Cleanup from OK twister begins

State, local tornado volunteers to be coordinated by state impact

Jimmy Hodges helps Chad Heltcel and his wife Cassidi salvage the wreckage of Chad Heltcel's family home, which was destroyed Monday when a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
Jimmy Hodges helps Chad Heltcel and his wife Cassidi salvage the wreckage of Chad Heltcel's family home, which was destroyed Monday when a tornado moved through Moore, Okla., Tuesday, May 21, 2013.

Missouri has received no aid requests from Oklahoma in the aftermath of a deadly tornado that hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon.

"As of Tuesday afternoon, Oklahoma has not asked Missouri for assistance," said Mike O'Connell, communications director for the Missouri Department of Public Safety,

O'Connell said state disaster aid is coordinated between the states through the interstate Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

By signing the compact, states agree to coordinate their disaster relief and assistance efforts through that organization.

O'Connell said the only exception has been the deployment of a group of firemen and police officers from the city of Joplin, which made the decision to send the volunteers on their own without going through the state. The city of Joplin wanted to respond because it had received similar assistance from Oklahoma when a disastrous tornado hit Joplin two years ago.

The only other Missouri fire official in Oklahoma that the state knows about, O'Connell said, is Boone County Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Doug Westhoff.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.