Miraculous stories of survival continue to come to light following the Category 5 tornado, which carved a path a mile wide and 17 miles long through Moore, Okla., last week. It left total devastation in its wake.

Most of us can’t begin to fathom what it must be like to have mile after mile, block after block of our community destroyed in a matter of minutes. We’ve always been told that a picture can sometimes be worth a thousand words, and when it comes to disasters like this one we must admit it’s true. The photos, both from the air and ground, have been heartbreaking.

Most of us held our breath awaiting word on the fate of the children at the Plaza Towers Elementary School, one of five schools in the tornado’s direct path, after we were told officials were unsure how many of the school children had survived, and we were all fearing the worst.

News finally came that somehow, despite the total destruction of the school building, all but seven of the small children had made it out alive.

Once again, as in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut, it’s the teachers who are credited with making all the difference.

With only a 16-minute warning, teachers herded students into closets, bathrooms, interior hallways or any other spot which seemed the safest, since the school, like all of the others in the tornado’s path, lacked a basement or a safe room designed to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour.

Officials were quick to point out that underground safe rooms or below-ground basement levels for schools can sometimes cost an additional one million dollars, but agreed that it’s time to look for ways to make this a requirement of new structures.

In fact, even private homes may need to have some sort of below-ground safe room when they’re rebuilt. Throughout the coverage of this devastating storm, it became apparent that in most cases, the survivors were those who were underground; everyone and everything at ground level didn’t stand much of a chance.

Most teachers have a special attachment to their students. And why shouldn’t they? After all, they often spend more time with them each day than do the parents. It’s easy to understand why they are so protective of “their’’ kids, and willing to risk their lives to save them.

One teacher at the school stretched out on the floor and covered her students with her body. She’s credited with keeping them alive, as are other brave teachers who found a safe place for their students to ride out the storm.

Every parent in the country could fully understand the fear of those who couldn’t access the school building for several hours in the aftermath of the tornado to determine if their child had survived. Each and every minute must have seemed like an eternity.

There are countless stories of friends helping friends and neighbors assisting neighbors, not to mention first responders and hundreds of volunteers from near and far who worked frantically to sift through the rubble in search of survivors trapped beneath walls, timbers, bricks and other building materials.

Cars, sometimes thrown several hundred feet, were also checked, and folks pitched in to help relocate patients from a hospital destroyed by the high winds.

All who helped make a difference deserve a great deal of credit. However, it may be the brave teachers who will best be remembered for making it possible for many Moore, Okla., parents to tuck their children into bed that night.