The tornado that struck an Oklahoma City suburb this week may have created $2 billion or more in damage as it tore through as many as 13,000 homes, multiple schools and a hospital, officials said Wednesday as they gave the first detailed account of the devastation.
Also Wednesday, authorities released the identities of the 24 people, including 10 children, who perished. While anguish over the deaths was palpable as residents began picking up their shattered neighbourhoods, many remained stunned that the twister didn’t take a higher human toll during its 17 miles and 40 minutes on the ground.
As response teams transitioned into cleanup and recovery, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, who sent police and fire crews from his city to assist the effort, said an early assessment estimated damage costs at between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, meanwhile, said visual assessments of the extensive damage zone suggest the cost could be greater than the $2 billion from the 2011 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, and killed nearly seven times as many people.
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