Oklahoma City—Tornadoes

May 1999

On Monday evening, May 3, 1999, a series of devastating tornadoes struck the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area destroying or damaging thousands of homes and businesses. On Tuesday morning, May 4, 1999, AT&T Network Disaster Recovery deployed a mobile satellite unit and team to Oklahoma City.

The team arrived in Midwest City, Oklahoma at 10:30 PM CDT on May 4 and established a phone bank at the Red Cross shelter at the Midwest Community Center by 1:30 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 5.

Working in cooperation with the Red Cross, the team moved the satellite unit to a larger shelter and command center at the First Baptist Church in Moore, Oklahoma midday on May 5. The local telephone infrastructure in the area had been damaged by the tornadoes and the phones in the church were out of service.

Using service from the satellite unit, the team setup a phone phone bank inside the church so storm victims and support personnel could make free long distance and local calls to their families and business associates. The team also provided telephone lines to the Red Cross and shelter staff for administrative use.

Between May 5 and May 9, 1999, the team provided over 14,000 calls through its mobile satellite unit.