There is a clock in the corner of Robert Romines’ office where its hands have stood still for 10 years, forever frozen at 3:18 p.m. – the time it was on May 20, 2013, when a F-5 tornado cut a 14-mile path of destruction through the Oklahoma City area, killing 24 people, including seven school children at the Plaza Towers Elementary School.

On the 10th anniversary of what has become known as “the Moore Tornado,” Romines and others throughout the region are reflecting on that horrific event, as well how the community and civic organizations such as the American Red Cross banded together in the face of tragedy. The clock, once sitting in a sixth-grade classroom, reflects the moment it stopped when the storm struck Briarwood Elementary. Romines had been superintendent of the Moore Public Schools for little over a week at the time. While the Briarwood school was severely damaged, it was at the Plaza Towers Elementary in the OKC suburb of the same name, that the worst happened. Most of the school’s students and teachers were saved, in part, by the numerous tornado drills they had practiced through the years, seven second-and third-grade students were killed while sheltering from the storm.

“That clock will stay with me forever,” Dr. Romines said. “It is very, very important for me and my team to move forward but also to never forget.”

Bryan Neal, at the time an OKC-based auditor and consultant for financial institutions, was aware of the threat from tornadoes. Unfortunately, it is a reality of life for all living in Tornado Alley. Just 14 years earlier, a series of nearly 60 tornadoes struck central Oklahoma, including Moore, within a 24-hour period, killing 36 people and damaging or destroying 4,300 homes.

“Every spring, we’re reminded that there’s always a risk of tornadoes,” Neal said. “I felt I was prepared. I realized very quickly I wasn’t as prepared I would like to have been.”

Neal, who today serves on the board of directors of the Central and Southwest Oklahoma Chapter of the American Red Cross, said, “The hardest part for me was all those hours of not knowing if I had a house. Not knowing if I had a son.”

The 2013 Moore tornado tracked along the ground for approximately 40 minutes, cutting a path of devastation through Newcastle, Moore and southern Oklahoma City. In addition to the 24 fatalities, there were more than 200 injuries, 300 homes destroyed and $2 billion in property damage. Within minutes, the Red Cross and its many partners in the public and private sectors responded by providing disaster assistance in the form of shelter, food, relief supplies and comfort to those in need. This response is in keeping with the organization’s mission to “prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.”

“I was at a loss,” Neal said. Immediately, he started going through a checklist in his mind. “I had never experienced this before,” Neal said. “What do I do first? What do I do third? I don’t know what to do. I have some ideas, but I don’t know how to do that.”

“Each disaster is really different,” says Mary Jane Coffman, regional Red Cross disaster program manager. In this case, the Red Cross was able to fund a complete case management program, bringing people with specialized expertise and donors to together to aid those affected by the disaster. “So much of the work that we did was about how we are helping these communities and individuals recover, what does it look like going forward, and how they can better deal with whatever may happen next.”

Of course, one never knows when disasters may happen. Just 11 days after the Moore tornado, additional storms struck central Oklahoma – most notably in El Reno, killing another 14 people. As it is, the American Red Cross responds to more than 60,000 disasters each year, ranging from large regional disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes, to smaller scale, but equally distressing home fires.

That is why the American Red Cross urges families to prepare for the unexpected by taking three simple steps: Make an emergency kit to help the family get through the first three days, develop a plan for what you will do if family members are separated and have to evacuate, and stay informed about potential emergency conditions in your area. It is also a

good idea to take first aid, CPR or AED courses offered by the Red Cross. Information about how to prepare for the worse, as well as the availability of Red Cross training course and useful social media apps is found at https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies.html.

“The Red Cross came in as an agency to help this community,” Dr. Romines said. “They didn’t pick up stakes when the dust settled. They stayed with us for a multitude of years and provided as lot of services for us.

“They not only started as a community partner, but when they left, they left as family.”

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.