Oklahoma tornado damages 13,000 homes
MOORE, Okla. – The tornado that struck an Oklahoma City suburb this week may have created $2 billion or more in damage as it tore through as many as 13,000 homes, multiple schools and a hospital, officials said Wednesday as they gave the first detailed account of the devastation.
At the same time, authorities released the identities of some of the 24 people who perished. While anguish about the deaths was palpable, many remained stunned that the twister didn’t take a higher human toll during its 17 miles and 40 minutes on the ground.
The physical destruction was staggering.
“The tornado that we’re talking about is the 1 or 2 percent tornado,” Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood said of the twister, which measured a top-of-the-scale EF5 with winds of at least 200 mph. “This is the anomaly that flattens everything to the ground.”
House passes GOP bill to speed pipeline
WASHINGTON – House Republicans pushed through a bill Wednesday to bypass the president to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Democrats criticized the legislation as a blatant attempt to allow a foreign company to avoid environmental review.
The bill was approved, 241-175, largely along party lines.
Associated Press
