Joplin Tornado Stories

Hi SC friends,
I am from Joplin, Missouri. It has been my hometown for over 30 years. Many of you probably remember the news from May 22, 2011. Much of Joplin was devastated by an F-5 tornado that evening. It flattened a six mile long, one mile width path, which was a curved one. One hundred sixty one people lost their lives, from a population of 50,000.

I had written some tornado stories and posted them on a social site, in the weeks following this event. It was one of my ways of working through the emotions of one of the most traumatic times of my life. I now want to share those stories with you. I will also post pics in my photo album. This blog is an introduction to those stories.

The tornado warnings started about 4:30. At 4:45, the hail started, with the ongoing strong thunderstorm. My husband said “If it gets worse, we should go to Mom’s.” (His Mom is a widow, and lived alone, five minutes from us ) I said “You go. I want to stay here. I promise I’ll get in the closet with pillows if I need to.” He was insistent, which is unusual for him about most issues. “No, I really want you come with me.”

To be honest, we had become used to the warnings and the sirens every Spring…we are in the middle of the US “tornado alley”. We still took them somewhat seriously, considering that towns near us had been hit before. A few lost lives and homes. Usually though, we got in our closets, bathtubs or shelters for a while, and waited out the storms without incident.

At about 5 pm, the sirens started, which means that a funnel has been spotted on the ground in the area. We went to my Mom-in-law’s. We all got in her bathroom. Then we heard it. That “freight train” sound that I’d always heard about, but had never actually heard. Some of the worst devastation happened less than a mile away.

Thank God, we lost no family members or property. Our two adult kids and their partners, my two siblings and their families, my nieces…so many, spread out over the entire area. Two major business districts were hit hard. Any of my loved ones could have been anywhere. Many of our closest friends lost homes, property and family.

On a positive note, I have never seen such selfless giving. In the days following the monster storm, our community and our country pulled together in an amazing display of “love your neighbor as yourself”. Total strangers giving to victims… giving food, physical labor, material needs, medical assistance, a bottle of water, or a tearful hug. Such a tragedy, but such miracles too!

Please watch for my stories and photos. I’ll start posting this week. Thanks so much.