Tornado Disaster Response
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes, May 3, 1999
Orphan Grain Train assisted the relief and recovery efforts of Lutheran Disaster Response in Kansas and Oklahoma for one year after the May 3, 1999, tornadoes. Several semi-loads of groceries were sent to disaster recovery food banks in Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas.
The Fujita Scale of tornado intensity developed by Tetsuya Fujita rates tornados from F-0 to F-5. Damage from the largest May 3, 1999, tornado was beyond the Fujita, since wind speeds in excess of 318 mph were detected from data collected after the storms.
In addition to groceries, semi-loads of sheet-rock were sent by Orphan Grain Train to Oklahoma, Arkansas, and to Parsons, Kansas, to help home repair efforts of Lutheran Disaster Response. Over 10,000 homes in Oklahoma and 4,000 homes in Kansas were damaged or destroyed by the tornadoes that hit May 3. Orphan Grain Train’s large Winnebago camper (the “Gospel Express”) was place in Mulhall, Oklahoma, for a year as a relief services office of Lutheran Disaster Response. Mulhal was nearly wiped out on May 3.