours a day by dialing 2-1-1 from your home or cellular telephone. Please only call 911 for emergencies.

###