Garvin County dispatchers were flooded with calls when the EF-4 tornado formed over Katie on Monday.Dara Crandall and her partner had never worked through a tornado and had to remain calm as the storm approached homes.“We started getting calls, people saying, 'I see the tornado headed straight for me, what do I do?'” she said.One caller was afraid for the safety of a girl in the path of the storm.“There is a girl that was in the house and I’m afraid she’s trapped we cannot get a hold of her,” the caller said.The calls are chilling but one in which a woman watching the storm approach was pleading for help stood out for Crandall.“We need you to come and help us. "We don’t have any shelter we live out in rural…,” the caller said. “There’s a tornado out our window.”“It’s a helpless feeling when all you can do is tell them to get down,” Crandall said. “That’s all you can tell them.“Through the call, Crandall is heard telling the woman to hunker down and try to find something to cover herself.Crandall’s tried to call the woman to see how she is doing, but hasn’t been able to reach her.“I hope she’s OK, her and her family,” Crandall said. “That one will stay with me for a long time, probably through my dispatch career.”

Garvin County dispatchers were flooded with calls when the EF-4 tornado formed over Katie on Monday.

Dara Crandall and her partner had never worked through a tornado and had to remain calm as the storm approached homes.


“We started getting calls, people saying, 'I see the tornado headed straight for me, what do I do?'” she said.

One caller was afraid for the safety of a girl in the path of the storm.

“There is a girl that was in the house and I’m afraid she’s trapped we cannot get a hold of her,” the caller said.

The calls are chilling but one in which a woman watching the storm approach was pleading for help stood out for Crandall.

“We need you to come and help us. "We don’t have any shelter we live out in rural…,” the caller said. “There’s a tornado out our window.”

“It’s a helpless feeling when all you can do is tell them to get down,” Crandall said. “That’s all you can tell them.“

Through the call, Crandall is heard telling the woman to hunker down and try to find something to cover herself.

Crandall’s tried to call the woman to see how she is doing, but hasn’t been able to reach her.

“I hope she’s OK, her and her family,” Crandall said. “That one will stay with me for a long time, probably through my dispatch career.”