T
HE TORNADO THAT STRUCK EL RENO, OKLA., ON MAY 31, 2013, made history. It produced winds as high as 295 miles per hour, and at one point was 2.6
miles wide, wider than any other tornado on record. In just 40 minutes, it crossed over an area of 16.2
miles, killing 8 people and injuring 151. It traveled mostly over open terrain so there were relatively few man-made structures in its path, and since it was a Fri- day night many of them were unoccupied. But damage was reported to 29 buildings, and among them was the Oklahoma City West Livestock Market. “We were wiped out,” says OKC West partner/man-
ager Bill Barnhart. “The good thing was there were no injuries here. There were some fatalities across the area, but right here we got out of it all right. It tore everything up and we had some people on the prop- erty, but they found places to get cover and came out of it just fi ne.” Although tragic, the death toll of the massive twister
could have been far worse. In an attempt to outrun the storm, residents of Oklahoma City 25 miles away took to their vehicles. Had the tornado not weakened, many of them could have been trapped. But as Barnhart says, “Anybody who lives in this part of the world is used to severe storms, tornadoes, and we all become weather-aware.”
“We were wiped out. ” He says that local television stations have outstand-
ing weather personnel, and when severe storms hit they take over the broadcasts. “You’re always aware,” Barnhart says, “and you have to be around here. When these storms develop, they sometimes develop very quickly and, of course, you can see them coming. But as far as preparedness goes, it’s really all about being weather-aware and having a place to go if there’s a tornado coming.” The facilities were devastated — one contemporary
account described it as looking like a war zone — but were insured, even for the cattle. Barnhart says, “When we rebuilt, we had to rebuild our whole building. We put a big concrete above-ground storm shelter in it.” That is becoming common in tornado-ravaged Oklahoma, he says. Many schools and homes are being equipped with safe rooms. “It’s something that people are very aware of around here,” Barnhart says The facility is also built to withstand other potential disasters. Since OKC West is on top of a hill, fl ooding
66 The Cattleman July 2016
rains drain away. The building was built to local codes and has fi re sprinklers and other deterrents. Can any- thing protect the livestock? “Not that I know of,” he says. “Typically, what happens is that 4-legged creatures run from a storm. We had about 100 head of cattle on the property when we were hit by the big one in ‘13. We had a few deaths, but I think we ended up with about 95 of them that survived. Animals are very aware of weather, and people need to be the same.” During Livestock Marketing Association’s annual
convention Terry Chapman, LMA region executive of- fi cer and executive director with Oklahoma Livestock Marketing Association, hosted a breakout session on disaster preparedness. He says, “Part of the presentation was, ‘What do you do when the disaster happens?’ I described 3 things that livestock auction markets should be doing, or could be doing. The fi rst one was back up the computers and all business data on a regular basis and store that backup off premise, because if you lose your original and your backup is there, you’re going to lose your backup. That information is very valuable.”
3 Pre-Disaster Preps •1•
Back up your business or
personal computers and store the information off-site.
Store a list of your vendors and •2•
utility companies – with passwords if needed for the accounts – off-site.
Start your “if I ever have to rebuild” wish list now — not when you are standing knee-deep in rubble.
•3•
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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