Main Tent Collapses at Octoberfest

[LilMikey]

In spite of a tornado warning, less han favorable forecasts made as early as the morning of the event, the only tradgey I see is the amount of "adults" who were willing to stand under a large tent just to drink beer during such weather.

Ah . . . . the rednecks live!

[cannon_fodder]

Yes, and apparently rednecks abound in Munich too.  Dang beer drinking red necks.  And that new brewery going in, more rednecks for sure!

Corporate night at Oktoberfest, Rednecks galore. []

[Townsend]

"Just to drink beer"?  "just to drink beer"?  JUST TO DRINK BEER?

[NellieBly]

One of the places people were denied access to was the area of the festival where the money was. People who were hurt were allowed in and no one else was. People were trying to get into the beer sale tent to get out of the rain and they were denied entry due to safety and theft concerns I believe.

There were a ton of people, women especially, who were not prepared to be out in the rain. No coats, umbrellas, wearing halter tops and high heel pumps. Despite all day weather reports of rain on its way, they were not prepared.

At that point the tent was down and it was rain and hail. That means it's time to head to the car. I left before the storm hit cause you could see it coming. I had no desire to huddle under a tent in a storm. About two minutes after we got in the car the storm hit. I feel sorry for the people who were hurt but not for the people stuck in the rain in halters and high heels wanting to keep their cell phones and hair dry. There were people standing around wanting to buy beer after the tent blew down.

[Ibanez]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

I'm smelling a lawsuit(s).  A woman  interviewed last night said people were turned away from shelter in another tent by festival officials or security.

"They were more concerned about protecting their beer than festival patrons."

Say goodbye to Tulsa's Oktoberfest as we know it.

[LilMikey]

Yep - we might have to go back to drinking beer in bars.

[Townsend]

from Oktoberfest committee,

"The Bier Garten (the larger of the two tents) will now be an open-air venue with a canopy over the band and dance floor. The other tent, Die Bier Stube is salvageable and will be up and running as well if not tonight, tomorrow for sure."

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

from Oktoberfest committee,

"The Bier Garten (the larger of the two tents) will now be an open-air venue with a canopy over the band and dance floor. The other tent, Die Bier Stube is salvageable and will be up and running as well if not tonight, tomorrow for sure."

Bier Al Fresco.  Cool!

[Ibanez]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

from Oktoberfest committee,

"The Bier Garten (the larger of the two tents) will now be an open-air venue with a canopy over the band and dance floor. The other tent, Die Bier Stube is salvageable and will be up and running as well if not tonight, tomorrow for sure."

Excellent. Now everyone will be able to see me dancing on the table!!!

[bigdtottown]

I really hope there is not an over reaction to this tragic accident and I hope eveyone who was injured gets well soon.  Tulsa's Octoberfest is one of the best around and it needs to continue.  Ufortunately, with our litigious nature here in the US, I can see some may want to capitalize on this.

[tim huntzinger]

If Jim Giles were around, I feel confident he would have sounded some alarm as the storm approached.

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

If Jim Giles were around, I feel confident he would have sounded some alarm as the storm approached.

I agree. No excuse in this day of pinpoint radar accuracy for them not temporarily closing the tents. It was a poor decision. The micro-burst is an attempt at a plausible defense but is weak. That "burst" continued across my neighborhood to the east and continued through Claremore. Friends of mine said the storm was clearly visible on their evening weather updates and was why they didn't attend the festivities.

Face it. They didn't want to close up during Corporate Night with all the sponsors, the beer and the money. The festival has had declining attendance in recent years because of weather and exhorbitant beer prices and I would bet that was the criteria for not closing...not the safety of its patrons. It backfired and they will have to pay a price.

More precisely, we will all pay the price. Insurance will pay out and similar festivals will have their rates adjusted upwards and that will be passed on to the consumer. Its either absorbed by us or the festival fails. Hopefully it will survive.

[Conan71]

Heck, even Travis Meyer was saying on the news Tuesday night that people might want to consider the predicted storms for Weds. night before heading out to Oktoberfest.

They had plenty of warning, and it's certainly not the first thunderstorm to hit during Oktoberfest. In any event, it's a no win situation for organizers.  The choice was to send festival-goers to their vehicles with a severe thunderstorm approaching, or stay under tents which have withstood thunderstorms in the past.  That'd be a tough call, glad I'm not the person who was responsible for making it.

From Fox 23:

"Tonight, questions remain, could this disaster have been prevented?  Why didn't organizers cancel the event, knowing severe weather was approaching, this after a storm had just swept through the area just hours before.
 
“We knew there was something behind it, but we had some information that it might bypass us.  Our executive director had a direct line to one of our TV stations, so we had access to that information”, said event organizer Michael Sanders.
 
The National Weather Service reported storms were on the way.  In fact, a tornado watch was in affect for Tulsa County and a severe thunderstorm warning was issued 20 minutes before the tent collapsed.  FOX23 was putting out warnings at 5:17 p.m.  The result was 60 mile per hour winds, strong enough to snap rope and bend steel beams in half, send them flying through the air, injuring 32 people.

FOX23 News was told it’s up to event organizers whether or not Oktoberfest stays open.
 
Mayor Taylor and event organizers say they haven’t heard anything about any possible lawsuits."

Source

[shadows]

I e-mailed Giles on one of his failed weather predictions.

I received a return e-mail saying “I hope you have a job as hard as predicting  the weather”.  

[tim huntzinger]

Newly departed-from-this-world are like babies and they kind of flail about, getting used to their new bodies.  Sooooo I think the winds were Jim trying to visit again and simply making an awkward entrance . . .