The town of Cordell was hit by an EF1 tornado on Tuesday, April 30, late afternoon, causing extensive damage. The community, in a show of solidarity, immediately sprang into action. First responders, both local and from surrounding areas, were on the scene to assist. Several local businesses and community members formed cleaning groups, undertaking specific tasks to aid in the recovery. They repaired roofs, cleared fallen trees, gathered shattered fences, and provided meals and water to the cleanup crews. Red Cross and The First Baptist Church of Cordell provided a safe place for displaced residents to stay. This concerted effort is what allows Cordell to not just recover, but thrive.
Washita County Emergency Manager Kenneth Trent stated, “We were fortunate, to say the least. We were lucky to have no fatalities or injuries with the April 30 tornado. I’m proud of our first responders and city and county employees. We didn’t even flinch at the situation; it was a group effort from start to finish on the cleanup. A total of 50 homes were affected, and five were considered destroyed by FEMA. We hauled off around 100 loads of trees and debris for the cleanup. I would like to thank our County Commissioners for their support. I would also like to thank Helios, Red Cross, First Baptist Church, Just In Time Sign, Mike’s Meats, From Scratch Bakery, Jake Brice, The Scouts, The Southwest Incident Support Team for their help on the damage assessments, Roger Mills Emergency Management for bringing us a pallet of tarps, and also our neighboring counties for their support. Sorry for anyone that I left out. We really appreciate all the support.”
The following is a statement provided by Mayor Phil Kliewer, “On April 30, I was at my home watching it hail for 30 minutes, and suddenly, the sun came back out almost simultaneously with our storm sirens wailing. It is most certainly reminiscent of 2001: with a time of day, mostly sunny conditions, a quick touchdown, and an eerily similar path.
My first indication of the “Cordell Standard” was our weather spotters’ first warning and almost immediate early response. This came just ahead of all the weather channels’ reports of a “tornado on the ground.”
My observation of multiple complementary actions from public and private partners during and after the EF1 tornado on Tuesday is nothing but the highest level of achievement for any sized community, much less our small town.
I feel like the voice of experience, as these damaging weather phenomena seem to follow me. It’s been 22 1/2 years since the F3 ravaged our quaint and beautiful community, but the same “Cordell Standard,” not surprisingly, showed up here again very quickly and efficiently on Tuesday evening.
The immediate response from Cordell’s and Washita County’s emergency responders, our street and electric departments, and Cordell fire and police departments and the Washita County Sheriff’s Office knew their roles and what to do. Special shout out to two individuals, Mike Weixel, who was on board with me in ‘01, and Monte Profitt, now with the county, who was one of the first to clear debris Tuesday; they knew the drill from their ‘01 city days. Thank you, Mike and Monte, for hanging this long with your hometown! Thank you also to the Cordell Chamber of Commerce and their Executive Director Sarah Lau for putting information out on Facebook.
Vicki Hagerman, the city administrator of Cordell, and Kenneth Trent, our county’s emergency manager, astutely coordinated the response management.
Within an hour, the workforce seemingly coming from nowhere to Cordell was on the ground everywhere; this core group was ready to help assess our town for prospective injuries, property damage, and the status of our community’s infrastructure: power, water, and sewer services. Muni power was restored remarkably on the same night as the event, thanks to our electric department and our partners from OMPA.
I came down immediately after the hail stopped to our fire station, which served as our emergency operation center. On my first drive around the Lin- wood/183/152 damage zone, I found our disaster team engaged and multiple OHP troopers, professional responders, and private sector resources. Thank you to our local donors, fire and police professionals, and neighboring cities’ FDs and PDs. It was impressive to see the massing of many well-prepared colleagues: area volunteers, local and area donors, and OMPA. Chiefs Denney and Slaughterbeck joined Vicki and Kenneth to show their leadership and organizational skills.
Again, the “Cordell Standard” was in action! In a coordinated and impressively efficient manner, these city and county employees, joined by numerous other private sector volunteers, were all over the damaged areas, the twoblockwide strip from the south Cordell entry point to the exit point in north Cordell through Partridge Ln. They had it covered!
Again, the path was only a few blocks off the ‘01 storm, particularly on the north side of town, which veered more northeast in the last half mile in ‘01.
Also, we want to thank the cities of Clinton and Weatherford for using their drones to fly the tornado’s path and allow our city to pinpoint and chart the path over the approximately two-mile damage zone.
The “Cordell Standard” is not intended to diminish the “Oklahoma Standard.” We are just a well-oiled subset of the state standard. I have witnessed this weather phenomenon in Cordell twice now and know full well that our employees and private sector partners know what to do and how to do it every time! Thank you!”