Oklahomans rebuild after tornado outbreak: 'It'll never be the same, but it will be OK.'

Emergency officials, business owners and residents in small communities across Oklahoma began the grim chore Monday of cleaning up and sorting through what remains after a string of deadly tornadoes over the weekend leveled buildings, flipped vehicles and killed four people, including a 4-month-old infant.

In Marietta, tractor-trailer driver Danny McBride got an alert Saturday night that a tornado was on its way. He and his two dogs, Rosie and Posie, had enough time to climb into his truck's bunk area and cover up with blankets.

"Something hit the side of it and busted in the door, knocked the windows all out, and it's just been chaos ever since," said McBride as he looked out over wrecked trucks and trailers at a Valero gas station along the interstate. "I'm not a super religious person, but I was having a talk with God, thanking him for everything I've been through and hoping he'd get us through it again."

Police officers in Marietta closed access to the small city’s hardest-hit area near Interstate 35 so crews could clear debris. The town’s hospital was damaged and grocery store destroyed.

The tornado ripped through a massive Dollar Tree distribution center, and pieces of the building were blown across the interstate into nearby fields. Video showed part of the roof was ripped off, exposing hundreds of shelves and boxes inside.

Most of the destructive tornadoes formed after dark, with significant damage in Marietta, Sulphur and Holdenville.

The Sulphur community was still reeling from Saturday night's tornadoes, with numerous residents displaced and struggling with a sudden lack of housing, electricity and other resources.

One man, who had been living in an apartment directly in the tornado's path Saturday night, said he and his wife narrowly avoided being swept up in the tornado by ducking into the nearby Artesian Hotel. Hardly anything remains of the second-floor home in which they once lived.

Several residents spoke with The Oklahoman about their losses but did not want to be identified. A common thread united them all: A realization that they had lost everything in the storm, but a gratitude for being alive and for the community's immediate willingness to rally around them and offer support.

Several killed in storms, including infant

A young family in Holdenville experienced an unimaginable loss Saturday evening when a tornado destroyed their home, causing the death of their 4-month-old child.

The infant child was one of four who died as a result of the tornado outbreak. State authorities reported one death in Sulphur, one near Marietta on Interstate 35, and two in Holdenville. Identities of the victims were not yet available on Monday.

In Marietta, a tractor-trailer passenger died when the truck he was in overturned on the interstate. The man's name has not yet been released by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The driver was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 100 injuries have been reported by area hospitals.

The child's aunt is accepting donations on behalf of parents Tyler and Selina Skeen. Cash donations can be sent to https://venmo.com/u/Sonia-Faulkner. An account for The Skeen Family also will be set up at Security State Bank. The family also is accepting donations of clothing and shoes at two locations: Boomarang Diner in Holdenville and The Healthy Hive in Shawnee.

GoFundMe has verified the authenticity of several pages set up for victims of the tornado outbreak. To view these verified fundraisers, go to the platform's Midwest Tornado Relief Hub and select Oklahoma or a specific city.

More: Oklahoma weather: How to help victims of Saturday tornadoes

'It's going to be all right'

Dozens of Sulphur residents sought out temporary shelter at Crossway First Baptist Church, where the American Red Cross had coordinated with the local church and other organizations to offer food, water, clothing and other types of relief on Monday.

Gene Smith, an artist and member of the Choctaw Nation, grew up in Sulphur. He and his wife, Jenna, were volunteering with Mercy Chefs at the church Monday.

The Smiths said one of their sons was out storm-chasing Saturday night when they called him as he was heading back into Sulphur from Davis. The tornado was just touching down, and they demanded he turn back around and go back the other direction.

"I'm just thankful something told me to call him right then because he could have been driving right into town when it came through," Jenna Smith said.

More: Photos, videos show tornadoes in Oklahoma leave behind trail of destruction

Gary LeBlanc, CEO of Mercy Chefs, is familiar with the devastating impact of natural disasters on communities. He founded the nonprofit in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's destruction of New Orleans, and has shown up often with his teams in similarly hard-hit areas ever since.

"I know Oklahoma, I know rural Oklahoma, and a lot of people here are going to cope with their loss by helping others," LeBlanc said. "It'll never be the same, but it will be OK."

"I know places from 20 years ago that still have scars on the town and on the people from the storm," LeBlanc added. "But I would just encourage everybody: Don't look for the 'old normal.' Look for the 'new normal.' It's going to be all right."

Surveying tornado damage across Oklahoma

Survey teams with the National Weather Service were traveling across Oklahoma and north Texas conducting damage assessments at more than 30 locations. Surveys will continue through at least Tuesday. So far, at least 25 tornadoes have been confirmed.

Preliminary results of a damage survey indicated the tornadoes that hit Sulphur and Holdenville were at least an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which is a measure of a tornado's destructive power. The Marietta tornado was upgraded on Monday to an EF4, the first tornado in Oklahoma to produce that level of damage since 2016.

The strongest and most damaging tornadoes are classified as EF5.

"We are grateful to report that no one was injured," said Kate Kirkpatrick, Dollar Tree's vice president of communications. "Our immediate focus is on the needs of our associates and the communities this distribution center serves. We are working as swiftly as possible to assess the facility’s damage and pivot our operations to ensure our nearby stores receive the supplies they need to serve our customers."

More: Gov. Kevin Stitt: Sulphur tornado damage the worst he's seen as governor

City offices and Main Street businesses were closed because most of Marietta remained without power Monday. Volunteers were serving meals at the school cafeteria and distributing donated supplies from a makeshift command center at the fairgrounds.

How Oklahomans are responding to tornado outbreak

Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency in 12 counties. The designation helps ease the recovery effort and is a step toward receiving federal disaster funds.

Military veterans have the opportunity to apply for a grant to aid in their recovery efforts. For more information, reach out to the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs at 405-523-4000.

Two American Red Cross shelters remain open:

• Sulphur: Crossway First Baptist Church, 2108 W Broadway

• Ardmore: Christ Community Church Ardmore, 2620 Mount Washington Road

For Oklahoma residents seeking non-emergency disaster or health and human service information, please dial 2-1-1. Services are available 24 hours a day. Please only call 911 for emergencies.

Oklahoma Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has chainsaw teams in Sulphur and Morris and a mass-feeding kitchen in Sulphur to provide meals. Critical Incident Stress Management-trained chaplains are also available for affected residents and first responders.

Volunteers who wish to help with cleanup in Sulphur can check in at the Murray County Expo Center at 730 Cambridge Drive in Sulphur. The Salvation Army is providing first responders in Love and Murray counties. Each service will run until no longer needed. Emotional and spiritual care workers are also available.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management is asking residents impacted by the storms to report damage to property at damage.ok.gov. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts.

Oklahoma State Department of Education spokesman Dan Isett said the agency has been in contact with about 15 school districts “that have various levels of damage and issues they’re dealing with” from Saturday night’s storms. The most severe issues with schools appear to be in Sulphur, Marietta and Ardmore, Isett said.

Isett said the agency is working with districts affected by the storms to provide waivers or extensions for testing, expedite claims, provide exemptions for any requirements and extend any deadlines necessary. He said agency crisis response teams are available to any district needing additional support or resources.

The agency is working on getting buses to Sulphur and is looking into the possibility of providing wireless hotspots for affected districts, he said.

More: Did this weekend break Oklahoma's record for most tornadoes in one day? NWS tracking dozens

Contributing: Oklahoman reporters Murray Evans, Molly Young, Jordan Gerard and photographer Nathan J. Fish

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Tornado recovery: Oklahomans begin cleanup after tornado outbreak