Joplin, Missouri, 05-22-2011, 5:41 p.m.
Twenty minutes... According to a report I read that's all it took. Twenty minutes from 5:41 p.m. for a one mile wide twister with 200 mph EF-5 winds, and multiple vortexes within its funnel, to destroy a six mile long section right through the heart of the city. As of 7-30-2011 there are 160 confirmed dead, making this the deadliest tornado in the US since 1947. Other, earlier statistics said 1,100 were injured. 7,000 households and 300 businesses were destroyed. 4,000 jobs were lost or affected.
If its easier to grasp, that equals out to just under 30% of the city.
I was told that volunteers from surrounding cities had arrived in Joplin within an hour to search for survivors and victims. Doctors were already en route/ flying in from Springfield, Kansas City, and St. Louis. These volunteers were on site and at work before most of the residents in the unaffected parts of town knew anything extraordinary had occurred.
And according to the host of my relief team, the extraordinary is still occurring in his little corner of SW Missouri, because we the volunteers are still pouring in - and with us comes hope. We bring hope because our numbers and effort have reduced what seemed to be an insurmountable task (from the first phase of Search & Rescue, to the current phase of clearing debris) into a short term issue. Its only been a little over two months since the tornado, and realistic estimates put the town being clear and clean by the end of this month.
This, but just a small portion, is what they still face:
I didn't get an exact count, but it appears that five of their schools were totally destroyed, with three more taking varying degrees of damage. The tornado lifted a nine-story, concrete hospital off its foundation - and moved it 4-6". It has to be leveled.
And yet, as stated, there is a spirit of hope within the community - and faith. There was no desperation, no despair, no depression in evidence. Some sadness, but overriding was a quiet strength and resolve to rebuild and continue on.
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