Oklahoma Tornado Relief
June 2023 – July 2023
All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) had its Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) on the ground in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 25 to respond to the deadly series of wind storms and tornadoes that struck the region just a week prior. The team supported immediate relief work alongside local partners like the Oklahoma National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (OK VOAD) to conduct hazardous tree removal, debris removal and home assessments.
Our Work
While on the ground, the OK VOAD and the state Emergency Manager requested our support to engage their local volunteers to coordinate relief efforts for the almost 400 homes needing immediate assistance. DART coordinated the efforts of 30 volunteers to conduct hazardous tree removal and debris removal. We utilized our experience responding to disasters by helping the community assess damaged homes and better understand the list of homes they already had in the queue.
Our team conducted over 600 phone calls for the city of Tulsa, adding to the queue of immediate needs and resulting in 59 locations worked on, including 53 hazardous tree removals, four debris removals and two critical home repairs.
Disaster Profile
In June of 2023, windstorms, thunderstorms and three tornadoes named Oologah, Chelsea and Strang struck Tulsa, Oklahoma. Meteorologists called this event a Derecho, Spanish for “straight ahead,” a rare occurrence when thunderstorms combine to move in a straight line over a long distance. The disaster caused five deaths and downed trees and power lines, leaving 200,000 without power.
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