Trini escapes Oklahoma tornado
By Keino Swamber Wednesday, May 22 2013
Musician Atiba Williams and his tenor pan....SCARY! This is how Trinidadian musician Atiba Williams described the thought of being caught in the path of the tornado which ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore in the United States on Monday.
Williams, 23, who four years ago moved to Norman, Oklahoma, which is about 15 minutes away from Moore, immediately sought refuge when the tornado sirens started blaring.
“There are several sirens set up in different parts of the city, and they go on and off if a tornado is going to hit,” Williams said.
“All of them were going off at the same time. That was kinda scary because you didn’t know where the storm was coming from. It was kind of disconcerting that all were going off at the same time. The fact that it didn’t hit us, we are kinda lucky.” Williams told Newsday. He was at the home of a friend when he grabbed his computer and passport, and went to “another friend’s more stable apartment that was closer to the Weather Center”.
“After a while, the tornado hit, but it was to the north-east of us. What we saw on TV, I don’t think any of us had seen before. This tornado was huge to begin with and, when it finally touched down to the north of us in Oklahoma City, it started swelling and growing, picking up rain-clouds and debris, and trees like they were toothpicks. I guess the most terrifying thing is seeing it happen, and not being able to do anything about it, but shelter.” Williams, considered a child pan-prodigy, who, prior to moving to the United States, lived with his family in San Fernando, was a student of Presentation College. He attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated with a degree in Music Composition.
He said Oklahoma experiences tornadoes every year, but was hit harder than usual by the one which tore communities apart leaving 24 dead and several injured.
“There were also other tornadoes that were part of the super cell that devastated other, less-populated areas of Oklahoma. But this one was the largest, and it also hit the most populated part of Oklahoma.”
While he is mourning the loss of life and destruction, Williams said the tornado has brought with it a blessing of sorts.
“We are having a thunderstorm now. We have had a serious drought. It is the worst drought ever for two years. We were urged to conserve water, We had to take shorter showers, and no one was allowed to wet their lawns. So on one hand we got some relief, but we can’t help but think about all those people who are grieving at this time.”
