Just a day after the devastating tornadoes struck in Oklahoma, the mayor of Moore — which was practically wiped out by the storm winds — is calling for new regulations aimed at preventing a similar calamity.
Mayor Glenn Lewis said all new homes should be forced to have storm shelters. He wants City Council members to act quickly and pass the ordinance, United Press International reported.
Moore saw the worst of the tornadoes that raged through Texas and Oklahoma. A 1.3-mile twister swept through the town of 41,000, killing 24, including nine children at an elementary school.
An estimated 2,400 homes were damaged or destroyed, and roughly 10,000 people were displaced, said Jerry Loika, an Oklahoma Emergency Management Department official, in the UPI report. State Insurance Commission officials, meanwhile, estimate the cleanup costs at about $1 billion.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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