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Communities grapple with tornado impacts long after attention fades: “Emotional rollercoaster”
A powerful tornado ripped through Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in May, leaving a trail of destruction behind it. Two and half months later, pieces of crushed homes, downed trees and other debris still litter the ground.
River Garrett, 8, had to grow up quickly amid the disaster.
“Our family didn’t get hurt, but it’s kind of sad to know that other families did get hurt also. They got hurt really bad,” River said. “I was in tears because I didn’t expect this much damage. But I said to myself that I can’t make this about me.”
This year’s tornado season is on track to be the third busiest ever, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. In addition to the $28 billion in damage and the 30 people killed so far in 2024 by severe weather, there’s an incalculable emotional toll when a community is destroyed — one that lingers around long after news crews leave and the attention fades away.
River and his grandmother, Jimmie Blake, along with the rest of the folks in Bartlesville, are still trying to put what they can back together. The tornado ripped part of Blake’s roof off and scattered priceless family memories far beyond their property. One family photo was blown 21 miles away to Danny Lemmons’ cow pastures.
“There was a bunch of plywood and insulation laying around. I told my wife, I said ‘I know who these people [in the photo] are,'” Lemmons said.
So far in 2024, there have been more than 1,000 reports of tornadoes across the U.S, according to NOAA. The one that hit Bartlesville was rated near the top of the intensity scale, an EF-4 with winds up to 200 miles per hour.
Dr. Harold Brooks studies severe storms for the National Weather Service and builds instruments to take out into the field to study storms as they occur.
“There are small towns that have been almost completely destroyed by tornadoes that essentially never rebuild, because it’s just hard to recover when there’s no infrastructure left,” Brooks said.
About 20 miles southwest of Bartlesville, the city of Barnsdall was among the communities hit the hardest by the May tornado, which killed two people and destroyed over 83 homes, according to Mayor Johnny Kelley.
“I don’t know if there’s enough adjectives in the vocabulary to describe this deal,” Kelley said.
After the eyes of a nation turn away, the need carries on.
“No one’s here and we’re left here to deal with what’s left. It’s an emotional rollercoaster for people,” Kelley said.
In Bartlesville, 8-year-old River looks to the future.
“It’s going to take a while to get used to, but I hope this all gets cleaned up and we have a new house,” River said.
It took 120 years to build the community, and it will take some time to rebuild.
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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