CLAREMORE, Okla. — While you’ll find electric crews hard at work all across town, hundreds of residents in Claremore are still without power.
It’s been ten days since the tornado shook up the community. Some people haven’t had electricity since then.
WATCH: Aftermath of tornado in Claremore:
“We were okay to be prepared for a couple of days, but not for two weeks,” said Samantha Tucker.
She and her family are part of that unlucky group.
They’ve been passing the time by playing games outside underneath their carport. The Tuckers all said it’s better to catch a breeze outside, rather than boil inside their house without a working air conditioner.
Tucker said she didn’t anticipate being without power for this long. However, she doesn’t feel like they have any other option to find some shade.
“A lot of people can’t afford to go to a hotel and stay for days at a time,” she said. “This is a working-class community, so if you have no other choice, that’s what you’ve got to do. So if they tell us it’s going to be another week, we’re going to complain, we’re gonna say ‘no this could be done a week ago,’ but in the end, what are we gonna do?”
The last ten days, are no easy feat for the Tucker family. Samantha, and her daughter Harley, both said they shed some tears the first few days without electricity.
Now, they are trying to lean into it.
“We can’t survive two weeks without air conditioning, we can’t survive two weeks without a generator, without electricity, without our phones being charged, but we have found a way,” said Tucker. “Thankfully you only have a couple of hours of inside that you have to worry about, because the rest of the time, you just spend out here in the shade.”
Over the last week and a half, Tucker said they’ve not only spent more time together, but gotten to know neighbors they hadn’t said more than quick greetings to before. It’s that consolation prize that is carrying her through these hot days without any air flowing to keep them cool.
“I can’t speak for everybody, I know that there are still people out there needing help with their trees and their lines, and with the destruction of their houses, people who lost their entire homes,” said Tucker. “But for us, were doing okay. Were just, were tired, we’re ready to sit inside with all the lights on and the air conditioner and everything going, and just to appreciate it for a little bit.”
The secret, she said, to her positive outlook is a nice breeze, and taking it one day at a time.
The latest update from the Claremore city manager said residents could expect full restoration of power in the next three days.
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