CalTopo Teams Was Used When a Tornado Ripped Through a Small Town in Oklahoma

In less than 12 hours, the destruction of the EF-4 tornado was mapped out on CalTopo, allowing the Director of Emergency Operations to assess the situation.

At 5am on Saturday, November 5, 2022, Cody McDaniels, Director of Emergency Operations for McCurtain County, Oklahoma, looked at his computer screen with a feeling of relief. On a map in front of him was every building in the path of the previous night’s tornado, checked overnight by field teams responding from near and far. 

As the tornado exited the small town, help was already being deployed.

The tornado touched down Friday night near the town of Idabel, pulling down trees, destroying farms, and trapping folks in their homes. A sheriff’s officer made a phone call to McDaniels saying “You gotta get down here. It’s bad.” The officer’s patrol vehicle had been totally destroyed by the twister. While responding to the scene, McDaniel received another phone call from Aaron Blue at the Coalgate Fire Department – they were on their way and were making a plan in a mapping program called CalTopo. 

Aaron Blue created a map, then began to draw red and yellow search segments along the route he believed the tornado took. By the time the searchers arrived on scene, they had a plan in place to direct searchers so that all areas were covered rapidly and safely. 

Overnight property assessment and mapping of the tornado’s damage.

As soon as the Idabel Tornado map on CalTopo was created, multiple agencies who reported to the incident command post (ICP) were given access. Each responder either opened their existing CalTopo account and accessed the new map, or scanned a QR code at the ICP to open the map. Once the responder had the map open, they were able to initiate live tracking. As soon as a responder was assigned a sector to search, they deployed and their progress was monitored in real-time on a large screen at ICP. 

Members from Oklahoma Disaster Task Force ODTF) did a majority of the searching Friday night and used USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) symbols to indicate the status of each property directly on the map. With each marker placed on the map at a given property, they could add a label and comments with additional information. 

Back at the command post, by watching progress on the map, incident commanders virtually followed the ODTF members throughout the night, ensuring their safety and receiving real-time updates about conditions on the ground. As a result, resources were quickly redirected if needed and wellness checks-ins were reduced, opening lines of communication for urgent matters. 

From the command post, McDaniel said, “CalTopo simplified the whole process. We weren’t waiting for field teams to report in on their progress – we could see it on the giant screen right in the command post. We didn’t have to go searching for the searchers.”

By the end of the night, 850 properties were marked on the map, indicating the degree of structural damage. The colorful red and orange USAR symbols painted an accurate picture of the tornado’s path through the neighborhoods, while green and yellow ones indicated lesser damage.

In the blink of an eye, multiple agencies were seamlessly brought together.

In a major incident or disaster such as the Idabel tornado, CalTopo Teams allows various public service agencies involved in the response to access the map as well. This facilitated seamless coordination between the McCurtain County Emergency Management Agency and the local and regional agencies responding on-scene. 

The immediate challenges that evening included locating survivors, assessing property damage, establishing shelters, and efficiently allocating resources to those in need. So when a resident was found, their location was marked on the map with a white “V” and medical response teams had the coordinates immediately. The ability to see the coordinates in real-time cut out the game of telephone and ensured that resources were deployed where they were needed most. 

Ultimately, the sharing and real time functions of CalTopo Teams proved to be an invaluable tool.

The 2022 Idabel Tornado was designated an EF-4 by the National Weather Service after analysis. This designation mattered little to the people on the ground, who were tasked with responding to the disaster through the night, worrying about the lives of their citizens and responders. The tornado underscored the importance of effective communication, situational awareness, and coordination during a disaster. 

CalTopo Teams emerged as an invaluable tool for the public service agencies involved, offering real-time tracking, damage assessment, and interagency collaboration capabilities that significantly improved response efforts. This case study serves as a compelling example of how CalTopo Teams can enhance the capabilities of public service agencies during emergency situations, making it a valuable investment for any agency seeking to improve disaster response and coordination.

Scroll through the gallery images to see more about the Idabel Tornado map in CalTopo.