( CNN ) -- Monday afternoon 's devastating tornado in the Oklahoma City suburbs brought to mind a May 1999 EF5 twister that killed 36 people and smashed some of the same communities . On May 3 , 1999 , a total of 74 tornadoes pummeled Kansas and Oklahoma , according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . The states counted a total of 46 dead . Thirty-six died in Oklahoma City . The strongest tornado , rated a maximum EF5 on the Fujita Tornado Scale , tracked for nearly an hour and a half along a 38-mile path from Chickasha through south Oklahoma City and the suburbs of Bridge Creek , Newcastle , Moore , Midwest City and Del City . Monday 's tornado in Oklahoma city , with a preliminary rating of at least EF4 , also struck Moore and Newcastle . Dozens -- some of them elementary school children -- died , authorities said . The tornado `` hit along the same path of the May 3 tornado in 1999 , '' said Gov . Mary Fallin . `` It 's just hard to believe that something like this could happen again to Moore itself . '' According to the National Weather Service 's Storm Prediction Center , the 1999 Oklahoma City twister was among the costliest in U.S. history , with damage totaling at $ 1 billion . Albert Ashwood , director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management , told reporters the two tornadoes are `` equally devastating . '' 10 deadliest U.S. tornadoes on record . `` And I think the fact that what we see so far today is going to be very similar if not exceed what we saw in 1999 , '' he said . `` But keep in mind , any time there 's a loss of life , it 's a devastating disaster . '' Heather Moore survived both the 1999 and Monday 's storms . `` It was very , very similar , '' Moore told CNN 's Piers Morgan . `` Cars were turned over , some houses were half gone , some houses were all gone . ... All the trees are gone , all the power lines are gone . '' U.S. Rep. Tom Cole , who lives in Moore , told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer the damage he was seeing on television Monday looked as bad as the 1999 tornado that destroyed more than 1,000 houses in his hometown . Moore is located between Oklahoma City and Norman -- home to the University of Oklahoma -- on the south side of the metropolitan area . The second deadliest tornado in the Oklahoma City area occurred on June 12 , 1942 , with 35 residents killed , according to the National Weather Service . How to help . CNN 's Jason Hanna , Phil Gast and Caitlin Stark contributed to this report .
Governor of Oklahoma laments devastation to Moore . Congressman compares damage of two storms . The 1999 killer tornado hit some of the same neighborhoods ; it claimed 36 lives .