BARNSDALL, Okla. — After May 6’s tornado outbreak across northeast Oklahoma, many Barnsdall residents are left displaced from their homes and shocked by the devastation that made their neighborhoods unrecognizable.
Joy Washington was home when the storms hit — in a home she’s lived in for nearly fifty years. While she’s gutted to have lost the only place she’s ever really known, Washington is grateful to be alive.
“My whole life is going to be different from now on,” she said. "My roof was gone, and my porch on the front of the house, and then I looked out back, and that’s all gone, and everywhere around me, it’s a war zone — it’s all gone.”
Washington said officials helped her evacuate her home after a gas leak in the nursing home across the street from her. She didn’t have time to grab much and left behind her dog.
A family member took Washington to the Osage County Fairgrounds, where volunteers assisted the Red Cross set up a shelter for those needing a place to go.
Located in the Women’s Building at the fairgrounds, residents can sleep, get meals, and health services for those who might have been injured in the storm or lost vital medication.
In the days ahead, they'll offer financial assistance to help individuals find their way back to solid ground after such a disruptive weather event.
“I don’t know where I’m gonna live at,” said Washington. “My recliner that I slept in is ruined, and when I left there, it was leaking all over in my house. And my picture albums, I’d been working on them, it was just a shock, I’m still shaking all over.”
Pawhuska school buses surveyed the area, looking for people to transport to the shelter Tuesday morning. 2 News learned by Washington County Emergency Management also helped with transport by doing search and rescue and bringing people to a safe place.
For those looking for a place to go, the Osage County Fairgrounds is located at 320 Skyline Dr., Pawhuska, OK 74056.
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