STORM2K

FROM THE OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT:

From: Gaetz, Don
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 1:08 PM
Subject: IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tornado Strikes Baker School
Importance: High



At approximately 10:45 am a tornado struck Baker School causing substantial structural damage. There were no serious injuries.



School officials have cleared students and personnel out of damaged areas and school buses are taking Baker students home early. Buses were held up for a period of time waiting for clearance from the sheriff’s office until bad weather cleared and buses could operate safely.



“Baker School personnel performed superbly in the crises”, said Superintendent Don Gaetz who has been at baker school since shortly after the tornado struck. “We appreciate the calm and cooperation of parents.”



About a dozen individuals received minor injuries. Emergency medical services personnel responded immediately and determined that no one appeared to require hospitalization.



EMS personnel and the Baker School nurse saw and treated all minor injuries.



No decision has been made at this hour about when or whether damaged sections of the school will be safe for regular operations. School district maintenance workers under the direction of Tommy Kranz are on the scene assessing damage and making judgments about needed repairs.

Where is OKALOOSA COUNTY ?

Sorry, northwest florida panhandle...

Yep, I talked to my mother at noon and she told me about it. Said the skies were still really dark and menacing. Destin, FWB area in NW FL about 60 miles East of P'cola is the area. Baker is somewhat inland away from the coast a few miles N or I-10..

1041 AM TORNADO BAKER 30.80N 86.68W
01/13/2006 OKALOOSA FL EMERGENCY MNGR

*** 15 INJ *** 10 TO 15 STUDENTS WITH MINOR
INJURIES...ALSO HOMES DAMAGED ALONG WITH DAMAGE AT BAKER
SCHOOL COMPLEX. AUTOS DAMAGED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. SCHOOL
OFFICIALS HEARD WARNING ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND MOVED
STUDENTS TO PROTECTIVE AREA.

Okaloosa County is Fort Walton Beach/Destin.

feederband wrote:Where is OKALOOSA COUNTY ?

It is where the beach communities of Destin and Fort Walton beach are located. Baker is in the extreme northern part of the county near the Alabama line. Hope every one "up on the hill" is alright!!!

fwbbreeze

A few folks in our office live in Baker, Crestview and Laurel Hill and they're hearing that apparently the tornado was on the ground in Crestview too (north of I-10) and some damage, but no specifics.

Brent wrote:1041 AM TORNADO BAKER 30.80N 86.68W
01/13/2006 OKALOOSA FL EMERGENCY MNGR

*** 15 INJ *** 10 TO 15 STUDENTS WITH MINOR
INJURIES...ALSO HOMES DAMAGED ALONG WITH DAMAGE AT BAKER
SCHOOL COMPLEX. AUTOS DAMAGED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. SCHOOL
OFFICIALS HEARD WARNING ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND MOVED
STUDENTS TO PROTECTIVE AREA.

Okaloosa County is Fort Walton Beach/Destin.

Thank goodness they heard the warning!

I too thank the lord that the school took the precautions because of the weather. It is headed my way in a few hours but schools here have let out for the day and kids are home by now.

Thank goodness there was no serious injuries!

There was also a tornado in Alabama that killed 1 person and did a lot of damage.

From WKRG5

The National Weather Service has officially confirmed a tornado and not straight line winds caused extensive damage in Conecuh County.

Gary Beeler, a meteorologist in the NWS Mobile office, tells News 5's Glenn Austin it was an F-1 tornado that damaged 15-20 homes and killed one person in the Belleville community near Evergreen. Friday morning's severe weather also caused extensive damage to the town's only fire department and closed a section of Highway 84.

Southern Pine Electric says 1,600 customers remain without electricity Friday afternoon. Spokeperson Melanie Harrison tells News 5 more than one mile of three-phase powerline was destroyed by the storm and must be rebuilt. Southern Pine has dispatched utility crews from Brewton, Andalusia and Summerdale to help restore electricity.

13 children were injured today when a tornado tore a section of roof from a school in the Florida Panhandle. The kids had minor cuts and bruises and were treated at the scene. The National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama said a series of storms damaged a post office and several mobile homes in Baker. Homes also were damaged in the Milton area. Trees were reported down in other sections of Okaloosa County. The weather service says golf ball-sized hail fell at Perdido Key beach on the Alabama-Florida state line. An emergency management official for Okaloosa County says the only injuries occurred at the Baker School campus, which houses more than 1,3000 kids in kindergarten through 12th-grade.

I work in Theodore near Mobile. I tell ya those storms were rocking this morning!

And the newspaper said last weekend that they did NOT receive any sort of warning. The lights flickered and the TVs made a weird screeching sound.....

Stephanie wrote:

Brent wrote:1041 AM TORNADO BAKER 30.80N 86.68W
01/13/2006 OKALOOSA FL EMERGENCY MNGR

*** 15 INJ *** 10 TO 15 STUDENTS WITH MINOR
INJURIES...ALSO HOMES DAMAGED ALONG WITH DAMAGE AT BAKER
SCHOOL COMPLEX. AUTOS DAMAGED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. SCHOOL
OFFICIALS HEARD WARNING ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND MOVED
STUDENTS TO PROTECTIVE AREA.

Okaloosa County is Fort Walton Beach/Destin.

Thank goodness they heard the warning!

No kidding! I'll take this opportunity to say that EVERYONE should have a NOAA Weather Alert Radio!

Stephanie wrote:

Brent wrote:1041 AM TORNADO BAKER 30.80N 86.68W
01/13/2006 OKALOOSA FL EMERGENCY MNGR

*** 15 INJ *** 10 TO 15 STUDENTS WITH MINOR
INJURIES...ALSO HOMES DAMAGED ALONG WITH DAMAGE AT BAKER
SCHOOL COMPLEX. AUTOS DAMAGED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY. SCHOOL
OFFICIALS HEARD WARNING ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND MOVED
STUDENTS TO PROTECTIVE AREA.

Okaloosa County is Fort Walton Beach/Destin.

Thank goodness they heard the warning!

I talked to my mom the other night about this. They also had an emergency plan in place for just such an occurence since Ivan, ETC> and they followed it and we know the great result. Kudo's to them!!!! Tehy reopened the school this week with quite a few new temporary classrooms.