Devastating tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri

[winterymix]

I don't think so. They are going to use the commercial and private lots already around the area. No new lots will be constructed unless more people need them. They are still phoning people that signed up as needing housing.

JoMo: You mentioned that your Ex had injuries and perhaps e-coli. I hope she isn't dealing

with this horrific fungal outbreak. Good luck will all the challenges around you.

[JoMo]

JoMo: You mentioned that your Ex had injuries and perhaps e-coli. I hope she isn't dealing

with this horrific fungal outbreak. Good luck will all the challenges around you.

I don't know. I was curious about that as well. She's been on 3 different antibiotics. She says her husband is still picking pieces of wood out of his body. They are both healthy people so they should be ok.

[Herro]

Jomo,where would you say the epicenter of the damage is, in respects to residential areas?

[JoMo]

Jomo,where would you say the epicenter of the damage is, in respects to residential areas?

What do you mean? It carved a path in a heavily residential part of Joplin.

The worst is over by the high school as far as single family houses. Hampshire Terrace apartments would be up there as well.

This high-res image captures the area hit hardest pretty well.

http://ngs.woc.noaa....00e4105000n.jpg

[B-Rent]

I don't know. I was curious about that as well. She's been on 3 different antibiotics. She says her husband is still picking pieces of wood out of his body. They are both healthy people so they should be ok.

From what I have read, the people that are dying are either 1) not getting meds soon enough, or 2) have a comprimised immune system to begin with.

Mother Nature can be a real b**ch.

Some of the reports I heard today, almost seemed to blame the field medicne in causing the infections. I don't agree with that. You're not going to get complete and total care in the field.

[JoMo]

From what I have read, the people that are dying are either 1) not getting meds soon enough, or 2) have a comprimised immune system to begin with.

Mother Nature can be a real b**ch.

Some of the reports I heard today, almost seemed to blame the field medicne in causing the infections. I don't agree with that. You're not going to get complete and total care in the field.

It's not really a big story here. The national media seems to be sensationalizing it a great deal. The people that died were likely in bad bad shape as it was and could not fight the infection off.

As far as other people, It has to do with not getting the wound completely clean and the dead vegetation/fungus fester inside the wound.

[B-Rent]

As far as other people, It has to do with not getting the wound completely clean and the dead vegetation/fungus fester inside the wound.

Exactly my point, said much better. I hate when people do that.

You can't expect grade A care in a hospital working on generator power and with doctors who were just driving through and stopped to help. Not faulting them at all.

[JoMo]

Exactly my point, said much better. I hate when people do that.

You can't expect grade A care in a hospital working on generator power and with doctors who were just driving through and stopped to help. Not faulting them at all.

Well some people didn't go to the hospital. I know in my area, the people who had minor wounds just threw some peroxide on it and a bandage and called it good.

[B-Rent]

Well some people didn't go to the hospital. I know in my area, the people who had minor wounds just threw some peroxide on it and a bandage and called it good.

And when you have dirt basicly injected into your body at 250mph.... well...

[JoMo]

Three weeks and a day after the tornado.

Cleanup continues as a convoy of trucks carrying debris heads out of town and into SE KS to the landfills there.

On a sad note, I just played Angry Birds in real life as I accidentally ejected a baby bird from his nest when I was trimming some dead limbs out.

This is what Joplin High School looked like a day before the tornado and I'm sure you've seen what it looks like now (i would have sound turned off when viewing this):

There was also a news story of some lady saying her weather radio didn't go off or update her enough or something? I'm not really sure what she wanted.

http://www.ky3.com/videobeta/5d87d077-c90f-4f53-9a28-c4231695214a/News/Woman-says-weather-radio-didn-t-keep-family-updated-during-Joplin-tornado

[Justin]

JoMo, I am so very happy to hear that you are okay. We were all so very worried about you. I know that we don't know each other personally, but after sharing so many conversations with you about winter storms and various other things in our time on these forums I felt somewhat acclimated to you. I was so very worried and scared, but my worries and scares are now alieviated to some degree. Its never easy when dealing with something like this especially when you have to deal with the loss of friends/loved ones. I have given the forum a break, just concentrating on my personal job in the field of meteorology and trying to give myself a bit of a severe weather reprieve outside of what we've been dealing with locally up here. I just want you to know there are so many of us on here that care about you and care about the people down there. I am encouraging everyone I know to donate to the local approved charities and to volunteer if they can. I know one of our local met's on tv up here- he's a new guy- Kevin Phelps I believe is his name is from down there and did a lot of reporting for KWQC in Davenport, Ia. So we are all thinking about Joplin, and wish you all godspeed and warm thoughts and wishes. The folks of Missouri have always been kind to me, its a beautiful state, and they have helped us tremendously during a lot of our flooding disasters and we remember these things.

I thank the higher power that exists that you are okay. If you ever need to falk, vent, cry, please do not hesitate to contact me or a professional. What you have been through is very traumatic and there is a lot to deal with after going through something like this, just don't be afraid to show your emotions if you need to. Its so easy to internalize a lot of this and I don't advise to do that as it will just tear you up. Take care my friend and please continue to keep us all updated on things and what is needed, how things are progressing, etc.

[B-Rent]

Three weeks and a day after the tornado.

Have people forgot yet, Jomo? Or is the help needed, still coming?

[JoMo]

JoMo, I am so very happy to hear that you are okay. We were all so very worried about you. I know that we don't know each other personally, but after sharing so many conversations with you about winter storms and various other things in our time on these forums I felt somewhat acclimated to you. I was so very worried and scared, but my worries and scares are now alieviated to some degree. Its never easy when dealing with something like this especially when you have to deal with the loss of friends/loved ones. I have given the forum a break, just concentrating on my personal job in the field of meteorology and trying to give myself a bit of a severe weather reprieve outside of what we've been dealing with locally up here. I just want you to know there are so many of us on here that care about you and care about the people down there. I am encouraging everyone I know to donate to the local approved charities and to volunteer if they can. I know one of our local met's on tv up here- he's a new guy- Kevin Phelps I believe is his name is from down there and did a lot of reporting for KWQC in Davenport, Ia. So we are all thinking about Joplin, and wish you all godspeed and warm thoughts and wishes. The folks of Missouri have always been kind to me, its a beautiful state, and they have helped us tremendously during a lot of our flooding disasters and we remember these things.

I thank the higher power that exists that you are okay. If you ever need to falk, vent, cry, please do not hesitate to contact me or a professional. What you have been through is very traumatic and there is a lot to deal with after going through something like this, just don't be afraid to show your emotions if you need to. Its so easy to internalize a lot of this and I don't advise to do that as it will just tear you up. Take care my friend and please continue to keep us all updated on things and what is needed, how things are progressing, etc.

Thank you. The enormity of what had happened did not really sink in until later that evening after I was able to see it firsthand. The rumbling sound will be forever etched in my mind and I'm really glad I did not actually see the tornado itself. The look on peoples faces at the church will forever remain in my mind as well as the actual damage when I saw it. It was just shocking to see the destruction and realize that if the tornado would have been 2-3 blocks farther north, or if it had reached it's maximum width a little sooner, I may not be here, or may not have a home. Then there's the realization that people were killed and that people have lost everything. My aunt had to bury her son one year to the day her husband died.

There's extreme sadness but also a great amount of joy in how the community has behaved and came together. The majority of volunteers have been wonderful to pitch in and help and to lend and ear. Many volunteers have said there have been tears, but no whining. After you see the devastation, you are just happy to be alive and you really do realize that the things people lost aren't really important as long as they have their loved ones.

On a side note, if Joplin set up a toll booth and charged people to take the 'tour' through the damaged areas then we would be rebuilt in no time!

I posted a quick account here if you missed it:

http://www.americanwx.com/bb/index.php/topic/18858-devastating-tornado-strikes-joplin-missouri/page__st__380__p__715989#entry715989

Kevin Phelps was a weekend meteorologist at Joplinmet's station actually. Small world.

[JoMo]

Have people forgot yet, Jomo? Or is the help needed, still coming?

There are still volunteers coming in. There aren't as many of them as there once was of course. They are primarily removing debris from areas that aren't in the "Expedited Debris Removal" area, places where older people live or need help cleaning up their yard from debris. There's a steady stream of dump trucks heading from Joplin to Lamar, MO and 2 places in SE KS. The EDR area is where people sign the right of passage thing so the Army corps and contractors can come in and remove debris off of people's property, it is in the worst hit area, otherwise you just pile it on the curb and they come and pick it up. The government is covering 90% of the removal costs but that ends on Aug 7th, so we kind of have to hurry. I think around 250,000 out of 3 million cubic yards has been removed so far. There's still a lot that needs picked up.

Home Depot's Operation Blessing has been here helping as well. I think around 300 volunteers were from that. Joey Lagano, the NASCAR racer was here with that. They were restoring someone's home that still had a home standing. The people were living in a tent in the backyard.

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-stoy-roof-work-turns-into-a-brand-new-home-in-joplin-20110614,0,5179490.story

The Kansas City Chiefs football team is coming to help on June 25th or 26th I believe. There are volunteers here from California, New York, etc. They are all in disbelief at the damage and leave with new priorities in life.

There's an auction going on for the United Way in the Joplin area that has some cool celeb items up for bid:

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=givingengine

[JoMo]

NWS Springfield has released a more detailed survey and statement.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/sgf/?n=event_2011may22_survey

I did not know the forward speed of the tornado was less than 20 MPH.

I think their statement that the life-flight helicopter was blown off the roof was incorrect as the life-flight helicopter actually lands on the ground there by the ER.

[wxmx]

They acknowledge the chair in the wall and the hose in the tree as evidence of the strength of the tornado.

[Amped]

A lot of people are still wondering how the tornado killed so many people?

So i'll ask it now how did that tornado kill so few people? It destroyed 8000 homes with only 153 deaths, were people just not in them when they got hit?

And it took out the friggen hospital on top of it, People must be able to bleed for hours without dying those Bruce Willis movies must have had it right all along.

Edit: Not that I root for people to diing but I would have guessed this was a lot worse based on the pics and destruction statistics.

[HurricaneJosh]

It's nice to see a more detailed report, although I'm disappointed they still haven't assigned a max wind-speed value to the event.

[JoMo]

A lot of people are still wondering how the tornado killed so many people?

So i'll ask it now how did that tornado kill so few people? It destroyed 8000 homes with only 153 deaths, were people just not in them when they got hit?

And it took out the friggen hospital on top of it, People must be able to bleed for hours without dying those Bruce Willis movies must have had it right all along.

Edit: Not that I root for people to diing but I would have guessed this was a lot worse based on the pics and destruction statistics.

I've wondered that too. I would have expected the death toll to actually be higher after seeing all the destruction. It was 5:30 PM on a Sunday evening and people would have been either heading to church, out eating, out shopping, or at home. Since Joplin is the "go to" place since it's the largest city in this area, people from out of town were here as well. There were also people from out of town here for the Joplin High School graduation. People that were at home probably took shelter in either their bathtubs, an interior closet or room, or basements if they had one. There were severe injuries to those that sought shelter, so just because the death toll is not higher doesn't mean there weren't people in those houses. One thing that wasn't hit and probably saved lives were some of the mobile home parks around the area.

As far as why the death count wasn't higher, a religious man would probably say it was God, others would probably say it was just luck.

[Jonbo]

Seeing that track on the map with EF ratings, it's just so baffling that it literally become a monster right as it hit Joplin then weakened (relative) as it exited the main part of the city. It's one of those once in a decade or maybe even century storms for such a pretty large city.

[gymengineer]

The report implies at least spots of EF5 damage through that entire F5 band on the google map created by the Springfield office, which was much-discussed in this thread. While I agree with Josh that likely there wasn't that large a region of solid EF5 damage as literally depicted on the map (probably hard for them to acutally separate out the EF4 damage from the EF5 damage), it's still an incredible/unbelievable tornado that would cause consistently found instances of EF5 damage along such a long stretch. That's in contrast to the more usual scenario where like 5 houses receiving F5 damage can be isolated to a particular neighborhood.

[JoMo]

Crazy crazy story. This happened about 5-6 blocks from me probably. The church they went to is the one I wrote about.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x177904181/Retired-teacher-thrown-block-and-a-half-in-storm

[MJW155]

I've wondered that too. I would have expected the death toll to actually be higher after seeing all the destruction. It was 5:30 PM on a Sunday evening and people would have been either heading to church, out eating, out shopping, or at home. Since Joplin is the "go to" place since it's the largest city in this area, people from out of town were here as well.

Wasn't the HS graduation at the time of the tornado? That would account for why so many people weren't home when the tornado hit. It reminds me of how the highway in San Fran collasped but because of the World Series in 1989; traffic was light.

[JoMo]

Wasn't the HS graduation at the time of the tornado? That would account for why so many people weren't home when the tornado hit. It reminds me of how the highway in San Fran collasped but because of the World Series in 1989; traffic was light.

Nope, it was at 3 PM. It ended shortly before the tornado. The superintendent, CJ Huff, was walking to the parking lot to get in his car at 5:20ish when the first siren went off.

[thewxmann]

Wasn't the HS graduation at the time of the tornado? That would account for why so many people weren't home when the tornado hit. It reminds me of how the highway in San Fran collasped but because of the World Series in 1989; traffic was light.

Nope; in fact, at least one of the fatalities (Will Norton) was a recent HS graduate who was driving back from the graduation when the tornado hit.

[JoMo]

Interesting article that says out of the places they pinpointed most people died in their homes:

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1625119189/Most-tornado-fatalities-occurred-where-people-lived

Some excerpts:

Globe reporters were able to pinpoint where the storm hit 106 victims, or two-thirds of the 153 people killed. Of those 106 victims, 57 people, or 54 percent, died where they lived, including houses, apartments and nursing homes.

Thirty-four people, or 32 percent, were killed in nonresidential areas, including stores and churches. The others, about 14 percent, died in vehicles or outdoors, including the Kansas City-area police officer who was fatally injured by lightning while conducting rescue work.

Large concentrations of deaths were found at The Greenbriar, a nursing home, where at least 13 people died; at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, where at least nine died; and at big-box stores on Range Line Road, including Home Depot and Wal-Mart, where at least seven died.

*Keith Stammer, Jasper County emergency management director, said that in the rush of rescue work, nobody kept records of how many people survived or died in bathtubs, bathrooms, basements or other shelters at their homes.

But there are few basements under houses in the area because the water table is high, the ground is rocky, and in some places there are concerns about old mining tunnels, he said.

That seems to be the trend nationwide. Only 28 percent of new homes had full or partial basements in 2009 — a drop from two decades ago, when 38 percent had one — according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

*“THERE’S NOTHING 100 percent,” said Bill Davis, chief meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield. “Some people will be in the wrong place and still not be injured, and other places, people will take the time to be there and not survive.”

[JoMo]

From Joplin Globe:

*The death toll from the May 22 Joplin tornado has increased by one to 154. James V. “Jim” Cookerly, 49, was added to the official list of fatalities on Friday, according to Lynn Onstot, with the city of Joplin. Cookerly died Tuesday. He was among those afflicted by the zygomycosis fungus, authorities said. Memorial services for Cookerly will be at 1 p.m. today at Fir Road Christian Church.

[JoMo]

Just past four weeks, death toll has risen to 155.

Still a lot of cleanup work to be done. Joplin City Council has put a 60 day moratorium on new building construction so we can concentrate on the cleanup since the federal government is only picking up 90% of the tab until Aug 7th.

Home Depot has came and fixed up some houses and opened up a temporary tent location until they can rebuild.

Mike Bettes from TWC is here now and he has taken some new pics of Joplin, 4 weeks after he was here for the tornado. Ironically we had a severe T-storm warning tonight, that guy is bad luck! They will be Live from Joplin on Wednesday the 22nd.

He has posted some new pics from Joplin, 4 weeks after:

http://www.facebook.com/twcmikebettes

About 600,000+ cubic yards to debris hauled off so far.

[JoMo]

One month today. Also another death.. 156.

My ex-gf, who I earlier talked about, was pretty much in the path of the tornado was nice enough to write up what happened several days after it happened and she just sent it to me. I still have no idea how they all survived.

Imagine sitting on your bathroom floor with your husband, daughter, a blanket, 4 cats, and one bird. Take one second to think about that. Sitting there thinking everything would be okay. We are just going to have some wind. All of the sudden, the lights go out. They don't flicker, they just go out. You are sitting in this small room, dark, and very very scared. Behind my husband and I, I feel a loud object hit our house. My ears begin to tighten, I have this feeling like I need to chew gum or swallow to make them pop. That was the point in which I new we were in trouble.

Suddenly, I feel the layers of our house collapse around us. First the wood, then the sheet rock, then the brick, eventually comes the grass and dirt. My daughter can't hold on to the blanket anymore, and our only protection is ripped away from us. My husband pulls himself around us and we huddle together. We are screaming out for Jesus. We are begging for Him to protect us. I knew we were going to die. I was praying and screaming, and so was my husband. We were squeezing each other so tight. After the tornado ripped our house away, we were left there with no protection, nothing. This is when debris was flying and hitting us. I don't remember anything that caused me pain, nor does my husband. But imagine being on a slab of wood in a VERY windy and VERY angry storm.

My husband and I got hit with a riding lawn mower. I felt the wheel drive up my back and up my head. My husband had house shoes on when we entered the bathroom. When we exited the slab, his house shoes were gone. We actually never thought twice about it until days later when we realized he had them on when we took cover. My glasses were ripped from my face. When the tornado passed, my first instinct was to run. So I did. I ran down to the grass, and I looked around. It was hard to see very far without my glasses, but I remember thinking that this was a nightmare and I would soon wake up. It was hailing very hard, and my husband called me to come back with him. This is when I found my glasses. They did not do me any justice because we were soaked from head to toe and I had no way to clean them. Some teenage kid came from a block away and helped us get into our neighbors van.

We stayed in the van for maybe five minutes. This is when my husband called to my attention that I was bleeding. I looked down and my chest was full of blood. I followed the blood to my head. I then knew we needed help and quickly. We started walking. The feeling of the pavement on our feet was like Heaven. It was warm and inviting. It didn't hurt. We walked around gas lines, power lines, nails, debris, we saw countless dead bodies. We were in such a state of shock, I'm surprised we were walking. My husband and I both have cuts and holes on our feet. The odd thing? We never, ever felt pain, until we got to the hospital. We walked and walked, then a man in a van took us to the hospital. My husband said it was the first time he ever felt comfortable riding with a man that was drinking and driving. We were desperate.

We got to the hospital. It was mass chaos. We were barefoot, and bleeding. We were wet and freezing. This is when the pain came. We walked in, there was blood everywhere. There were people everywhere. We got checked in, we were told to wait. We were given a piece of computer paper with our names. This would be the most important piece of paper for the next 10 hours of my life. My husband was very close to passing out. We both had concussions. Thank God our daughter was there, and uninjured because she kept us awake. People were passing out blankets, and water, and food. I was in so much pain at this point, I just wanted to lay there and pass out. We waited for about five hours. They then took my husband to be worked on. I was left alone with my bird that made it through. I was shaking uncontrollably.

People kept coming by and checking my vitals. They would write it on my computer sheet. I was bleeding very badly. My fingers had been sliced. My tissue began coming out of my fingers. My husband finally got back. Then it was my turn. I no sooner made it to the ER room, and passed out. They put an IV in me, and then gave me some morphine. My body thought it must have been water because the pain was not taken away at all. I sat there, in a wheel chair, they were cleaning my head. I was told my wedding rings would have to be cut off. They gave me a choice. Either my finger or my rings. So I sat there and watched them cut my rings into four pieces. I had only worn the rings for two months. I'm still a newlywed.

The nurse told me that I was pushed aside in the lobby, and I should have been seen sooner because of my head wound. As you can imagine, I found this very reassuring (NOT). I was then taken to the "lac" room where I would be repaired. This room was a staff break room. It was full of people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I passed out again. I was made a palate on the floor. I was worked on by a doctor that I am very familiar with. I work with him closely. He was so kind, so generous. He fixed me up. I was told that my laceration in the back of my head went all the way to the skull. I was given three absorbable sutures, and then staples. My fingers have stitches as well. After I was done, I was taken to be with my family. They called out my last name. Some other people said yes, and I felt bad because they weren't my family, and I knew they were probably missing some of theirs.

I found my dad, and he told me to call my mom, that she was worried. I passed out again. The ride home, I do not remember. I do remember I was not going to my home. It was no longer there. Something that I have failed to mention is all the time that I was in the ER, I had no idea where my mother was. I didn't know if she was dead or alive. I knew that she was at graduation earlier that day, and I wasn't sure if MSSU had been hit or not. I tried to ask everyone I saw for information. One person told me that MSSU was not there, another said it was. So naturally I was freaking out. I completely forgot that the graduation was even at MSSU until someone told me. I knew my mom was dead. I was mentally preparing myself for the news. Anyone that was brought in by gurney, I looked to see if it were my mom. My husband was on "mom" patrol. I was frantic. This was between me being awake and unconscious. When I woke up, I knew that it was not a nightmare, and that I would have to relive not knowing where my mom was again. The greatest news was when I was in the "lac" room. Some lady, I have no idea who she was, told me that my mom was safe. I just broke down. I told the doctor that she was alive, and I was so happy. I couldn't wait to see her. I felt the hole on my heart heal when I knew she was alive. My mom is my best friend, and I couldn't imagine life without her. I couldn't imagine life without my husband or my kids. We have all survived, and it's by the grace of God. There is a reason that I am still here today. I am not sure what the reason is, but I am here. Thank you God!

[WxFreak11]

Thank you for sharing that story with us. I became very emotional just reading it, because her words are just filled with the horror, anguish and pain everyone there experienced. I am so glad they are ok. My best wishes and prayers go out to them. I am sure life will never be the same again for them and all that survived that nightmare.