390 Structures Damaged By North Tulsa Tornado; Cleanup Continues

Tulsa's Emergency Management says its assessment of Wednesday's tornado which carved a path across the north side of town damaged 390 structures.

Roger Joliff says those structures included homes, businesses and other buildings. He says 191 received minor damage, 54 received major damage and five were destroyed.

Neighborhoods near 46th Street North are some of the hardest hit areas.

Volunteers are trying to get things back to normal for people like Kiya Flemons and her family.

"I heard the sirens and the windows started shaking and we ran to the closet. It was scary," she said.

Her son Tyquan said, "I thought the windows were going to break. The roof come off and get sucked up into a tornado. I was just in fear."

The cleanup is no easy task. Volunteers and families are dealing with big trees, cutting them up and trying to remove them from their yards and the streets.

Kiya said, “First thing yesterday morning they were here, everybody. It's been amazing."

With some homes still without power, and a long road ahead, volunteer Charity Marcus knew she had to take action.

"I'm not one to pick up trees, so I was just like ‘hey, I'll do lunch,’ and then lunch just turned into more," she said.

It led to setting up a headquarters at the Gibbs Shopping Center off Frankfort, with volunteers and community leaders pouring in.

Now, it’s a place where residents can get a hot meal, snack, water and help all, giving families affected by the storm a chance to catch their breath and know someone is here to help.