'Captured: Joplin Missouri'

[Panther_99FS]

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/05/23/captured-tornado-rips-through-joplin-missouri/4460/

[TomSteber]

Jaw dropping. Unbelievable. Hard to wrap my mind around it. Just feel sick.

[Wing_Z]

Not sure if it's because we have instant worldwide communication...these days apocalyptic scenes like these are almost a daily event.

Not one is lessened by this, but it would be nice to see some planetary Good News.

Of course, the way people put their lives back together is the true test of the community's strength.

[Willy]

They were saying on the news earlier that it's the worst loss of life in a single tornado in the US since 1953.

[Rami]

Not sure if it's because we have instant worldwide communication...these days apocalyptic scenes like these are almost a daily event.

Wing_Z,

The United States is so massive that we have unique weather phenomena that are almost exclusive to our own country. Cold air from Canada and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico often clash over the Great Plains and the Southern-Southeastern-Midwest areas of the United States, and with storms moving from west to east because of prevailing westerly winds, it leads to strong storm systems, especially in the spring when these clashes are at their strongest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley

The only difference between this tornado and others is that it happened to be a bit stronger than most, and it slammed into a city of 50,000 people. That's not to say that what happened isn't tragic, but if it tore through six miles of wheat fields it would have been a non-event.

[redriver6]

The only difference between this tornado and others is that it happened to be a bit stronger than most, and it slammed into a city of 50,000 people.

that and it killed at least 116 people.

http://www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=621054

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-05-23-joplin-tornado-missouri-storm_n.htm

you can't see much in this video...but then again you don't really need to....

HdwKUjD6qx4&feature=related

[Wing_Z]

...we have unique weather phenomena that are almost exclusive to our own country...

Well...not really.

The US Tornado Alley is perhaps just the subject of more media attention than most.

The southeast coast of South America for example has its fair share of twisters too.

But I am convinced that we are seeing climate change on a global scale.

These things just seem more massive than we are used to - heck we had a tornado in Auckland the other day! (We don't get tornadoes)

And in the last year, rains submerged one-fifth of Pakistan, a thousand-year deluge swamped Nashville USA and storms just north of Rio caused the deadliest landslides Brazil has ever seen. Southern France and northern Australia had floods, too. Sri Lanka, South Africa, the list goes on.

[Rami]

that and it killed at least 116 people.

Point taken.

[Rami]

Well...not really.

The US Tornado Alley is perhaps just the subject of more media attention than most.

The southeast coast of South America for example has its fair share of twisters too.

Hence the word "almost."

[redriver6]

Well...not really.

The US Tornado Alley is perhaps just the subject of more media attention than most.



yeah really...

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html

[Wing_Z]

yeah really...
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/safety/tornadoguide.html
Uh no...not really, they are not exclusive to the area was my point.

Doesn't matter, it's tragic to see communities hit by the full forces of Nature, no matter where.

[Astoroth]

The figure of 116 was the official total released Monday morning at the 3am press conference. No more updates on the death count yet officially, but unofficially I have heard of at least 3 more bodies pulled from the Home Depot rubble, and several more suspected in the back of the Wal-Mart where it is still too unstable for them to get to yet. Also not counting individuals that have been found in their collapsed homes by family members digging for them, of which there have been several unofficial reports.

I will be in Joplin today delivering relief supplies, and assisting with the Red Cross at the relief station for the rescue workers. Maybe I will know more by tonight.

By the way,

Picture #17, taken near Lamar Mo......That's 11 miles from my house.

St. John's Hospital, which features so prominently in many of the pictures.....that's where my daughter was born, where my wife had her hysterectomy, and where my hand was operated on when it was caught in the machinery at work.

the Wal-Mart in picture #22, been in there more times than I can count.

So you see, this is a very emotional and personal topic for me, so I would really rather that we concentrate on the fact that so far over 116 people have lost their lives, and the heart of this fine city has been devastated, rather than worrying over which area of what country has the most tornadoes.....thanks....

[redriver6]

So you see, this is a very emotional and personal topic for me, so I would really rather that we concentrate on the fact that so far over 116 people have lost their lives, and the heart of this fine city has been devastated, rather than worrying over which area of what country has the most tornadoes.....thanks....

you are absolutely right....be careful...and watch the weather...i see that Joplin is under threat of more storms today and another tornado outbreak is possible...

[pilottj]

Aww hell, that is terrible. I hope Greg and the great folks at Mizzou Aviation are OK. When I flew that AA-1 Yankee ferry trip years ago, I spent a few days in Joplin. Greg was working the FBO when I stopped in late one Saturday night for fuel. He recognized I had a case of 'getthere-itis' as I was planning on one more leg, but was probably a little more tired than I realized...the fates had instead intervened during the runup and gave my plane a case bad magnitos, and forced my hand to stay there. Greg took me downtown in his own car, on his own time to the hotel area, he had some connections with some of the ladies at one of the hotels and got me a room when they were supposedly booked full. Being the midwest, my plane wasn't going to get fixed on Sunday, which was fine, I was running a little ragged and needed the rest. Monday morning they put my plane to the front of the maintainence que, and by noon I was off the ground on my way. I will never forget Greg's kindness and the great staff at Mizzou. I dearly hope they are safe and OK.

[Astoroth]

You know all those post-holocaust movies, after the nukes were dropped, how desolate the landscape looks....

That's what Joplin looks like. And the official death toll is now at 124, making this the eighth deadliest tornado in the US.

Took me two hours to get into Joplin to the RC Command Center. It's not that the distance was that far, but ALL the landmarks are gone. The buildings, the street signs, and in some cases the streets themselves are gone.

The pictures you see on the web, while horrible, don't do justice to the real thing. Joplin is unrecognizable. It literally looks like a nuke went off and flattened everything.

After dropping off the trailerload of supplies I had planned on working at the relief center for the emergency personnel, but they were fully staffed at the time and I wasn't needed. So I went down to one of the shelters set up at one of the Baptist churches, and volunteered there, serving sandwiches and bottled water, and listening to the stories. Everyone there is still shell-shocked, and who could blame them.

One of the most memorable stories was an elderly couple that had no basement, and no where to go, so they got in their linen closet. They could hear the roaring, and the crashing as their house was destroyed, and said it felt like being in an earthquake and a blender at the same time. when the storm was over, miraculously they were unharmed, but afraid to come out of the closet and see what was left. Nothing. Literally nothing was left of their house but the foundation slab, and the closet they were in. The rest of the house was gone. Hard to believe, but Stan showed me a picture his wife Ellen took with her cell phone. There is a massive tree stump in the yard, that ends about a foot off the ground in a twisted splintery mess. Behind that is the concrete slab where the house used to stand. And standing in the middle of that slab is a rickety looking closet, that looks as if a stiff wind would blow it over, completely intact. That's it. Not even any furniture remained.

Some people don't believe in God. Stan and Ellen believe that God wrapped his hand around that closet and kept them safe from the tornado. And after seeing that picture, so do I.

[flaminghotsauce]

They're still finding survivors and bodies in Joplin. This morning the lastest number I saw was 118 killed, but last night I noted an article that said over 1,500 are still missing!