![]() "You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. ![]() The tornado tore a path roughly a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and six miles (9.6 kilometers) long, destroying a hospital, flattening a school, and slamming cars into buildings, the Associated Press reported. People walk a devastated street in Joplin, Missouri (map), on Sunday, hours after a tornado killed at least 116 people, as of Monday afternoon, and left the town in ruins. That's really what it looked like," Joplin resident and high school principal Kerry Sachetta told the AP.The especially violent twister may have been an F5 tornado on the Fujita scale, which ranks tornadoes based on wind speed and damage potential, according to Jeff Masters, meteorological director for the Weather Underground website.An F4 tornado packs winds from 207 to 260 miles (333 to 418 kilometers) an hour, while an F5 storm's gusts rage from 261 to 318 miles (420 to 511 kilometers) an hour.ON TV: Witness: Tornado Swarm 2011 airs Sunday, May 29, 9 p.m. They lived in a small travel trailer on their old lot through the winter months as they waited for a new home to be built.People walk a devastated street in Joplin, Missouri (map), on Sunday, hours after a tornado killed at least 116 people, as of Monday afternoon, and left the town in ruins.The tornado tore a path roughly a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and six miles (9.6 kilometers) long, destroying a hospital, flattening a school, and slamming cars into buildings, the Associated Press reported."You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. ![]() Living off Social Security, disability, and unemployment checks, the couple was unable to buy a new lot until a local charity stepped in. (Watch: "The Oklahoma Tornado From Space") But city rezoning rules, meant to safeguard against future extreme weather events, halted construction. (Read: "5 Tornado Myths Busted")Īll the insurance money that Steve and Pat Hammonds (above) received after the Joplin tornado went toward a contract for a new home to be constructed on their existing housing lot. It was the seventh deadliest tornado in United States history, claiming 162 lives. The insurance payouts were expected to top $2.2 billion, the largest in Missouri history. The Joplin tornado destroyed nearly a third of the town, affecting roughly 8,000 structures, including homes, churches, schools, and businesses. The tornado that devastated Joplin carved a path of destruction a mile wide and 22 miles long and, like the twister that struck Moore, was an EF-5, the most powerful classification for such storms. (Related: "Your Pictures of Oklahoma Tornado") That's likely to be the case in Moore, Oklahoma, the area hardest hit by the tornado, which claimed at least 24 lives. In Joplin, where I photographed the tornado's aftermath, the road to rebuilding was rife with obstacles, heartache, and daily reminders of what was lost. And the rebuilding process is long and painful. ![]() Any sense of normalcy is lost in the blink of an eye. The destruction is swift and unequivocal. Whenever a tornado devastates a community, there are certain common experiences. The Monday tornado that leveled a 20-mile stretch south of Oklahoma City, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour, brings back harrowing memories of the deadly tornado that ripped apart Joplin, Missouri, exactly two years ago Wednesday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |