Oklahoma Tornado: Resources for Coverage

In the wake of a powerful tornado that killed 24 people, survivors returned to the wreckage and began the long process of recovery. The Dart Center offers tipsheets and resources for journalists and news managers covering the disaster's aftermath.

A deadly tornado as wide as a mile ripped through Oklahoma City and the suburban town of Moore on May 20, at last count killing 24 people, including nine children, and injuring dozens. Moore’s 55,000 citizens had 16 minutes to prepare for the tornado -- from the time a warning siren went off to when the tornado touched down with winds of up to 210 miles per hour. Within 50 minutes, the tornado had covered 17 miles of ground, tearing apart homes, sending cars into the air and obliterating businesses and a hospital. Its path of destruction went through the Plaza Towers Elementary School, where rescue workers pulled injured children from the rubble.

Every year, the area contends with destructive but smaller-scale twisters. In 1999, Moore was the site of another deadly tornado that killed 36 people. 

The Dart Center has a host of resources for covering natural disasters effectively:

Joe Hight, former managing editor of the Oklahoman, who oversaw the paper's award-winning coverage of the Murrah Federal Building bombing,  provides tips on Self-Care For Journalists Amid Disaster.

Hight also authored a five-step plan aimed at managers on Covering Disaster Effectively.

The Dart Center's online resource library includes a compendium of related resources

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings, psychologist and Dart Center Research Director, Elana Newman, compiled tips on how journalists leave a tragedy.

Australian psychiatrist Alexander McFarlane offers guidance on mental health issues and how they evolve in regions devastated by natural disasters.

Dart Center Executive Director Bruce Shapiro spoke in Melbourne, Australia about reckoning with the aftermath of disaster.

Dart Centre Asia Pacific culled the extensive experience with disasters by Australian journalists, researchers and mental health professionals for a series of tip sheets:

How to deal with people caught up in tragic events.

Tips for managers and editors to help them prepare and support the reporters in the field.

Suggestions to assist healthier newsrooms and better journalism, based on research on well-being and resilience, and practical experience of news professionals in the field.