Sadness, tragedy and mass disaster in Oklahoma City: providing critical incident stress debriefings to a community in crisis.
Shortly after 09:00 h on 19 April 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, located in downtown Oklahoma City, was devastated with a bomb blast of such gigantic proportions that it was heard 60 miles away in neighbouring Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahomans routinely commuting to work on that sunny Wednesday morning went about their business as usual. A crude bomb chemically comprised of various organic compounds, chemical fertilizer, ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel, weighing an estimated 4800 pounds or more, was transported in a vehicle the size of a truck. It blew open a crater 6-8 ft deep in the street floor. The Murrah Federal Building was impacted immediately; floors, windows, communication equipment and almost all the innocent victims inside were razed to the ground. Outside the building, as far as 10 blocks away or more, hundreds of victims lay hurt, seriously injured or dead from shards of glass that flew from office windows hundreds of feet above the street floor. Without warning, the initial impact of the bomb immediately devastated the entire city. People were in a state of shock, disbelief and denial; acute symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were commonplace. Oklahomans, 'numb' from the impact of the critical incident and ill-equipped to handle the chaos of such catastrophic proportions, struggled to regain control of their lives as friends, family and loved ones went unaccounted for or were found critically injured, dying or already dead. The critical incident on 19 April demanded the immediate attention of the nation, to come to the aid of the Oklahomans who were in desperate need. By 1 June, the exhaustive investigations revealed that 30 office buildings in downtown Oklahoma City had to be condemned, and as many as 300 others were damaged. In addition, 168 people had been found dead including 19 children and one nurse working as an emergency services rescue worker. Approximately 490 other victims had been reported injured from the blast. Countless others have been traumatised by the critical event and will need professional attention and care for weeks, months and years to come. The final extent of the impact on Oklahoma City is yet unknown and may never realistically be estimated in terms of personal trauma, loss and grief.
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D003419:Crisis Intervention / Q000379:methods*; D004190:Disasters; D005107:Explosions; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009825:Oklahoma; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D014504:Urban Health