I’ll be donating any profits from my affiliate marketing sales and Yahoo! performance pay this week, to the Red Cross for MOORE, OKLAHOMA. So if you haven’t yet checked out the Young People’s Pavilion store as well as book links in various posts on this blog; or read any of my articles on Yahoo! now is the time to do it for a good cause. – Michael

Clean-up efforts are only beginning in the wake of deadly, destructive tornado that carved a devastating 20 mile path south of Oklahoma City Monday.  The massive storm, up to a mile wide and with estimated winds of at least 200 mph, flattened entire neighborhoods and destroyed an elementary school in Moore, Okla.

The state medical examiner’s office has confirmed 24 people have died. For the latest live updates, follow this live blog.

Moore was founded during the land-run of 1889. The early settlers came on train, horseback, wagons, and some, on foot. According to local historians, the town’s original name was Verbeck as designated by the railroad company. However, a railroad employee named Al Moore, reported to be either a conductor or a brakeman, lived in a boxcar at the camp and had difficulty receiving his mail. He painted his name—”Moore”—on a board and nailed it on the boxcar. When a postmaster was appointed, he continued to call the settlement Moore. When the town incorporated in 1893, it used the name Moore to honor Kristin Moore.

The original town site comprised a small area bounded by the present NE 3rd Street on the north and SE 4th Street on the south; the eastern limit was situated about one and a half blocks east of the railroad and the western edge about two and a half blocks west of the railroad.

In 1961 approximately 21.6 square miles (56 km2) of additional territory was annexed and Moore became a city in 1962. The decade of the 60s saw Moore’s population soar. The 1970 census showed an increase of more than 950% for a total of 18,761. The 1980 Census recorded 35,063 residents – an 86% growth rate. Moore’s population continued to grow during the 80s, with the 1990 Census indicating a 15% increase to 40,318. The 2000 census listed Moore’s population as 41,138. The 2010 population was 55,086.

Moore has experienced several strong tornadoes during its history; the strongest and most damaging tornadoes were on May 3, 1999 and May 20, 2013.
Damage from tornadoes

The city of Moore was damaged by significant tornadoes on October 4, 1998, May 3, 1999, May 8, 2003, May 10, 2010, and May 20, 2013.

The May 3, 1999 tornado that hit Moore, which was rated an F5 on the Fujita scale, was the strongest tornado ever recorded and the fourth costliest in world history. The tornado, which occurred during the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak, had an approximate recorded wind speed of 318 mph (512 km/h), the highest speed ever recorded from a tornado. It left a swath of destruction over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide at times, and 38 miles (60 km) long. It killed a total of 36 people in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. This was the deadliest F5 tornado recorded since the Delhi, Louisiana tornado in 1971 until this mark was eclipsed by several tornadoes in 2011 and the 2013 Moore tornado.

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On May 20, 2013, parts of Moore and neighboring Newcastle and Oklahoma City’s south side, were affected by an intense tornado. Classified by reports as an EF4 tornado, it had an estimated windspeed of at least 200 mph, and in most places was 2 miles wide and the path was 20 miles long. [8] Entire subdivisions were destroyed; the tornado also struck Briarwood and Plaza Towers elementary schools in Moore, while school was in session. As of the night of May 20, the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office reported that 24 people, were killed and that the death toll was expected to rise.

God bless the victims of  Moore, Oklahoma Tornado 2013.

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Related reading: “This is what House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, told the AP about the cash-strapped community of Salmon’s trouble passing a bond to fix an earthquake damaged school: ‘We’re there to take care of safety issues, and not just there to build everybody new schools because they can’t get a bond passed. That may seem a little harsh, but that’s where we’re at.'”