Oklahoma Unions and Volunteers Rush to Victims Aid

May 22,2013 - MOORE, Okla. — The FM radio airwaves in Moore and adjoining Oklahoma City were clogged Tuesday with pastors, church members and ordinary citizens phoning in to offer food and shelter to neighbors left homeless by a powerful tornado that killed at least 24 people here Monday afternoon. Bottled water. Ice. Baby wipes. Boots. Cereal. Toothpaste. All of it was offered by callers to stations that abandoned normal programming to focus on the aftermath of the storm on a blustery day of pounding rain and scattered hail storms. At some point, it got to be too much. Several announcers begged people to stop and think about what they were offering — and to limit their donations to the most useful items. Used clothing and sugary snacks were not among them. But toiletries and bottled water were in demand, and soon appeals would go out for shovels, gloves and trash bags as clean-up begins in earnest. PHOTOS: Powerful tornado slams Oklahoma The outpouring of generosity, if somewhat unfocused, washed up at St...