On June 18, ABC’s “20/20: In an Instant” began its second season by reporting on the tornado that ripped through Moore in May of 2013.
The episode, titled “Tragedy in Tornado Alley,” covers the aftermath of the storm through a combination of dramatizations and emotional interviews.
The episode focuses on Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was turned to rubble while teachers and school children took shelter within. A reenactment shows a young Jacob Lyles, who volunteered himself immediately after the tornado, rescuing two small girls trapped underneath the wreckage of the school. Lyles was one of many citizens to volunteer that day. “When a disaster happens, everybody in the city of Moore becomes a first responder,” stated Mayor GlennLewis.
A second storyline follows Jennifer Doan, a teacher whose 3rd grade class was most affected by the tornado. Trapped for an hour underneath a collapsed wall, Doan worried not only about the children in her class, but also about the fate of her unborn child. When she was finally rescued, paramedics whisked her away before she could check on her students. Doan suffered from a fractured spine and sternum, but her baby was unharmed. After waiting hours to hear news about her students, Doan finally learned that seven children at Plaza Towers had died in the tornado; six were from her own class. Tearfully, Doan said, “As a teacher, they are your kids and at the end of the day, you hand them back to their parents, and I couldn’t do that. I walked out with my kid but I couldn’t hand them back theirs.”
The documentary also follows the heartbreaking story of a family in search of their missing child, Sydney, who had been at Plaza Towers Elementary during the tornado. Dan and Nicole Angle anxiously waited until the following morning to hear any news about their daughter, feeling hopeful that a search team may have rescued her during the night. Instead, they discovered that Sydney had been one of the seven students to perish at the elementary school.
Despite the tragedy throughout the documentary, it ends on a hopeful note. Lyles, the volunteer, was inspired to become an EMT after witnessing the importance first responders during a time of crisis. The Angle family started an annual softball tournament in honor of Sydney, funding scholarships for students all over Oklahoma. The year after the tornado, Plaza Towers Elementary School reopened; the front of the school features seven carved benches in memorial of the seven children who perished in the tornado. The documentary also comments on the unity that the tornado created in Moore: “As much as it tried to rip the city apart, it brought so many people together,” said Lane.
“Tragedy in Tornado Alley” brings these survivors’ stories to life with tasteful dramatizations that are realistic and engaging. Actual footage of the tornado’s aftermath and emotional interviews create poignant, tear-jerking moments throughout the program.
More than three years later, citizens of Moore are still suffering from both the physical and emotional effects of the tornado. While media outlets such as “20/20: In an Instant” continue to address the emotional damages of the storm, Serve Moore attends to the physical. Serve Moore is a volunteer organization that formed in response to the 2013 tornado. While they have since branched out and are meeting all kinds of needs in Moore, the organization continues to find ways to help out victims of the tornado. This summer, one of their projects includes rebuilding sheds that were destroyed in the storm. To volunteer or donate, visit www.servemoore.com.