Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office Revises Death Toll Down To 24, Including 7 Children

[DonViejo]

Source: AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS MAY 21, 2013, 9:39 AM

MOORE, Okla. (AP) — The state medical examiner’s office has revised the death toll from a tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb to 24 people, including seven children.

Spokeswoman Amy Elliot said Tuesday morning that she believes some victims were counted twice in the early chaos of the storm. Authorities said initially that as many as 51 people were dead, including 20 children.

Teams are continuing to search the rubble in Moore, 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, after the Monday afternoon tornado.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/oklahoma-medical-examiners-office-revises-death-toll-down-to-24-including-7-children.php?ref=fpa

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Moore, Okla. Mayor ‘Optimistic That The Loss Of Life Is Over’

TOM KLUDT 8:53 AM EDT, TUESDAY MAY 21, 2013
Moore, Okla. Mayor Glenn Lewis said Tuesday that the number of missing people in his city has dwindled to four after a devastating tornado ripped through the community.

"So we're very optimistic that the loss of life is over and our condolences go out to the families," Lewis said during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Right now, we're trying to assess the damage. We're looking at making sure there's no more people out there that are needing help. This will be our third and fourth round of checking houses door to door. Our police and fire have done an excellent job. We've had assistance from every major city around us and even small cities around us. The county has been excellent. Everybody's been good to work, and we just, it looks like the FEMA trucks just rolled in, just a few minutes ago."

Lewis said that workers are still going through debris at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was leveled by the storm. The mayor said that he didn't believe the four people who are still unaccounted for were at the school, adding that he last heard that the death toll stood at 51.

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http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/moore-okla-mayor-optimistic-that-loss-of-life

[Kber]

1. Better news than when we went to bed last night.

[AllyCat]

2. While I can't call it good news, it is certainly better than yesterday.

My prayers to all the people touched by this tragedy.

[kestrel91316]

3. Meanwhile, doesn't the BBC say 90??

[Marksman_91]

4. How the hell do you go from 80+ victims to 24?

While it's certainly better news than 91 dead, it still boggles the mind of how the death toll changed so radically. Damn it, news media, you had ONE JOB.

[avebury]

5. MSM speaking before having adequate information! nt

[uppityperson]

6. News media reporting as they hear things, not as facts are truly known.

[cbdo2007]

8. Same way we go from 80+ victims to 24 here on DU.....

people report the first thing they hear from ANYBODY as actual news rather than waiting for confirmed counts.

The ridiculous thing is that anybody tries to guess what the final body count while the actual even is going on....you are always going to have fluctuating body counts. Why does anyone even need to post that "2 dead" or "4 dead" or "12 dead" when the final count could be over 100?? All the constant updates are insane.

[marshall]

7. So the only children dead are the 7 who drowned?

I hope that answers all the questions about why folks in Oklahoma don't have more basements.

[Hestia]

9. The drownings were from a water main line breaking - what's that got to do with

OK + basements? It's because of the lottery system of adding a storm shelter tax credit that more to do with the lack of basements than flooding.

[marshall]

11. The water doesn't have to come from the sky

The problem is the water table of the ground. Whether the water falls from the sky or pours out of a water main, it has nowhere to go because the surrounding ground is already saturated. Surely some form of tornado shelter should be considered, but digging a basement is not the best solution.

[marshall]

12. Coroner is now disputing early reports that the children drowned

He is saying they asphyxiated on the dust and debris.

[LanternWaste]

10. How precisely does it answer all the questions

How precisely does it answer all the questions, and indeed... what precisely is the answer?