Okla. State Rep calls for more tornado shelters in mobile home parks
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Updated: 8:48 PM Jun 10, 2009
Okla. State Rep calls for more tornado shelters in mobile home parks
LONE GROVE, OK -- It has been four months to the day since an E-F4 tornado touched down in Lone Grove. The town is rebuilding and many residents are moving on, but now state leaders want to make sure that next time all residents are prepared when Mother Nature strikes.
Posted: 5:57 PM Jun 10, 2009
Reporter: Daniel Armbruster
Email Address: daniel.armbruster@kxii.com
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LONE GROVE, OK -- It has been four months to the day since an E-F4 tornado touched down in Lone Grove. The town is rebuilding and many residents are moving on, but now state leaders want to make sure that next time all residents are prepared when Mother Nature strikes.

State Representative Pat Ownbey says he was personally moved by the disasters that hit on February 10. Now he is taking steps that residents in lone grove say should have been taken long ago.

It only takes seconds for a tornado to destroy a mobile home. Most of the victims in the tornado's deadly path lived in mobile home parks. Now Representative Pat Ownbey tells First News he wants to prevent what happened on that night from ever happening again.

Ownbey filed a request to hold an interim study to determine if it is possible to install tornado shelters in all mobile home parks. Ownbey says he is unsure if he wants to mandate that park owners install the shelters, but maybe rather offer tax incentives to the owners that do.

Ownbey said in a statement he was troubled by the loss of life in the February tornado and wanted to address tornado safety in a way that would prevent similar deaths in the future.

Ownbey says he is still waiting on the house leadership to approve the study, but says he wants to include mobile home park managers, the State Emergency Management Office, and other legislators.


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