1999 Tornado in haysville/witchita - Essay Example

The 1999 Wichita/ Haysville Tornado On May 3, 1999, a tornado hit Wichita/ Haysville. This is a phenomenon that has never been somuch talked about because on that same day, a severe tornado struck Moore, which became the subject of discussion. The Haysville tornado began west of Riverdale and moved northeastwards to south of Haysville and progressed towards the north along Seneca. The F-4 magnitude tornado was a two-day disaster that destroyed possessions, relocated persons and even killed many more others (Lott, Sam, & Tom 156).

The Fujita scale showed that the Haysville Tornado had an intensity of F-4, and could have a wind speed of between 207 and 260 miles per hour. This left so much damage throughout the affected area in Kansas, and has for a long time remained an occurrence to be surmised by many residents. The F-4 tornado covered 17 miles leaving behind irreparable damage especially to homes (Allaby 98). Though a warning had been issued of an ensuing bad weather, no one had expected it to be a tornado of such greatness.

Being a period of the month when this incidence was so frequent in America in the year 1999, the residents of Haysville were still caught unawares. There are two outstanding cases of residents and their stories concerning the bizarre incident. One person says that he and the wife heeded the warning and decided to relocate. Nonetheless, while on route out of Haysville, they came across the deadly hurricane unpredictably. They got lucky and got away with no injuries, and to them, that was big luck (Goldstein 178).

An old woman was one of the survivors of the angry winds. Amidst the happiness of escaping unharmed, she was nevertheless lamenting the loss of her precious items in the tornado. Being one of the few elderly dwellers of Haysville, the woman cried out the house that had been completely demolished was her home for the last fifty years! She had lost so many valuables and after the tornado she went to unearth the rabbles to recover some (Price, & Keith 90). Having completely demolished more than sixty houses, the hurricane could not have resulted to any less pain and more especially loss.

Six people died in Haysville alone. Many families were distraught as some had absolutely no place else to turn to. Additionally, twenty-seven business premises were also damaged. It is important to note that the Mayor of the city evaluated the losses caused by the menace to be in millions of dollars (Lott, Sam, & Tom 114). Looking at the aftermath of the tornado, the town underwent repairs and restorations. Most inhabitants say that despite the fact that efforts have been exerted towards the restoration of the initial face of the town, there are still other aspects that cannot be restored to the way they were.

For instance, the park in Haysville is a good example because it has met the contentment of the inhabitants (Allaby 69). As they celebrated sixteen years ever since the dark day transpired, residents are still in fear that if another tornado occurs, they still will not be better placed to contain the situation. Many, to this point, do not know how they will safeguard themselves. They are currently looking for mechanisms of staying safe in the event that there comes another occurrence of such a type (Allaby 78).

Conclusion In conclusion, proper preventive measures should be taken so that when such a thing happens, the residents can stay safe without much loss of property and loss of life. This will make residents have confidence to confront such natural calamities.Works citedAllaby, Michael. Tornadoes. New York. NY: Facts On File, 2004. Internet resource.Goldstein, Natalie. Earth Almanac: An Annual Geophysical Review of the State of the Planet. Phoenix, Ariz: Oryx Press, 2000. Print.Lott, Neal, Sam McCown, and Tom Ross.

 1998-1999 Tornadoes and a Long-Term U.S. Tornado Climatology. Asheville, NC: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, National Climatic Data Center, 2000. Print.Price, Jay M, and Keith, Wondra. Wichita, 1930 - 2000. , 2013. Print.Price, Jay M. Kansas: In the Heart of Tornado Alley. Charleston, S.C: Arcadia Pub, 2011. Print.