Guard Answers to Storm-Battered States

Guard Answers to Storm-Battered States
May 12, 2008
Army News Service|by MSgt. Mike R. Smith

ARLINGTON, Va. - National Guard members in four states were called out by their governors to assist civil authorities Monday after tornados crossed the Southwest May 10 and flooding on the Delaware coast left communities in need of emergency assistance.

Since May 7, the National Weather Service has confirmed at least 42 tornados in the southern Plains and the southeastern and middle Atlantic regions of the nation with the strongest tornado recorded May 10 as an F-4. It developed from a super cell storm that tracked through three states.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina were all affected by severe weather during the weekend with at least 22 confirmed deaths, many homes destroyed and thousands of people without power. The Guard is also responding to flooded areas in Delaware after heavy rains on Mother's Day.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Brad Henry called out the National Guard to assist emergency responders after five confirmed tornados touched down in the state. At least 25 Army Guard members are providing security support in the town of Picher after a F-4 tornado churned up a 63-mile swath of damage from Oklahoma to Missouri.

Soldiers are reportedly assisting local law enforcement in securing the area, which includes routes in and out of the town four miles south of the state's border with Kansas. An Army Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew is also flying aerial assessment missions for the governor.


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