Wyandotte Begins Clean-Up After Small Tornado Damages, Destroys Homes

There was other tornado clean-up going on in Oklahoma today, on the opposite end of the state, in Wyandotte.

There are two sounds that always come after a tornado tears through: birdsong and wood chippers. And both filled the air in the neighborhood Tuesday off Highway 137, between Wyandotte and Miami.

It dropped quickly, and didn't last long.

"I expect small by a lot of standards, but it did a lot of damage by the way you can see here," said Joe Dan Morgan, Director of Emergency Management for Ottawa County.

"As quick as it came, as quick as it left. It was probably max, two minutes, maybe," said Wyandotte's Assistant Fire Chief Chris Turner.

5/21/2013 Related Story: Talala-Area Tornado Captured By Police Chief

And it traveled two miles, uprooting trees, pulling off roofs, stripping a diesel repair shop.

Ten homes had some damage.

Dianne Waybright's was one of five homes destroyed. She and her husband hid in the bathtub.

"When we came out the only roof left on the house was over where we were at in the bathroom," Waybright said.

And though there's not much left of her house, the dog house and the puppies huddled inside, survived, pushed together to the front of the house, shielded by a barbeque grill.

"Our home was destroyed and we lost everything, but we have our lives and our health," Waybright said.

That tornado's path was about a quarter-mile wide.

Complete Coverage: May 2013 Tornado Outbreak