HCA 415: Community and Public Health

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Scenario #3: “Tornado scenario”

The Scenario:

It is calm day in the city of Moore, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, OK. It is October 4th, 1998

and people are going about their everyday lives. At approximately, 8:37 PM CDT a tornado develops

about a half mile north of 19th Avenue. The tornado is two miles wide and tears through the center of the

city. The damage is tremendous, as tracts of homes are destroyed and cars are piled atop of one another.

The tornado is powerful EF4 on the enhanced Fujita Scale with wind speeds of 200 miles per hour. This

tornado is a part of series of tornados that have developed over the past two days, devastating other cities

in the area. Hundreds are injured and unfortunately there are 70 deaths that have been confirmed. There

are reports of families being trapped under debris in the northern parts of the city. Two schools have been

leveled along with one of the main medical facilities. City resources are overwhelmed and the U.S.

president has declared this area a major disaster area, allowing federal aid to support local and state

efforts.

Moore is a city of only 56, 315 people. The city has continually grown over the past decade. Moore has

three high schools and a local community college that serve as there major educational centers. The

nearest big city is Oklahoma City which has a population of over 200,000. There are three medical

facilities that provide medical care for the general population. The Community Hospital offers acute care

and other emergency services while Oklahoma Heart Hospital and Oklahoma Center offer similar

services. Moore has three fire stations located in various parts of the city (North, East, and West).

Interstate 35 is the only major highway that travels through the city. Weather in the area ranges from the

low 70’s and mid 90’s during the summer to about The low 50’s and low 30’s in the winter. This

particular area of the country is known for tornados and Moore has had a history of damaging tornados.

Your Review: What do you tell your public? Factor out the issues and follow protocol to formulate your

response to the discussion question and public service announcement.

Source for background information: Mannette, A., (2013). Oklahoma Tornado 2013Devastates Moore, Kills

Dozens. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/oklahoma-tornado-2013_n_3309844.html