Much has changed since Emporia was devastated by an F-4 tornado.
It was 45-years-ago Saturday when the city of Emporia was impacted by a tornado which caused major damage to the west and northwest sections of the city and claimed the lives of six individuals. Over 200 others were injured.
Now 45-years-later, our knowledge of not only the meteorological event has grown exponentially but so to have warnings and precautionary methods. According to National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Chad Omitt, back in 1974, there were many actions which — back then — were considered life-saving to individuals in a home during a tornado that were in fact not safe at all. Examples include the myths of opening windows to reduce pressure in a home, or seeking shelter in the southwest corner of a basement or residence because a tornado tends to move to the northeast.
Actions such as these have been long outdated or disproven, however, Omitt says there is one precautionary method which has been proven to this day to save lives.
As we have grown to understand how tornados develop and function, we have also managed to evolve the construction of shelters, making them many times stronger than shelters from 45 years ago.
While the “safe rooms” and shelters have definitely improved over the years, Omitt says there are still some structures which have not. According to Omitt, home building quality and construction codes have remained highly consistent over time.
Due to this Omitt says many homes may not be any safer than they were back in 74. Thankfully as storm tracking and forecasting have developed so too has technology. Omitt says the development of severe weather apps and text notifications have provided an easier way to disperse the severe weather information to the general public.
June 8 is not only a dark day historically for weather in Emporia, but also in Topeka where in 1966 an EF-5 tornado touched down, killing 16 people and leaving 450 people injured.
