Emergency Management Coordinator Tommy Brooks (orange and black striped shirt) and HAM radio spotter Rick McMinn (holding award) pose with Moore co. EOC team (Photo: WFO Amarillo)
(Oct. 25, 2007) -- The National Weather Service has honored Moore County, Texas Emergency Operations Center and Coordinator Tommy Brooks with a StormReady Commendation Award. Brooks and his staff were recognized for their timely, life-saving actions on April 21, 2007 -- when a strong EF 2 tornado struck the town of Cactus, in the Texas Panhandle.
The StormReady Commendation Award is designed to formally recognize a community or county in which lives and/or property have been saved as a result of the successful implementation of the StormReady program.
During the early afternoon hours on April 21st, the Weather Forecast Office in Amarillo conducted a conference call with the area emergency managers and storm spotters to discuss expected severe weather during the late afternoon and evening hours. Later that afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. issued a Tornado Watch for much of the Panhandle. Moore County storm spotters were quickly activated and directed to the southwest part of the County.
Soon after the Amarillo office issued a Tornado Warning, spotters confirmed two tornados on the ground and notified the Emergency Operations Center and the National Weather Service via phone and HAM radio. Noting that one of the tornadoes was tracking toward Cactus, Brooks immediately notified the police chief and sounded the town's sirens, giving the citizens a 12 minute lead time before the tornado struck.
Moore County was recognized as a StormReady community on April 26, 2006. As a result of the tornado safety training and the early warning provided, casualties from the Cactus Tornado were minimal. While the tornado destroyed or damaged nearly 350 homes, there were no fatalities and only 13 injuries.
"Given the town's population of approximately 2,600 and the fact that a large majority of the residents live in mobile homes, the potential for widespread death or injuries was very real," said Jose Garcia, meteorologist-in-charge of the Amarillo forecast office. "The lack of fatalities and minimal injuries is a tribute to the excellent response by Brooks and his team."
