Abilene residents participate in city-wide tornado drill, assessing severe weather plans
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – On Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m., Abilene residents participated in a city-wide tornado drill, assessing their severe weather plans in case of a natural disaster.
Wylie High School was one of the schools that held a drill alongside the city. Adam Lopez, with Wylie High School operations, said that even though the drill is just practice, it is important for the students to know just in case.
“It’s for the safety of the faculty and the students here at the campus,” Lopez said. “We just have to practice to make sure they know what to do in case of an emergency or inclement weather conditions.”
Prep & plan: Abilene hosts city-wide tornado drill
While most organizations took the time to go through their plan physically, residents like Bob Mantooth, who experienced a tornado first-hand, took the time to initiate a conversation about one unforgettable morning.
“[My wife] yelled its tornado; Told her to get the kids and get them in the bathroom. You could hear it coming,” Mantooth said. “It was like a bomb went off, and it was horrible. Shards of glass threw everything, and a tree went through the house. It was unbelievable.”
The Mantooth house was totaled, and he was left with a broken neck from the natural disaster after failing to make it to the shelter point in his home. He shared that even though he had a plan, it did not prepare him for what he would go through.
“You live in West Texas, and you got to kind of think about that; watch the clouds. It’s powerful. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life,” Mantooth said.
Now, he urges others to be mindful of the weather and take every precaution.
“Pay attention to the weather because it can change in a heartbeat,” Mantooth said. “Everybody knows, believe me, that lives in this house. They know what to do here.”
To sign up for the city’s REDCODE alert system, text ‘ABITAYTX’ TO 99411.
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