Plainview School Principal Ronald Bell talks in this 2012 photo about the construction of a safe room for the school and community in the wake of tornadeos that struck Rainsville, Ala., and the school last April. Each of eight sections of the safe room weighs in at 49 tons.The mile-wide tornado that left 24 dead in the Oklahoma City suburbs shredded whole subdivisions, tossed cars around like toys and captivated America for days.
But perhaps the most heartbreaking scene in the heartland was at Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven children died in the twister’s assault.
The devastation led to calls for mandatory tornado shelters in schools and raised questions why kids were there when the threat of severe weather was apparent.
That’s why the Plaza Towers story is different. It’s not just the overwhelming physical devastation, but the thought of children taking their last breaths at school — the very place they are said to be safest.
Tornadoes have hit schools before. But often, no children have been in the buildings when the worst destruction reigned.