Evening star., 1955-05-26
TORNADOES
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IONlNADOEC
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hit by the twister looked like
graveyard Of splintered homes,
uprooted trees and smashed au-
tomobiles.
A strip 2l2 blocks by 8 blocks
was so badly devastated bull
dozers and cranes had to clear
the way for rescuers.
Other towns hit included Geu-
da Springs in South Central
Kansas and Erick, Durant, Shat
tuck, Mayfield, Camargo, Leedey,
Taloga, Cheyenne, Deer Creek
and Strong City in Oklahoma.
Both Udall and Blackwell lost
their electric power. Communi-
cations were hard hit.
Rescue Crews Hampered
Debris and mud covering the
streets hampered rescue crews.
The tornadoes caught the resi-
dents by surprise.
at sounded like freight train
coming through the house" said
Johnny Walker, 81, of Udall.
"There was an explosion, 1t
seemed like, and all the windows
shattered"
Mr.. Walkers home was one OF
the few remaining in Udall.
At Blackwell, the Hazel Atlas
Glass Co. plant, a tW0-block fac
tory in the center of the storms
path, caught fire and was de-
stroyed after the tornado leveled
part of it. Thirty-five workers on
the night shift escaped before
the structure collapsed, however.
Bread trucks and other COM
mercial vehicles were pressed into
service to speed the injured to
hospitals.
Even brick and stone buildings
In Udall were leVeled.
Portable lights were moved into
town early today to aid rescue
crews.
Fragments of buildings were
left standing here and there in
UdalI, gaunt reminders of the
winds vicious force.
Cars Are Smashed
The twister snapped off tele-
phone poles at ground level and
wires criss-crossed the streets.
Cars parked in the streets were
smashed by falling brick walls.
Rain accompanied the twister
and continued to pour down
after it had passed.
, Refugee centers were set up
at nearby towns.
At Blackwell, with telephone
communications wiped out, anna
teur short-wave radio operators
broadcast appeals for help which
brought ambulances, doctors.
nurses, flremen and rescue units
from hume erous surrounding
towns.
Bulldozers were used to clear
the streets of uprooted trees and
other debris to make way for
ambulances.
AS Blackwell's two hospitals
filled rapidly, the injured were
rushed to Ponca City, Pawhuska
and Medford.
A temporary morgue was es-
tablished at the National Guard
Armory and the members of the
local guard unit patrolled the
stricken area. Some of the in
jured were treated in churches.
which were quick to set up
emergency first aid stations.
Out-of town policemen. in
Blackwell for convention of
Northern Oklahoma and South
ern Kansas peace officers, joined
local authorities in the rescue
work, as did civil defense units
and first-aid teams rushed here
from as far as Wichita. Kans.
1t was the worst tornado to
strike Oklahoma since the dev-
astating Woodward storm Of
1947 which took LOG lives.
Another tornado swooped down
on residential section of Du-
rant, in the southeastern part
of Oklahoma, at S am. today.
unroofing homes for four blocks.
No one was injured. The
Weather Bureau said line OF
severe thunderstorms extended
all the way across Eastern Okla
homa. but no further tornadoes
were expected.
Second Storm of Day
Last nights tornado was
Blackwell S second storm of the
day. A 70-mile-an-hour wind
unroofed warehouses. shattered
store windows. tore down wires
and uprooted trees in this
same area before noon yes
terday. At the same time