Sen. Jett reacts to aftermath of Shawnee tornado

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Shane Jett spent Thursday back in his district surveying the damage after a tornado struck his hometown of Shawnee and the nearby community of Bethel Acres.

“It was just devastating.  So many businesses that I grew up with were impacted, and my alma mater, Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU), suffered significant damage,” said Jett, R-Shawnee.  “My thoughts and prayers are with our entire community after this disaster.  I am incredibly thankful for the first responders, emergency management crews and volunteers from within the community and around the state who quickly arrived on scene and began assisting victims, surveying damage and setting up temporary shelters.  I also want to extend thanks to our tribal nations who sent emergency response teams to assist with the recovery effort.”

In addition to extensive damage to homes, businesses and the OBU campus, Shawnee High School was impacted as well.  Both the university and the high school were closed today and tomorrow as they work to clean up.  Raley Chapel at OBU lost a good portion of its roof and other buildings had brick walls blown out, roofs ripped off, trees torn down and debris scattered everywhere. Damage was also sustained in Bethel Acres, and like Shawnee High School, their FFA barn was a total loss.

“I was told a couple of looters have been arrested, but one of the largest issues is emergency vehicles having trouble getting where they need to go. If you do not have to be out, please stay off the roads,” Jett said.

The storm path was northwest of Jett’s home, and he is now using their driveway and living room as a clearinghouse for donated goods. Jett also extends his thanks to neighboring communities who are getting involved in the relief effort. Del City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Josh Shultz brought water, canned goods, Gatorade and came to assist in clearing debris. The Midwest City Chamber of Commerce will be donating more supplies tomorrow, and Anheuser-Busch is bringing energy drinks and bottled water.

Jett said that as of Thursday morning more than 16,000 people were without power, but OG&E personnel had been working around the clock to get the electricity back on. Customers can report and monitor outages by visiting OGE.com/outages, texting OUT to 32001, or by calling 405-272-9595 (OKC Metro) or 800-552-6870 (all other areas).

 “The damage is unreal, and I ask for continued prayers for our district as we recover from this,” Jett said. “I appreciate the governor, Rep. Dell Kerbs, and all of the other state and federal officials who came to Shawnee and are working to provide relief and assistance to the victims. I encourage those who had damage to their property to report it at damage.ok.gov. This information will help emergency management coordinate response and will help with Oklahoma’s request for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Please feel free to contact my office at 405-521-5539 or Shane.Jett@oksenate.gov if you need help finding available resources.” 

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Cutline 1: Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, Rep. Dell Kerbs, R-Shawnee, and Gov. Kevin Stitt on the scene of tornado destruction in Shawnee.

Cutline 2: Damaged building at Oklahoma Baptist University following the April 19 tornado.