Oklahoma is currently getting trashed by very, very large tornadoes (two miles wide). It’s an ongoing disaster, so if you are in the area, find a hole, dive in and pull it in after you.
Most of the time, reporters covering such stories are entirely too gleeful over the mayhem they get to cover. But sometimes not. A few minutes ago, CNN was carrying the feed from the local KFOR station, with reporter Lance West reporting over the phone. The Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, OK, has been flattened; there was thought that the school might not have had any kids in it at the time. But Mr. West was reporting from the scene, and said that there were at least 75 kids in the school when it got hit, an that the school ha collapse upon them, rescue operations underway. And then he lost it. The anchors back at the station took over, but Mr. Wests anguish managed to come through.
It’s not good. And yet it’s oddly refreshing, or at least cathartic, when a reporter loses his cool at a scene that would make most regular people lose it.
If anyone finds that clip on Youtube, clue me in.
UPDATE:
[youtube 5crYKhvRylk]
[youtube Ss-YNyVO81A]
A human emoting can bring a distant disaster close to home. Herbert Morrisons reporting on the Hindenberg disaster will be heartbreaking for as long as there are people who speak English.
[youtube 2YY0xw5r1ro]