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Devastating tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri


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In today's episode........

Storm shelters. I keep forgetting to take the camera with me so I missed a few, but here's a couple I've seen.

This looks like your standard inground shelter, but it's in kind of a weird place, maybe in the garage?:

post-152-0-48501200-1317959113.jpg

View from the back:

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Believe this is a concrete indoor shelter poured inside the house, missing the top still:

post-152-0-83292400-1317959275.jpg

And believe this is one being poured:

post-152-0-79190900-1317959372.jpg

:thumbsup:

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Wal-Mart surprised (sort of) the students at Joplin High School's homecoming dance by bringing American Idol David Cook to Joplin to do a show at homecoming tonight. Wal-Mart also donated $100,000 to Bright Futures which is a charity associated with the school. David Cook and his band kind of let the cat out of the bag by eating at Olive Garden in Joplin though before the surprise.

I watched the Jeff and Kathryn Piotrowski chase video. It follows them from Kansas to Joplin where they catch the tornado as it crosses Schiffidecker Ave and continue east on 20th until they have to stop due to debris in the road. They were very close and were almost overtaken by the tornado. The inflow jets were very powerful. There's nothing really disturbing on the video and it has some interviews with people involved in the tornado.

Mark Lindquist's sister is on there talking about her brother. Her brother worked at the group home on Iowa Ave. His three disabled men, whom he called 'his guys' did not survive the tornado. He barely survived and was in a coma after getting the fungal infection. Joplin Globe did a story on him today: http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1385483463/In-wake-of-disaster-Joplin-man-rediscovers-love

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I watched the Jeff and Kathryn Piotrowski chase video. It follows them from Kansas to Joplin where they catch the tornado as it crosses Schiffidecker Ave and continue east on 20th until they have to stop due to debris in the road. They were very close and were almost overtaken by the tornado. The inflow jets were very powerful. There's nothing really disturbing on the video and it has some interviews with people involved in the tornado.

Yeah that part on the video on Youtube where Kathryn screams "BACK UP!" is scarily intense, and then part after you can just hear the desperation in Jeff's voice when he reports the magnitude of the situation.

"I have a very destructive, probably F4...maybe F5...goin' through the city of Joplin right now, on the south side of town and it's doin' massive destruction...It's...It's a mile wide tornado, It's tearin' up the entire city, I'm on the south side of Joplin right now..."

Still get chills from that.

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Yeah that part on the video on Youtube where Kathryn screams "BACK UP!" is scarily intense, and then part after you can just hear the desperation in Jeff's voice when he reports the magnitude of the situation.

"I have a very destructive, probably F4...maybe F5...goin' through the city of Joplin right now, on the south side of town and it's doin' massive destruction...It's...It's a mile wide tornado, It's tearin' up the entire city, I'm on the south side of Joplin right now..."

Still get chills from that.

There's only one scene that really bothered me in the video. It was when a lady came up to him and told him that there was a 'dead guy over there'. He tells her that there's nothing they can do for him because he's dead, and they just have to help the survivors. Another scene is blacked out where he pulls a lady out of her house.

He was majorly screwing up when he was trying to report where he was at to 911 though. He kept stumbling on where it was and where he was. He was either confused by the roads or just in shock by the huge dark tornado that was crossing Schiff with no sirens going. I think he actually lost the tornado with the rain wrapping around and nearly drove into it on 20th street as it was shifting slightly N of E. That's the part of the video where she tells him to back up.

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Couple of updates....

Joplin Eagles are going to be on Outside the Lines (football) on ESPN 2 this weekend.

A preview clip can be seen here:

http://espn.go.com/v...clip?id=7088429

Joplin: Outside the Lines

Oct 16th; 10 AM; ESPN2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Kansas City Star's new book Joplin 5:41 is for sale now on their website. 224 full color pages

https://www.thekansa...il.php?PID=1423

Use code JOPLIN11 to get $5 off (may work for people outside of Joplin as well)

The preview of the first chapter is here and has some pics of my area:

https://www.thekansa...t%20chapter.pdf

The first pic is the area about 3 1/2 blocks south of me where I take the majority of my pics. Most of the houses on the right side of the street (not pictured) are still there. All the ones on the left are not. A lot of the lots are still for sale in this area.

The third pic is the neighborhood about 2 1/2 blocks south of me. Many of the pictures I have posted came from this area. You can see the red house on the left side of the picture. The first pic was taken facing down that street. I've been taking pictures of this area once a month because it is building back up.

The fourth pic is that same area, to be more specific, right across 26th on Jefferson. You can see the tornado siren on the ground in front of this house. This is the house I posted a pic of the other day since it had been quickly rebuilt. The exterior is pretty much finished now.

This is the older pic:

quickcleaned.jpg

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Also, the city thinks they may be approved to fund thousands of storm shelters via FEMA. FEMA would pay 75% on personal shelters purchased, but that doesn't start until November. I believe AL and OK have done the same thing.

Also the citizens advisory team or whatever is bringing people to Joplin to sketch ideas on how to improve Joplin:

"AIA team members have arrived in Joplin and are touring the community. AIA Central States Region has brought approximately 60 professionals including city planners, architects, landscape architects and designers to staff the Community Design Workshop at Forest Park Campus. Sketching starts at noon today - so please by and share your thoughts and ideas with them."

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Tomorrow is the day. (Oct 19th) Extreme Makeover Home Edition will surprise the families tomorrow morning.

I know Good Morning America is supposed to cover it live tomorrow morning on their show.

They were filming at Cunningham Park earlier today, and the build looks like it will be on 26th and Connor and Jackson and areas farther north from there based on all the lighting and the road blocks they have set up.

*The build will stop at 5:30 p.m. Saturday for 32 minutes of silence in observance of the five-month anniversary since an EF-5 tornado killed 162 and devastated or damaged more than 8,000 buildings.

It also looks like NIST wants to set up interviews:

http://www.joplinglo...ews-about-storm

*The interviews will provide information about what individuals saw, heard, felt and did before, during and after the tornado. The researchers hope to better understand how people within the warning area responded.

The interviews will help the NIST determine the behavior and fate of those who survived and those who did not. The institute will collect and analyze information on injuries and fatalities, human behavior, situation awareness, and emergency communications before and during the tornado.

The interviews between Oct. 21 and Oct. 31 will be conducted in person. After Oct. 31, the researchers will continue to do interviews by telephone through early December. The NIST study is to be released early next year.

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Well JoMo it looks like we are starting to come out of this disaster and maybe be reborn . Have you been to duquesne yet ? a few of the houses on Duquesne road are not much more than a dust filled lot. Which I assume some may have been fatalities ( God rest their souls ) , But if you go down into the the village from either 24th or from Reinmiller and go back towards 24th to 26th it looks amazing as to all of the rebuilding going on. It is like a colony of ants after their mound hadhas kicked over .. Its just flat out friggin awseome !!... Laters matt on north side o Joplin..

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Well JoMo it looks like we are starting to come out of this disaster and maybe be reborn . Have you been to duquesne yet ? a few of the houses on Duquesne road are not much more than a dust filled lot. Which I assume some may have been fatalities ( God rest their souls ) , But if you go down into the the village from either 24th or from Reinmiller and go back towards 24th to 26th it looks amazing as to all of the rebuilding going on. It is like a colony of ants after their mound hadhas kicked over .. Its just flat out friggin awseome !!... Laters matt on north side o Joplin..

Nah I haven't been to Duquesne since about a week and a half after the tornado. It's good to hear they are rebuilding back though. I know there's still a lot of empty lots in Joplin. I noticed the other day that Bing's 'birds eye view' maps haven't been updated since the tornado, it was quite a shock when I realized that I'm getting used to the destruction and I'm forgetting what it looked like before. I've seen a couple houses in Joplin that have been rebuilt back and they have been sodded or landscaped completely. It looks pretty weird seeing a fully sodded complete house next the the remnants of a house though.

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Yeah . no kidding it still feels eery when I go to my parents house right by Kelsey norman elementary school and look up towards 26 th street and past and I can see all th way to 20th , it shouldnt be that way . My old neighborhood and the surrounding haunt on the south side of town are forever changed . But I have noticed kids ridng their dirt bikes and 4 wheelers where what used to be the old Connecticut trails and mud run area behind Dillons grocery and the Olympic fitness center . At least thats what it was called back itn the 80s when i was a kid lol ...

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thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Still waiting on the other 6.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/tornado-scarred-joplin-family-surprise-lifetime-extreme-makeover/story?id=14764451

*Kyle Howard was at the fire station when the storm struck. He longed to rush home to check on his wife, Jill, and sons, but duty called. Trekking through the rubble, Howard rescued trapped victims and tended to injuries for two hours without knowing if his own family had made it out alive.

Finally, fate intervened. Howard was miraculously reunited with his wife, Jill, who sustained minor injuries, and he learned that his boys, Keenan, Konnor, Korbin, and Kaleb, were also safe.Their home was a different story. All that remained of the three-bedroom house were the walls of the closet where Jill and their sons hid during the storm. In the twenty minute-window the tornado moved over Joplin, a lifetime of memories was erased.

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thumbsupsmileyanim.gif

Still waiting on the other 6.

http://abcnews.go.co...ory?id=14764451

*Kyle Howard was at the fire station when the storm struck. He longed to rush home to check on his wife, Jill, and sons, but duty called. Trekking through the rubble, Howard rescued trapped victims and tended to injuries for two hours without knowing if his own family had made it out alive.

Finally, fate intervened. Howard was miraculously reunited with his wife, Jill, who sustained minor injuries, and he learned that his boys, Keenan, Konnor, Korbin, and Kaleb, were also safe.Their home was a different story. All that remained of the three-bedroom house were the walls of the closet where Jill and their sons hid during the storm. In the twenty minute-window the tornado moved over Joplin, a lifetime of memories was erased.

This is a nice story and I'm glad only the mother had minor injuries. It is amazing sometimes how the only room in the house still standing is the one room or closet that the family sought shelter in. I do have one quibble with the article though. The material objects may be gone, but none of the lifetime of memories was erased in any way. The family is intact and they still have all those memories with which to continue sharing. The house and furniture can be replaced, but the children cannot. That is the blessing in the story.

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This is a nice story and I'm glad only the mother had minor injuries. It is amazing sometimes how the only room in the house still standing is the one room or closet that the family sought shelter in. I do have one quibble with the article though. The material objects may be gone, but none of the lifetime of memories was erased in any way. The family is intact and they still have all those memories with which to continue sharing. The house and furniture can be replaced, but the children cannot. That is the blessing in the story.

It's pretty amazing the number of people that survived in bathtubs too, heh. From what I gather from a lot of the survivors I have talked to, they are just happy to be alive. I watched a family with 2 young boys play in what will be the foundation of their new house (theirs was destroyed) the other day. It was very touching.

Having Extreme Makeover, Home Edition come is a HUGE morale booster for Joplin though, bigger than I thought it would be.

Family #2 and #3 were being notified as of 30 minutes ago.

http://yfrog.com/nw8hnsdj

The houses are located on the 23-2400 block of Connor.

913-MEDIA-PARKING-MAP.jpg

There should be a weather balloon camera launched sometime to keep an eye on all of the builds.

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And here are the families for the Extreme Makeover build and their stories. Some stories have been posted here before. Crystal Whitely/Cogdill lost children in the tornado. The Gonzalez family is interesting because they left their house when they were in the 'eye' of the tornado and took shelter in a ditch and survived.

http://fourstateshomepage.com/fulltext-extreme-makeover-home-edition-joplin/?nxd_id=228117

The Howard Family

Kyle, the father and a Joplin fireman, was at work at the fire station during the storm and spent the first two hours after the tornado not knowing if his wife and kids had made it out alive. He made many stops along the way home, through the rubble, rescuing trapped victims and tending to injured members of the community. Meanwhile Jill and their children, Konnor, Korbin, and Kaleb huddled in a closet. A door landed on top of them, which they used to deflect the debris. This ultimately saved their lives. After the storm, they had no idea if Kyle was alive, but eventually the family, along with older son Keenan, who was out of town at the time, was reunited. Jill sustained minor injuries, but their home was completely destroyed.

The Nevins Family

Kari and Justin Nevins love Joplin and prior to the tornado, their home was known as "the neighborhood's house," where kids could play, have refreshments and hang out. Kari is part of Bright Futures, a, organization whose goal it is to increase graduation rates through teaming with businesses and faith-based partners to provide for the needs of students. The parents, along with their children, Uriah, Avery, Cana, and Rhoen, ran to the cellar. As they huddled together, they felt the force of the tornado as it ripped apart their house. After making sure his family was safe, Justin immediately started helping others by searching and digging neighbors out of the destruction. The tornado not only destroyed their home, it also destroyed the entire neighborhood and school Kari worked so hard to help. Without a home, the Nevins are currently staying in the basement of a friend's house as they try to piece back their lives. They are now staying in a rental home 17 miles outside Joplin, but want to come back.

The Cogdill Family

Single mom Crystal Cogdill works for the Joplin Housing Authority. She has a passion for helping people find housing, but in a cruel twist, now finds herself homeless. In the tornado, Crystal lost her 9-year-old son, Zach Treadwell. Upon hearing the sirens, she hustled her kids inside the house and, following her emergency plan, huddled with them in the bathtub. As the home came apart around them, she felt her grip on her children weakening. The storm eventually overpowered her and ripped the kids from her arms. When she next saw Zach, his lifeless body was pinned beneath a utility pole. Stunned, Crystal finds her friend (also named Crystal). The two friends soon make a horrifying discovery; both of them have lost children to one of the most devastating weather events this nation has ever endured. Currently, Crystal Cogdill lives with friends and has begun the process of starting over.

The Whitely Family

Before the storm, Crystal Whitely was the ultimate single mother taking care of her three kids and working as a personal care aid. Crystal loved working with her clients that were disabled and elderly, but her kids are her life. The night of the storm, the whole family took cover in the bathtub, but moments later, the house was pulled off its foundation. Though she tried desperately to hang on to them, 10 year-old Shante and 6 year-old Trentan were ripped from Crystal's arms. Only Crystal and her 4 year-old daughter, Keana, survived.

The Walters Family

In 2006, Tom and Emily Walters bought a house with dreams of raising their family in the beautiful, small town of Joplin. Emily is a nurse, and Tom a coach and teacher. Together they dedicated their lives to helping and nurturing the happiness and well-being of others. When the siren sounded on May 22nd, the family didn't realize what was coming their way. It started hailing and then, all of a sudden, it got worse. They ran to the bathtub. Huddled together, feeling the roof rip off and objects hurling around, 9- year-old daughter, Chloe, cried out to her mom and dad, "Don't let me die!" Feeling helpless, all Tom and Emily could do was pray with Chloe and ride out the storm. As soon as it passed, Tom and Emily knew people in the neighborhood would need help. After making sure their daughter was safe with a neighbor, they ran down to a nursing home that had caved in and began digging people out. Along with

others, Tom and Emily helped rescue several people. With their home destroyed and unable to be rebuilt, they've moved from place to place.

The Nguyen Family

Thang Nguyen (pronounced "win") came to the U.S. in search of the American dream. Thang was in the Vietnamese Air Force and fought alongside the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Afterwards, he was able to move to the U.S. with his family and took a job with General Mills in Joplin. He was on the verge of retirement when the May 22nd tornado took away his dream. That Sunday night, Thang had a craving for seafood. Though his wife, Tiffany, had already prepared dinner, Thang convinced her to go out to eat at a local seafood restaurant. It was lucky for them that she gave in. The tornado missed the restaurant but tore apart their home. Had they stayed in that night they may not have survived. The Nguyens had been living with Tiffany's daughter Sara, and their granddaughter Alex. The Nguyens received help from a local church and are living in an apartment funded by insurance. However, the lease will be up in December, and Thang and Tiffany will be left with no place to live.

The Gonzalez Family

Having both been divorced, Natalie and Scott (who live with Natalie's son, Augie) didn't think they would remarry. But when the tornado took their home, they changed their minds. Before moving to Joplin, Natalie lived in California and once saw a special about earthquakes. She learned that putting a bicycle helmet on your child's head could save his/her life. When the tornado hit, the family huddled in their bathtub with Scott on top holding on to a mattress and Augie wearing a bicycle helmet. The roof flew off, and suddenly the Gonzalez family was facing the full brunt of the tornado. Scott was picked up off the family and thrown back down in the bathroom. A toilet from the second bathroom flew through the air and hit Augie. The bicycle helmet he was wearing shattered to pieces and saved Augie's life. Natalie got pelted with debris while trying to protect her son, severely hurting her back. While up in the air, Scott watched his family. It was at this moment that he realized, if they all survived, he wanted to marry Natalie and become a legal stepfather to Augie. When the wind started to calm down, Natalie realized they were in the eye of the tornado and their house was gone. Realizing they wouldn't survive the second wave, Natalie and her family rushed over to a drainage ditch to find cover. Watching Scott carrying her son with his good arm (the other suffering a compound fracture), Natalie knew Scott would be her husband. They survived the tornado, broken and without a home, but their family had grown stronger and closer. Scott proposed to Natalie a few weeks later, and now the family would like to start over. They're currently living in a rental outside of town, but the family loves Joplin and plans on driving Augie back for school.

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Barry Manilow will be in Joplin Oct 27th to distribute over $300,000 in instruments to the school.

The Extreme Makeover Build is progressing really well. Day 3 and there are thousands of volunteers here from all over helping with the build. It was reported that there was at least 8,000 volunteers who signed up, but they could only use 4,000. The date the show will air is currently scheduled to be Jan 20th.

A streaming webcam showing the build was just added to the local ABC affiliate website:

http://fourstateshom.../?nxd_id=228407

(Bottom left is the Senior center at 22nd and Jackson, Middle and all white is St. Johns new modular building, to the left of that on the screen is Mercy Village, an apartment complex)

Pictures of the individual houses being built (all a different style) can be seen on the Joplin Extreme Makeover Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/JoplinEMHE

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Taken on 20th street. About a minute after this photo was taken, this area will be destroyed by the tornado. Hampshire Terrace apartments on the left.

308496_10150440487199924_572829923_10432420_2092423169_n.jpg

As for Extreme Makeover Home Edition:

Good Morning America will have the reveal of the Howard family house Wednesday morning live. The other houses will be revealed at around 2 PM but you have to watch the show to see those. The date it's supposed to air is Jan 20th 2012.

There are 7 different styled houses and the designers are releasing the designs so anyone in Joplin can have a house using their designs and they don't have to pay the permit fees, etc.

Beautiful picture of one of the houses taken this evening:

315637_306265352723289_268495409833617_1456778_910636354_n.jpg

A couple of the other houses:

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Cunningham Park is also having work done.

All Wood playset (like we're excited to see wood after seeing destroyed trees and splinters of houses lol)

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Picnic area:

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Basketball goals:

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Some kind of memorial maybe?

302013_10150379801755209_93286195208_8277626_968633893_n.jpg

I know the city plans to plant 162 trees and plaques of the dead will be going up as well on Nov 22nd. I think this will take place at Cunningham Park.

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Don't forget, Extreme Makeover Home Edition reveal Live on Good Morning America (ABC) tomorrow morning!!!!

Just took some new pics:

Every house you see in the background is a new house that has sprung up.

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Blocked off due to Extreme Makeover. St. Johns won't be standing much longer.

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Cunningham Park, which was destroyed, (west side) gets a little love from EMHE. The Playset says "Boomtown" which is Joplin's theme or something.

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Completely rebuilt house from the ground up, there was nothing but dirt here a few months ago. They were installing a storm shelter under the garage.

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Completely finished house. This house was rebuilt on top of the basement.

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And Ty Pennington's special project. Each strand of yarn represents where a volunteer who came to Joplin was from.

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Here's the storm data entry for the tornado:

EVENT NARRATIVE: National Weather Service survey teams rated the tornado that tracked across the southwest through east central portion of Joplin, Missouri, as an EF5 tornado. Maximum winds were estimated to have exceeded 200 miles per hour. The tornado had a maximum width of one mile and an overall path length of nearly 21.6 miles, nearly nine miles of which occurred in Jasper County. The tornado killed 159 directly, three indirectly, and injured over 1150 people. Sadly, on May 24 a police officer who was volunteering from another department, was struck by lightning while serving in the response efforts and later died. Over 10,200 people filed for disaster assistance following the tornado. The EF-5 rating (greater than 200 mph wind speeds) was mainly arrived at by the total destruction of vehicles, including some vehicles tossed several blocks and semi trucks thrown a quarter of a mile. Parking stops weighing over 300 pounds and re-barred into asphalt were uprooted and tossed. Other factors in the rating included damage to reinforced concrete structures, and that St. Johnbs Hospital building structure was compromised. Seven thousand homes were severely damaged or destroyed and another 900 damaged. Other substantial buildings damaged or destroyed included the Joplin High School and Technical Center along with five other city schools. Numerous retailers including Home Depot, Sports Academy, Dillons, and Walmart were also destroyed. The most substantial building impacted was St John's hospital which will be razed due to the tornado. It was calculated that 2 million cubic yards of debris is attributable to the storm across its relatively short length on the ground. The tornado initially touched down one half mile southwest of the intersection of JJ Highway and Newton Road in Newton County where several large trees were toppled. The tornado rapidly intensified as it moved toward the intersection of Country Club Drive and 32nd Street where it crossed into Jasper County. Damage became more widespread as the tornado crossed Maiden Lane, breaking nearly all windows on three sides of St. Johns Hospital as well as damage to the roof and exterior walls on several floors. Two patients on oxygen were indirectly suffocated when the generator and a backup generator were damaged after power was cut off. Three additional patients may have succumbed similarly though sufficient data as to the cause of death was not available. An additional indirect fatality occurred due to psychological trauma. The tornado further intensified as it destroyed homes and businesses to the immediate east and north of the hospital. A church school was completely destroyed with the exception of a portion of the sanctuary. Significant damage to the Greenbriar Nursing Home resulted in the death of 20 mostly elderly patients. The tornado continued to destroy hundreds of frame homes between 32nd and 20th Streets, leading to nearly a fifth of the deaths. Three story apartment complexes had the top two floors removed; other two story complexes were partially leveled. Fourteen deaths occurred in apartments along the track. Eleven additional deaths occurred in churches along this path. There were two fatalities in a mobile home (Joplin has a city ordinance prohibiting mobile home parks). Well built structures that were heavily damaged or destroyed along this area included the Joplin High School, Franklin Technical Center and Irving Elementary, all of which were free of students due to the weekend. The tornado also damaged three additional elementary schools. A bank was totally destroyed with the exception of the vault. A large grocery store was also destroyed. The tornado crossed Rangeline Road near 20th Street. Damage included significant to complete damage to several restaurants and large long-span retail buildings; including Home Depot, Sports Academy and Walmart in this area. Twenty deaths occurred indoors or in the parking lots of these structures. Semi trucks on the back side of Walmart were thrown more than a quarter mile. The tornado continued to move eastward along and south of 20th Street destroying numerous warehouse style facilities, a portion of Joplin East Middle School, and residences through Duquesne Road. The tornado continued destroying numerous homes as it began weakening. It turned southeast toward Interstate 44 where it threw several semi trucks as it crossed the interstate and moved into Newton County at 32nd Street just west of Kodiak Road.

EPISODE NARRATIVE: A strong upper level trough across the central plains region and a strong upper level disturbance along with a frontal boundary in the area produced numerous severe storms with a few supercells across southeast Kansas. One cyclic supercell associated with the system produced a very large and deadly EF-5 tornado that hit the city of Joplin and then spawned two separate tornadoes that moved across southwestern Missouri. A separate tornadic supercell produced an EF-3 tornado that moved into McDonald County from Northeastern Oklahoma. Continuing thunderstorms lasted into July 23 as another line of thunderstorms moved across the region. This line of storms produced reports of large hail, damaging winds and a weak EF-0 tornado in south central Missouri. As the storms moved over the Joplin area, two police officers were struck by lightning while aiding in the post tornado efforts. One of the two officers later died of injuries from the lightning strike.

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That is insane.

The amazing thing was how quickly it was removed with the Army of Volunteers who arrived in Joplin. There were at least 80,000 registered volunteers who came to Joplin from all over the US and many countries. Army Corps of Engineers was instrumental in removing all the debris. There are still volunteer teams coming here and raking yards, cutting down trees, etc.

For those that missed this mornings GMA reveal of the Extreme Makeover Home Edition house #1, you can find it here:

http://abcnews.go.co...keover-14816520

All 7 families have been shown their houses. Cunningham Park dedication ceremony is tomorrow. As soon as the trees are planted it will look better than it did before the tornado with at least 3 playsets for kids to play on, and a memorial to all the volunteers.

All of the EMHE houses have Kevlar safe rooms built inside.

There were at least 13,000-14,000 people that volunteered from all over the country for the build. Tulsa and Joplin's Habitat for Humanity 10 houses for 10 families in 10 days build starts on Oct 29th.

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Omg, really unimaginable the force that would be required to do this.

It makes me wonder (not to discredit the overall force of the tornado) that since it threw vehicles around like toys (among an overwhelming amount of the rest of what was in its path), that could have weakened them enough to "help" get them out. I'm not the expert but just speculation on my end.

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The Rainsville tornado from April 27th tore concrete porches from the ground, tore a stone pillar from a house/broke it in half and threw an 800 pound, anchored safe 600 feet and ripped the door from its hinges, so I'm not surprised a tornado of generally equal intensity would be capable of such incredible phenomena.

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From dust to neighborhood in 7 days.. EMHE build complete. It may air Jan 20th 2012.

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Next up.... 10 (houses) for Joplin from the Tulsa and Joplin Habitat for Humanity.

http://www.tenforjoplin.org/

http://www.joplinglo...-building-blitz

Barry Manilow stopped by the Joplin School District this morning and donated $300,000 worth of instruments:

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Cunningham Park dedication tonight at 6 PM. Pictures to be posted later possibly.

EDIT: And I nearly forgot........ NIST has been conducting interviews with tornado survivors.

http://www.joplinglo...nado-interviews

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Well Ten for Joplin sounds like a great effort had to donate some to the cause and passed the link on.

As for just married :lmao: is that beer cans??

Thank you for your donation. (it's a hand up not a hand out. Habitat Homeowners pay a monthly mortgage ($400-$450/month) but pay no interest on that, they must also complete 200 hours of community service either building the house or doing other things. I think they must also get friends and family to do 100 hours)

I think they just scrambled around through the trash to find a bunch of cans and painted or taped over them or something.

Here's some pics of Ten for Joplin as of Oct 31st courtesy KZRG:

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308364_10150390823645209_93286195208_8350818_118777631_n.jpg

314596_10150390823980209_93286195208_8350826_1930913941_n.jpg

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There is an article in usa today this morning about public warnings and joplin

Page4A.

Interesting enough I am at a conference in Pittsburgh and the session tomorrow is on the Joplin EMS response.

Must be this one:

http://www.usatoday....64/1?csp=34news

The Joplin report should not be construed that the fatalities from the storm were the result of people ignoring warnings, stressed Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS' Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

"There were people who took shelter in basements, but they died," he said. "When a building receives a direct hit from a (EF) 4 or an EF5, there's nothing much you can do."

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If you've watched Jeff Piotrowski's video, EMS help never comes to Iowa street in the hour that he's there pulling people out of the rubble. He actually goes and finds a fire truck from the Carthage fire department at Hampshire Terrace Apts. and leads them back to Iowa street where they start searching for people. Also, on the video, the Joplin Emergency Manager mentions that they sounded the sirens the second time due to police reports from 7th and Blackcat road. Jeff was the one that told them to 'get the sirens going' and that report was relayed back to the emergency center. He also calls the Tulsa, NWS and requests they send as much help as possible to Joplin. I saw a youtube video of a group of people right across from the METS (Joplin ambulance service) barn and as soon as the tornado had went through (and it was still raining heavily), every ambulance was headed out of that barn. I'll always remember the sound of constant sirens later that night and the next day though.

It's just amazing how stretched thin everything is during a disaster such as this. I saw police cars and ambulances days after the tornado from places I've never heard of. I'm assuming they were small towns up near St. Louis or something.

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