Use of vehicles to flee the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma City Tornado: Reasons and relative injury rates

The NWS Service Assessment of the 3 May 1999 Oklahoma City Tornado showed that ample warning lead times and TV coverage "allowed many individuals to escape the path of this tornado (from their homes) via automobiles." This action, contrary to safety recommendations, may have saved many lives, although similar actions have lead to deaths in the past (for example, Wichita Falls, TX, 1979). We surveyed residents of homes with F4 or F5 damage to assess (1) the percentage who fled in vehicles, (2) the relative risk of injury for those who remained in the home and for those who fled in vehicles, and (3) to explore the factors influencing the decision to stay in the home or to flee in a vehicle. Results may contribute to understanding the public response to tornado warnings and television coverage and to understanding the ‘aberrant' behavior of fleeing in vehicles from frame homes in the face of longer tornado warning lead times.