Oklahoma Leads in Federally Declared Disasters, Faces Diverse Weather Challenges

TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — September is National Preparedness Month and local groups are educating families and businesses on what they can do to prepare for the worst.

Carrie Suns with the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps says tornadoes can happen any time of the year here in Oklahoma, but when I asked her about the biggest disaster threat that families face, she brought up extreme heat.

“Oklahoma actually is the number one per capita of federally declared disasters,” said Carrie Suns, the Community Relations and Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator.

Suns says that when it comes to disasters, Oklahoma has everything except for volcanoes and tsunamis.

“We’ve got ice storms, wildfires, flooding, tornadoes, just severe weather in general, heat,” said Suns. “Believe it or not, heat affects most of us.”

“But upcoming it’s going to be cold weather,” said Suns.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, there were 141 heat-related deaths from 2013 to 2022 in Oklahoma.

Suns says we lose people to heat every year, but luckily, we’re on the downhill slope of heat right now

Suns says that unlike heat, ice, and cold weather are not our overall greatest threat, but they are our most concerning ones coming up.

Oklahoma leads in federally declared disasters, faces diverse weather challenges (KOCO via ABC News)

She says that with the large list of disasters that Oklahomans could face, families should make a plan, practice that plan, know what’s going on in their area, and build a kit.

“Build a preparedness kit at home, whether it’s to grab and go during a disaster where you have to evacuate or if it’s a shelter-in-place type of kit,” said Suns.

“In that ready kit, you want to get all kinds of things like water, some non-perishable foods, first aid kit, a little bit of cash, flashlights,” saidAmie Mitchell, the President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Tulsa

Mitchell says they also suggest you write down the important phone numbers that you might need to get a hold of your insurance company or a contractor that you regularly use.

Suns says the Tulsa Health Department has an emergency preparedness and response program where they plan for what-ifs, such as ‘What if there’s a man-made disaster?’ and ‘What if there’s a natural disaster? ‘

She says they also teach CPR, how to stop the bleeding, and things that you wouldn’t necessarily think of as emergencies.

In 2023, EMSA responded to 930 heat-related illness calls in Oklahoma with 577 transports.

That same year, EMSA responded to 280 cold exposure calls in Oklahoma with 183 transports.

Though we’re on the downhill slope of extreme heat, we’re not out of the woods yet.

According to noheatstroke.org, two toddlers died from heatstroke on Thursday after being left in a car in Norman, Oklahoma.