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Released 29 January 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor
Brad Henry has issued a State of Emergency for all 77 Oklahoma Counties in Oklahoma. The State of
Oklahoma Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) is activated and running 24 hours a day. Schools, Government offices, and businesses
are closed across the state.
The Salvation Army is represented at both the state EOC as
well as the
City of Tulsa
EOC. At this time, there are close to
90,000
electric customers without electricity and the number is expected to
grow. The storm began in southwestern Oklahoma this morning and has now crossed the state and
is affecting northeast Oklahoma northwest
Arkansas. At this time, it
appears that southwest and
south central Oklahoma are the hardest hit. The ice portion of
the winter storm is moving east and out of the area. Snow is
still expected and winter storm
warnings are in effect through Friday evening.
The Salvation Army is currently involved in the following
activities:
- Tulsa
Oklahoma Area Command is providing meals for the local EOC and first
responders. Salvation Army and
American Red Cross are working together to distribute water and MREs in
northeast Oklahoma as the need
arises. The water and
MREs were provided by FEMA and transported from a prepositioned area to
Tulsa by the
Tulsa
Fire Department. Additionally, the
Tulsa Center of Hope is sheltering approximately 350 persons and is on a
priority list should they lose power.
- McAlester Oklahoma is providing a warming
center at its office location and is prepared to work with partners if the
need arises. Currently, McAlester is on the
edge of the freezing line.
- Central Oklahoma Area Command is nearing
capacity at their
shelter. Currently, all of their
regular beds are full; however, cots and mats are available and the
shelter remains open during the day as a warming
center.
- The Altus Oklahoma office/kitchen and
quarters are currently without power and it appears
they will be without power throughout the night. The
local Emergency Manager is working
on securing generator power for a local sheltering facility. Approximately 9,000 customers are
without power in the area.
- The Fort Smith Arkansas shelter serves as the primary shelter for the
Fort Smith area. Arrangements have been made for the canteen to provide electric
to our
shelter heating systems in case of power outages. They are on standby with
Sequoyah County in Oklahoma to provide shelter and food
services. The shelter is filling up and all
employees are on standby in case the main building needs to open in order
to accommodate additional guests.
- The Northwest Arkansas Area
Command has opened both the Benton and
Fayetteville shelters as cold weather shelters 24 hours a day. At
this point they have approximately
40 extra guests due to the inclement weather.
- Enid
Oklahoma has been asked by Oklahoma Gas & Electric to be on stand-by
to assist with feeding of power crews.
- The
Vinita / Miami Oklahoma service unit area has been
asked to be on stand-by in the event shelters need to be opened in their
respective communities.
Salvation Army personnel are working with State emergency
management
officials and other VOAD agencies to coordinate services and provide ongoing
assistance to residents in both Arkansas and
Oklahoma in
need of
ongoing aid due to current and pending weather conditions.
Monetary donations are welcome and can be made by calling
1-800-SAL-ARMY
or online at www.salvationarmyusa.org.
Updated will be provided as additional information is
forthcoming.
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About the Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the
universal Christian church, has been supporting those in need in His name
without discrimination since 1865. Nearly 33 million
Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army
each year through the broadest array of social services that range from
providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the
disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless
and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 83
cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services
in nearly 9,000 communities nationwide. For more
information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.