Feb. 28—Victims of Sunday night’s powerful tornado are being asked to report their damages, while volunteers are being told to steer clear of neighborhoods until it’s safe to do so.

David Grizzle, Norman’s Emergency Management officer, and Mark Gower with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, made the requests Monday.

Grizzle said downed power lines have left entire neighborhoods unsafe for eager volunteers.

“We don’t need water,” he told The Transcript. “We need volunteers to take all the stuff they want to donate and give it to an organization that is local.”

Grizzle asked that residents contact agencies and not deliver items to volunteer sites.

The city’s 12th Avenue NE Recreation Center opened Monday a 1 a.m. where Red Cross, the county health department, local veterans association and mental health providers offered assistance. CrossPointe Church opened its doors at 2601 24th Avenue SE for food, showers, and laundry.

Grizzle urged volunteers to contact the United Way whose director, Daren Wilson, said the agency will organize teams to help with damage as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Wilson said when ready to deploy volunteers, the city and United Way will post information online through their websites and social media.

“At this point, we support Red Cross, we work together to make sure that people who are affected by the storms have what they need in that moment to get back on their feet,” he said. “We’re asking volunteers to be patient.”

Wilson said school athletic teams, the University of Oklahoma, churches and individuals have reached out to United Way to offer assistance in the hours following the tornado.

“I love the fact our community is ready to roll up our sleeves and get out there and help,” he said. “That’s just the kind of community we live in.”

Melody Bays, outreach coordinator for the Cleveland County Health Department, urged volunteers to consider tetanus shots before they are deployed to damaged homes.

“What we oftentimes find is people are out and picking up debris either in their own home or someone else’s,” she said. “Oftentimes because of the storm, they don’t have the proper equipment such as shoes or long-sleeved shirts.

“They’re out there and being good helpful citizens, but you step on that rusty nail or scrape across a fence and get a cut, it’s really important to be up to date on tetanus.”

The health department remained at the recreation center through 4:30 p.m. Monday and will return Tuesday until noon, said Bays, who added that mobile units would be in neighborhoods to offer tetanus shots as well.

Damages undetermined Grizzle said as many as 100 homes were damaged, according to reports. By 11 a.m. Monday, he said there were no reports of any homes completely destroyed. The true amount of damage was still unknown by noon Monday.

“We have teams going out trying to find out just what the need is and where the need is,” he said.

Overnight first responders, including the 63rd Weapons of Mass Destruction and Civil Support Team and the National Guard, combed through community “to find people and help with an assessment,” Grizzle said.

Gower, director of Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, urged people to report damages to damage. ok.gov.

“That would be extremely helpful for Norman and the state,” he said. “It’s extremely easy to report online, on your mobile phone, mobile device or tablet.”

Gower said the number of tornadoes and the damage paths were still being determined late Monday morning and while radar indicated 15 rotations, at least seven had touched ground “on this side of the state” but reports from Tulsa were also pending.

“There could be way more than that,” he said.