'Emotional Rollercoaster': Communities Grapple With Tornado Impact Long After Attention Fades

A powerful tornado ripped through Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in May, leaving a trail of destruction behind it. Two and half months later, pieces of crushed homes, downed trees and other debris still litter the ground.

River Garrett, 8, had to grow up quickly amid the disaster.

"Our family didn't get hurt, but it's kind of sad to know that other families did get hurt also. They got hurt really bad," River said. "I was in tears because I didn't expect this much damage. But I said to myself that I can't make this about me."

This year's tornado season is on track to be the third busiest ever, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. In addition to the $28 billion in damage and the 30 people killed so far in 2024 by severe weather, there's an incalculable emotional toll when a community is destroyed — one that lingers around long after news crews leave and the attention fades away.

River and his grandmother, Jimmie Blake, along with the rest of the folks in Bartlesville, are still trying to put what they can back together. The tornado ripped part of Blake's roof off and scattered priceless family memories far beyond their property. One family photo was blown 21 miles away to Danny Lemmons' cow pastures.

"There was a bunch of plywood and insulation laying around. I told my wife, I said 'I know who these people [in the photo] are,'" Lemmons said.

So far in 2024, there have been more than 1,000 reports of tornadoes across the U.S, according to NOAA. The one that hit Bartlesville was rated near the top of the intensity scale, an EF-4 with winds up to 200 miles per hour.

Dr. Harold Brooks studies severe storms for the National Weather Service and builds instruments to take out into the field to study storms as they occur.

"There are small towns that have been almost completely destroyed by tornadoes that essentially never rebuild, because it's just hard to recover when there's no infrastructure left," Brooks said.

About 20 miles southwest of Bartlesville, the city of Barnsdall was among the communities hit the hardest by the May tornado, which killed two people and destroyed over 83 homes, according to Mayor Johnny Kelley.

"I don't know if there's enough adjectives in the vocabulary to describe this deal," Kelley said.

After the eyes of a nation turn away, the need carries on.

"No one's here and we're left here to deal with what's left. It's an emotional rollercoaster for people," Kelley said.

In Bartlesville, 8-year-old River looks to the future.

"It's going to take a while to get used to, but I hope this all gets cleaned up and we have a new house," River said.

It took 120 years to build the community, and it will take some time to rebuild.