Moore tornado survivor uses loss of 2 sisters to fuel passion for meteorology

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    MOORE, Oklahoma (KOCO) — After losing two siblings in a 2013 tornado, a 19-year-old college student has turned to her studies to make a difference.

It’s been nearly 11 years since a tornado devastated Moore on May 20, 2013. Aria Vargyas was 8 years old when the EF5 tornado touched down.

“It is out of your control. But the thing that matters is how you bounce back from it,” Aria said. “I was in the bathroom at my school, Briarwood, with my classmates and my teachers.”

She sheltered in place in the bathroom, like many students are taught to do while waiting out the storm.

“My siblings were in the bathtub with my mom and grandma,” Aria said. “Unfortunately, they were stuck with just using a mattress as some type of protection, and the tornado ended up ripping them up out of the tub and spreading them around.”

Her sisters Sydney, who was just 7 months old, and Korina, who was 4 years old, died as a result of the storm.

“My sister, Korina, couldn’t be found for the longest. She was found three days after the tornado had hit,” Aria said.

Now, Aria is turning her grief into grit, pursuing a degree in meteorology at Texas A&M University.

“I want to research looking at the warning time, increase that, or add shelters and implement a rule where there’s shelters around states that don’t have them,” Aria said. “I do have to play the long game. I have to wait for that degree. But that’s the end goal.”

Like many students, she just wants to make a difference.

“A difference in the world with families, make a difference in my sisters. I’m doing this for them,” Aria said. “Natural disasters alone are scary. They’re messed up, uncontrollable, and tornadoes are one of the tops ones. So, ultimately, after a tornado you have to be sure to accept it was out of your hands.”

She also had a message for other families and tornado victims.

“It will get easier. It won’t completely go away. But it will get easier. You will be able to grieve in a different light after,” Aria said.

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