Okmulgee County Emergency Management Director Jeffrey Moore provided a comprehensive report Tuesday morning to the Board of County Commissioners, outlining the impacts of recent severe weather that swept through the area late last week and over the weekend. Despite widespread concerns, Moore emphasized that the county “had minor damage throughout” and praised the coordinated response from local fire departments, volunteers and utility crews.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Moore said during the meeting. “The northern part of the county got hit the hardest on Friday. Some homes had roofs taken off and there was a lot of vegetative-type damage.”
One of the major issues reported was downed power lines, especially in District 1. Crews from East Central Electric and other utilities worked diligently throughout the weekend and into Monday to restore power to affected areas.
“Last I heard from East Central, all but about six customers in the county had power restored,” Moore noted, referencing lingering outages in the Beggs and Nuyaka areas. “They did a really good job. If you see the line workers out, thank them – they were on the spot and took care of it quickly.”
Moore singled out the Liberty and Mounds Fire Departments for their exceptional work during the storms, especially with damage assessment and public safety efforts.
“Liberty drove every road in their area to assess damage,” he said. “Mounds babysat the power poles and helped keep people away from downed lines. They were on it.”
He issued a reminder to residents about the ongoing dangers of severe weather: “If you see a downed power line, don’t drive through it. People were doing that everywhere,” Moore warned. “And if you’re out at the lake and there’s lightning, stay out of the water. We had people get struck by lightning over the weekend because they were on wave runners.”
In addition to local response efforts, Okmulgee County answered a statewide call for aid. Moore shared that his office deployed a water buffalo to Stilwell, a community in Adair County hit by a tornado on Monday that left residents without power or water.
“They had no water for their citizens and rural water districts, so we took one of our units out there,” Moore explained. “They’re still waiting on water testing before it can be removed.”
Looking ahead, Moore said minor flooding is expected midweek as the Deep Fork River is forecast to crest at around 18.5 feet. While this remains below major flood stage, his office will continue to monitor conditions closely.
Commissioners expressed gratitude for the coordination between departments.
“You guys came together and did what needed to be done. It worked just like it’s supposed to,” Commissioner Steve Ward said.
Residents are reminded to remain weather-aware as Oklahoma remains in the heart of storm season. Emergency Management continues to urge caution around downed power lines and during lake activities in inclement weather.
-Okmulgee County Emergency Management is asking residents impacted by the recent storms to report damages to their property at https://tinyurl.com/5ysuutd7 Did you know that reporting storm damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts. It also helps your neighbors, each report can add up and may qualify which types of assistance are available to help with their recovery efforts.
Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through this online survey at https://tinyurl.com/5ysuutd7.
— Dial 2-1-1 For Oklahoma residents seeking non-emergency disaster or health and human service information, please contact your local 2-1-1. Services are available 24 hours a day by dialing 2-1-1 from your home or cellular telephone. Please only call 911 for emergencies.
