JoMo

Been a few days.... Demolition started today on Franklin Technology Center and Irving Elementary school. It may be a short little bit before demolition begins on Joplin High School due to asbestos issues. The back of Irving pre-demolition. And part of the front of Franklin Tech: The first two pieces of St. John's component hospital arrived yesterday. This will be a concrete and steel structure that will house around 110 beds. They have gone from Tent -> Modular -> Component -> Actual Hospital in 2014-2015. Jasper County sheriffs deputies will finally get their overtime pay for working the tornado. http://www.koamtv.com/story/16213139/sheriffs-deputies-to-finally-get-paid-for-tornado-overtime The Joplin City Council is recommending 8 housing projects. Developers are getting $122 million in tax credits to build. Some developers wanted to build outside of Joplin and some wanted to build affordable housing in expensive neighborhoods. The council rejected those bids and selected these but it's up to the Missouri Housing Development Commission. http://www.joplinglobe.com/tornadomay2011/x1331365045/City-Council-backs-eight-housing-projects-proposed-in-storm-zone NIST has interviewed nearly 100 people (probably over that now) about the tornado in interviews, the report will be released next Spring: http://www.joplinglobe.com/tornadomay2011/x1202029522/Researchers-seeking-more-storm-accounts

Extreme Makeover Home Edition (Joplin Edition) will air Friday, Jan 13th. It is scheduled to be a 2 hour long show, with a 1 hour long behind the scenes before the show. Mark your calendars! $635,000 in grants have been given to Joplin to replace the park equipment at the schools and the Parks from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. http://www.koamtv.com/story/16137514/department-of-natural-resources-awards-635000-in-scrap-tire-grants-for-playground-projects-in-joplin Will Norton's monument/gravestone is finished, it's 6'3", the same as he was.

Thanks for coming to help out Wx 24/7. Joplin Globe did a LOOOOOOOOONG article on how they have to rethink what to do during a tornado at schools now. They talked with William Gallus from Iowa State, Bill Davis with the NWS and the school officials. They included 5 videos from JHS as well, 2 I had not seen before. Great article all in all: http://www.joplinglo...ng-May-22-storm On Franklin Tech: “I think it had a second surge there,” Davis said. “Estimates are that at Franklin Tech, the winds were up to 200 miles per hour, or at least around 180-190 miles per hour. There was increasing intensity there, kind of a sweet spot for the tornado, where part of the tornado was a little more destructive.” Gallus, who has observed a lot of tornado damage around the country, said Franklin Tech also would have been a dangerous place to be, in part because rebar didn’t reach high enough into the wall or deep enough into the foundation to hold the building together. “You can picture walls on a hinge — it wasn’t enough to support the walls with those kinds of winds and forces on them,” he said. “There should be at least 18 to 24 inches of rebar extending into the concrete floors and into the walls. I think it would have been a horrible experience if they had been in school.” The two vids I had not seen, looks like it would have been pretty hellish:

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Story about WIll Norton's family and how they are dealing with the loss of Will. http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x646422680/Norton-family-continuing-Wills-tradition Will Norton's last 9 months of life in Twitter form: http://www.joplinglobe.com/willnorton Memories of 3 families that had loved ones that died, including one who would have a birthday today. Glenn and Lori Holland didn't live that far from me. http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1295783806/Families-share-memories-of-previous-Thanksgivings-with-those-killed-in-tornado Now for some updated 6 month pics... these are pics posted in this thread, then updated at the 6 month mark: This was taken 2 days after the tornado. And 6 months later, the twin rental houses are back: Other pics... one of this house going up: And at the 6 month mark This was a 2 story house that had lost (blown away) part of it's upper story, this was as it was being reconstructed: And 6 months after, the front is finished. I wasn't sure how it would look when he told me he was going to make it rock, it looks pretty nice. And this entire block is rebuilding pretty well... this is what it looked like after the tornado and clearing of debris: At the 6 month mark, this pic was taken on the opposite side of the street looking forward toward the location the previous picture was taken. You can count 6 skeletons of houses going up:

I enjoy having everything in one place and this thread is a running history of something that will be remembered here for a long, long, time. I figured I'm already finding the information, I might as well share it so others who are interested can see what happens when an EF-5 tornado comes barreling through your area. There's a lot of people who will have their first Thanksgiving and Christmas without loved ones due to the tornado. They say time heals all wounds, but there are some wounds that will never heal, and the scars will remain forever. Enjoy the time with your families, even if you don't always see eye to eye and argue, because in a matter of minutes your entire life can be changed and they can be gone forever.

Greg Forbes ranks the Joplin tornado the 3rd worst in US History. http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x229375934/Expert-ranks-tornado-possibly-as-third-worst-in-U-S-history JOPLIN, Mo. — Greg Forbes, the severe-weather expert with The Weather Channel, has crunched the numbers to offer a convincing argument that the May 22 tornado in Joplin was the third worst on record in U.S. history. *Forbes then combined the number of deaths and the amount of damage to come up with a ranking of worst tornadoes. The worst was the Tri-State Tornado on March 18, 1925. It killed 695 along a 219-mile path in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, the longest on record. The second worst was the St. Louis tornado of 1896, which killed 255 people. The third worst was the Joplin tornado.

Around 1,200 people attended the 6 month memorial this evening at Cunningham Park in frigid conditions. (ok so it was like 40-45) This fountain was dedicated. It has 5 jets on the top, 22 on the 2nd level, 11 on the bottom. A plaque with the names of those that died: The first of 161 trees that will be planted in Cunningham Park in honor of the dead. The Thank You cards that were mailed out to volunteers look like this:

Today is the day............ It's been six months since the tornado wiped out 1/3rd of Joplin. Six months since it changed the landscape and took 160 lives. (+1 police officer due to lightning strike the next day) It seems like it was just yesterday that everything changed. It's nice to see reconstruction going on all over the area though, we still lack trees in a lot of areas though until that construction is complete. I expect to see massive tree plantings next Spring. This thread covers everything from right after the tornado and the confusion of what happened, to the 'search for JoMo', to the cleanup and rebuilding of Joplin. We can't stop tornadoes from hitting populated areas and destroying lives but we can learn from them. This thread provides a large amount of information of the entire process of recovering from a disaster such as this. I'd like to thank the volunteers, people that donated, and even the people following this thread, as it's somewhat therapeutic for me. ------------------ If the weather is nice, there will be one tree dedicated today for the 161 trees that are to be planted at Cunningham Park in honor of the people that were lost to the winds. A community memorial will take place at Cunningham Park to reflect on what happened 6 months ago. There will be bands, choirs, speakers, and If it rains, then it will be held at MSSU. http://www.joplinglo...nstrous-tornado ------------------- Bricks from Joplin High School (with an imprint of "Hope High School") are going to be sold for $50 + shipping in a fundraiser for the schools tornado fund. You can also get a mug for $20, the announcement on that comes Dec 1st .http://www.joplinglo...ding-fundraiser ------------------- FEMA has released a 6 month progress report detailing how much they have spent on Joplin's recovery. The total comes to $174 million dollars. http://www.joplinglo...s-after-tornado Here's a breakdown: • Debris: President Barack Obama approved a removal operation to clear loose tornado debris from public rights of way and residential property in the hardest hit areas at a 90 percent federal cost share until Aug. 7. Gov. Jay Nixon appointed the Missouri National Guard to provide state oversight and coordination. The Army Corps of Engineers managed the debris operation. More than 1.2 million cubic yards of debris were removed from rights of way and 1,505 residential properties. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources disposed of 103,707 items requiring special disposal. An additional 303,425 cubic yards of debris were removed from public properties outside the heaviest hit area. • Housing: FEMA identified rental properties within a reasonable commute of Joplin. It quickly became apparent that temporary housing units and community group sites would be required for displaced families. FEMA identified 586 households as eligible for and needing temporary housing. Currently, 559 households occupy temporary housing units. A total of 598 mobile home pads are available for placement of FEMA units. • Critical structures: FEMA focused on building temporary modular structures to replace two fire stations, and nine temporary structures, including a mobile hospital, for St. John’s Mercy Hospital. Public assistance grants for $4,054,329 (federal share) have been obligated for 78 projects for emergency services, and repair or replacement of public property damaged or destroyed by the tornado. • Schools: The initial focus was on reopening Joplin’s public schools by Aug. 17. FEMA paid for the installation of 129 modular classrooms, including special classrooms for chemistry, science, horticulture, music, art and an industrial laboratory. It also provided 67 safe rooms and support quarters, including three full kitchens, dry goods storage and walk-in freezers. Five new athletic fields were built to replace unusable fields at Joplin High School. FEMA’s Individual and Households Program has two sub-programs: a housing program and an other-needs assistance program. Now, $20.2 million has been approved under IHP. The housing assistance program approved $7,614,216 for 2,975 households, according to the FEMA report.The other-needs program provided assistance with disaster-related essential needs not provided by other assistance programs, including medical assistance, dental assistance, funeral expenses, household items, tools required for a job, and necessary education materials to replace those lost in the disaster. The program approved $12,582,961 for 2,636 households. FEMA specialists assisted with the formation of the Citizens Advisory Recovery Team, which encouraged residents’ participation in planning and rebuilding. The team is composed of city officials, business leaders, community leaders and residents. Through the summer, the panel was the host for several public meetings to gather residents’ views and suggestions. From those sessions, the team developed recovery and rebuilding priorities. On Nov. 7, the team presented its report to the Joplin City Council. It was unanimously accepted. Livewire's "Miracle of the Human Spirit" that will be unveiled today at the ceremony: I probably forgot to include this earlier. This is a song Kenny Foster wrote for Joplin. Kenny is from Joplin and his parents still live here. They lived over by the high school on the east side of it and were trapped in their basement. His story can be found here:http://wecreatemusic...-Joplin-MO.aspx PS: The 'formatting' on this forum seriously sucks.

"Ten for Joplin" Habitat for Humanity project is not complete. The families got the keys to their houses today in a ceremony that announced that MSSU has given scholarships to all the kids in the families. The project raised over $1 million dollars, it had initially had a goal of $800,000. The remaining money will go to Joplin Habitat for Humanity so they can build more houses. *A St. Louis family is bringing "Joy to Joplin". The Monschein family had fundraisers and they gathered up a lot of Christmas decorations, ornaments, lights, etc.. http://www.joplinglo...s-Joy-to-Joplin *Residents were urged to gather as many flower bulbs as they wanted. The organzation "America Responds with Love" donated 200,000 flower bulbs to Joplin residents. http://www.joplinglo...at-parks-office *Some 60,000+ "Thank You" cards that are going to be sent out to the volunteers who came to Joplin. Americorps is in charge of compiling a database of people that signed up to help in Joplin after the tornado. People that only left their email address and not their address will get e-cards. Residents can sign the cards at various locations. http://www.joplinglo...u-to-volunteers The cards feature a photo of two girls in front of a chalkboard that says “Thank you for loving us without even knowing us.”

Joplin Police officer Gabe Allen got a Christmas Makeover tonight courtesy of The Weather Channel and their Epic Christmas contest. He's in the top 3 finalists. http://www.weather.c...abe-allen-22192 Joplin Globe story: http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1295771765/Joplin-police-officer-recognized-for-heroic-efforts-on-May-22 Also, Joplin is reporting that nearly half (48%) of the housing affected by the tornado has filed to be rebuilt, repaired, or newly constructed so far.

Couple of stories the Joplin Globe has had recently. You all probably remember the Hope High School sign: The Superintendent wants to basically rename Irving Elementary (which was destroyed in the tornado) to Hope Elementary when it gets rebuilt on the land that St. Johns hospital currently occupies. The article mentions who put the duct tape on there and why they did it. http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x811211715/Superintendent-wants-to-name-school-after-iconic-HOPE-sign And who could forget the cross at St. Marys church? The cross is going to be taken up so they can secure it back down again in the same spot. They are going to level out the area, plant grass and then place benches so people can go there to pray if they want to but the church and school will likely be built bigger and on different land. Empire District Electric has acquired some of the churches previous land to extend their substation. http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x185148236/St-Mary-s-cross-to-be-preserved

Dude's Daylight Donuts is hopefully going to reopen next week. This is what it looked like after the tornado...Love the caption: "Well, this is a minor setback" The 10 for Joplin Habitat for Humanity got the volunteers they were looking for and the houses are expected to be finished by Nov 19th. Also, building permits are up, and 440 apartments are under permit. 800 units were left uninhabitable after the tornado. There has been some controversy with MHDC (missouri low income/affordable housing) and outside developers wanting to build affordable housing in neighborhoods that are building expensive houses. People don't want those kind of houses built where the property value will be lowered. The somewhat strange advertisement for the 6 month ceremony/memorial at Cunningham Park.92,314 registered volunteers have worked 528,242 hours. It is estimated that overall volunteers both registered and unregistered is pushing 250,000 people. EDIT: Death toll revised down to 161.

Yeah the temporary 60,000 sq ft store opened June 20th I believe. There's still some of areas that look like crap, or haven't been repaired or torn down in some of the really old neighborhoods. ----------------------------------------------------- People are still reuniting tornado pets with their families as well. Mostly cats, they have survived 5 months on their own. Whirley http://www.lifewithc...t-with-his-dad/ And Cranberry was just reunited with her family. Cranberry is special because she somehow survived 5 months and she has no teeth. ----------------------------------------------------------- EDIT: And I also forgot to mention, St. Johns will start deconstructing the hospital in January. No implosion due to possible mine shafts. The new hospital just got the zoning changes needed to build. They want to build an 8 story hospital and a 5 story clinic complete with doctors offices inside. They also hope to build a behavioral health center and rehab center. They may give some of the old land to Joplin schools to rebuild Irving Elementary. They also may give some to Stained Glass theater and some to the City of Joplin to build a memorial.

Yes sir, I think Wendy's, Slumberland, and Macadoodles have all opened as well. It really helps that Joplin is the shopping hub for many of the areas around here. When you have 200-300,000 people that come to shop then it gives businesses incentive to rebuild back. One thing I forgot to include in my update was the Joplin High School lip dub that was filmed by a hollywood cameraman. The media students did the casting, setting it up etc. This is the 11th-12th grade campus at the mall. They basically give you a tour of the school including the storm shelters outside. They are planning to do one for the 9th and 10th graders as well.

The most important thing in Joplin's recovery happened this morning.... Wal-Mart reopened. 82% of the businesses are reopening. The foundation has been poured at the new Academy Sports store. Home Depot will reopen in January. This is a cake:

I don't think anyone was really expecting that except Jeff Pitrowski (spelling incorrect; I'll never learn how to spell his name) and he wasn't expecting an EF5. If you watch Storm Chasers the TV show, they were all concentrated farther south on that day as well. The best dynamics and everything were located farther to the north though as outlines by SPC. I have looked at the radar data from 5:14 through the event and I'm pretty sure a tornado could have happened anywhere from Waco, MO to south of Galena, KS in any number of those couplets. It was a Sunday night so it was the CNN skeleton crew on duty. I just found this as well... In the Pitrowski video, there is scanner audio from the officers who Jeff told to 'get the sirens going' and from officers who were in the tornado. http://www.koamtv.com/story/15926974/joplin-storm-heroes

Couple of really interesting videos from a TV news documentary . Doug Heady (Joplinmet) is interviewed on these. http://www.komu.com/...ategories=2%2C5 http://www.komu.com/...=5&categories=5 It brings up the warning times and something I brought up earlier: An incorrect report from the NWS. This would have placed the tornado out of the actual tornado path: AT 538 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR JOPLIN...OR 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF GALENA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH .Also, National Geographic is looking for: - Traditional b-roll and raw footage shot by local news crews and videographers<br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; "> -Rescue crew radio transmissions and video footage -911 calls -Surveillance camera footage -Amateur videos shot by first responders and local residents -Cell phone footage -Podcasts -Webcams Emmy award-winning documentary production team is looking for amateur footage to be used in an upcoming special about the 2011 Joplin tornado. Unlike traditional documentaries, Witness: Joplin will be constructed entirely from original video and audio sources. The goal is to create a lasting historical document, to help communicate what it was like to live through the storm, and to shed light on the emotions that arose from its aftermath. The production team is gathering video and audio archive (professional and amateur) recorded between May 22nd and May 27th, 2011. If you have material to share, or simply want to learn more about this project, please contact Sarah at [email protected] or 773-936-7067.

Cunningham Park Post-EMHE rebuild (there used to be so many trees). Drury University designed a lot of this stuff, as well as some other companies. I forgot that the kids got out at 11:45 or something that day, I thought I'd have the park to myself. The city was planting smaller trees on this day in a landscaping way. I'm told there will be a memorial and tree planting going on Nov 22nd at Cunningham. On the west side of the park by 26th and Maiden Lane. They put up these bleachers and basketball court. It was empty when I got there, but pretty full as I was leaving. Just north of the basketball court, this is the Real Wood Playset that they spent a lot of time and detail on. Just behind that, where the angry looking man with the bright yellow T-shirt is, is a bench with a wooden fence behind it that has messages written from the volunteers that volunteered at EMHE. To the east of this, we have this little covered picnic area: And to the east of that, we have this little playset. It has swings on the other side, and appeared to be quite popular because it was packed with kids. The city has bought the properties behind this area, up to the houses that have been rebuilt back in order to expand the park. Directly in the middle of the Park. The Lowe's Heroes were building a bridge over the fountain and pond area. The fountain and pond area was not there before the tornado so I'm assuming either Lowe's or EMHE put it in. All the way on the northeast side of the park is the Memorial to the Volunteers. There are various brass items laying around the memorial such as a helmet and gloves and a sledgehammer. There's a plaque, some benches. Pretty sure the memorial itself is lighted blue at night. There's a bracelet looking thing that says "Miracle of the Human Spirit". There are 4 things with items gathered from the tornado concreted in them around the plaque. You can see the blue handle of a coffee cup sticking out, there's broken plates, a cigarette lighter from a car, etc. I was standing in the Memorial to the Volunteers looking back west across the park. Edit: National Geographic is seeking video so they can make a "Witness: Joplin".

Here's some pics I took on Halloween: This is going to be the Elk's lodge it looks like. This is on the former site of the Elks lodge where at least 4 people died, just in front of the previous building next to the bent flag pole that has been pictured. They have been digging this out for days now. It's kind of cool to watch them since they are using 2 dump trucks and moving the dirt to the back of the property so it's moving along pretty fast. AT&T and the gas company are also replacing all the lines underground in the areas that don't have houses, and even some that do. Back view of 4 of the EMHE houses. St. Johns with crane. I guess they are going to take it down via crane?

Greensburg was wider. Could have meant the actual EF5 damage area was wider or something? The actual track through the city was about 6 miles so maybe he meant that. It was on the ground outside of the city though like you said. The picture probably wasn't of the Joplin tornado as it became a wedge pretty quickly. There was an issue where people have been forwarding a picture of a supercell taken by Dick McGowan 2 years ago and they removed the copyright symbol and have been calling that the Joplin tornado. Extreme Makeover Home Edition even forwarded it.

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." ---------------------- 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.

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:

Not that I'm aware of. There probably will be local news coverage. Cracks me up, lol

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

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.