Ten Years Ago Tomorrow...Joplin

[gblowfish]

EF5 tornado in Joplin was ten years ago as of tomorrow. Remember sitting up that night listening to the Emergency Responders dispatch. Went through Joplin about a month after it happened. Could not believe the damage. Estimated that it destroyed 20 to 25% of the entire town. What they've done to rebuild in the last decade is truly amazing. Great town that's been through Hell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado

[TLO]

I remember watching the storm develop that day. There was only a slight risk for severe weather according to the SPC if I remember right, so if wasn't expected to be a particularly active day.

How quickly the storm intensified was like nothing I've ever seen.

[lcarus]

Damn that's been 10 years already?

[Flying High D]

That day was mostly calm.

[gblowfish]

The tornado crossed US 71 (Now I-49) and I-44. Blew tractor trailers right off the highway.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

The new high school is incredible.

[Rukdafaidas]

I'm a Joplinite. Luckily, I lived south of the major destruction.
Unbelievable the amount of destruction. I still can't believe thousand's didn't lose their lives. I've probably heard over 100 stories of people who just happened to be in the only room that was still standing....including many of my friends.
I didn't have any close friends or family pass away from the tornado, but I lost some acquantances and many of my friends/family lost their homes and/or businesses. It's definitely something that I'll never forget.
If you ever have some time, google the butterfly people of Joplin.....pretty interesting.

[Chiefaholic]

The company I work for in Lebanon, had several volunteers and rented two buses to drive there to assist with the clean up. I recall bark removed from trees, houses completely removed from foundations, and being amazed at how few lives were lost in comparison to the destruction of property. I have pictures around here somewhere.

[gblowfish]

I remember the satellite photos that looked like God just took his hand and carved a mile wide swath through the town, destroying everything in the path. Tornado was on the ground for over 30 minutes and traveled over 20 miles.

[gblowfish]

I know the storm shelter business in Joplin has boomed over the past decade. Lots of houses in Southwest Missouri don't have basements. The newer ones have storm shelter safe rooms built in now.

[EPodolak]

What a storm that was. Aftermath looked like something from World at War.

[displacedinMN]

That day was mostly calm.

That is always my first thought.

Hope everyone there is good. Take care.

[cabletech94]

What a storm that was. Aftermath looked like something from World at War.

This exactly. We went down several weeks later, there was just devastation. Pictures didn’t show the half of it.

[BleedingRed]

Tornados are a horrible and fascinating thing to behold. As cameras etc have become more affordable people have documented them so much more. Seeing some videos you understand how a tornado that size with those winds can do what it did.

But some videos I’m just in awe of, like the Joplin footage or the El Rino etc.... just crazy powerful tornados in the wrong place.

[Marcellus]

Pretty crazy its been almost 10 years. You can rebuild the houses and structures but the trees take a long long time to replace.

If you are from around here its still very easy to tell where the tornado went through even where its been built back up because there isn't a mature tree in sight.

[Jamie]

I remember driving up Duquesne from 32nd to 7th not long after it happened. It went from downed trees to total leveled devastation, back to downed trees and broken limbs. Then once you crossed 7th it looked like nothing had happened. I knew tornados carved a path of destruction, but to see it so starkly like that was crazy.

[Frazod]

I remember watching it all unfold on TV while following along on the thread here. As Rukdafaidas said, it's amazing that the death toll wasn't higher.

[frank58]

My wife and I both lost our offices that day. Spent weeks sorting through rubble and salvaging what we could. Couldn’t see the scope of the damage that night in the dark. Seeing the extent of the destruction the next morning was just unbelievable and numbing. It was like a buzz saw that went through the middle of the town. Amazing that the death toll was not significantly higher than it was.

[luv]

They've refitted the Mercy Hospital there. Windows that withstand up to 250 mph winds, new framework, new placement of generators on site and off site, etc.

Several Springfield restaurants took grills and coolers to cook meals for workers and volunteers. Every church group that went to volunteer took loads of water and clothing. Several organizations, both profit and non-profit were constantly sending groups of people over at some point each week. Some employers that had people go volunteer even gave employees days off with pay. It was a pretty spectacular sight seeing communities work together.

[lostcause]

Went through Joplin the morning after. National guard was still trying to deploy and we had full access to affected zone. An absolute nightmare. These were some pics I took that day.


https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0001.jpg?w=897&h=&zoom=2

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0012.jpg?w=897&h=&zoom=2

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0011.jpg?w=897&h=&zoom=2

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0010.jpg?w=2400&h=

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0009.jpg?w=2400&h=

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0008.jpg?w=2400&h=

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0007.jpg?w=2400&h=

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0006.jpg?w=2400&h=

https://robsonabbott.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/joplin-0003.jpg?w=2400&h=

[HayWire]

Stupid story. Im just outside of Joplin. The damn sirens go off anytime we have a rain shower. Kind of like the boy crying wolf and I despise the city for setting them off too often. We finally got to where we just ignored them. In hindsight I can't forget. I was sitting on the porch... getting ready to grill.....sirens start blaring and I hollar at the wife "grab the brats". Got ready to throw them on and decided this might be a good one. (I've always had a strange fascination with storms). Grabbed my camera and told my wife I'd be back in a bit. My oldest jumped in and we headed that way.

I was outside of town taking pictures when I realized how big this thing is.

Me and the boy jumped back in the car and drove 90 all the way back to the house.

I shook my head and fired up the grill when the storm passed.

Didn't realize how much destruction was happening right in front of us (from a safe distance) until they started talking about it on the radio while I was grilling.

I hate it when people put the word "strong" behind everything but I gave this a pass.

Joplin strong.

I'll see if I can find my pics and post them

[Frazod]

Some of my earliest memories are of a tornado than went through Macon and the surrounding area when I was four in 1970. Tore the crap out of several buildings in town and pretty much nuked my grandparents' farm. Also did some of the weirdest shit I've ever heard of, including picking up building off its foundation and turning it upside down on the exact same spot, only damaging one pane of glass in a window over the door in the process. Using tractor and log chains, my grandpa and his friends were able to right the building and did more damage to it during that process than the tornado did. It also picked up the abandoned school house across the road, carried it intact a couple of hundred yards down the road, and deposited it near the spot where it obliterated a neighbor's barn. Rather than rebuild his barn, he just knocked out a wall of the school building, put in big doors, and repurposed it as a new barn. I just checked Google Maps for shits and giggles, and it's still there, over 50 years later.

[Monty]

We went and assisted with the cleanup after and spent 4 days there helping families find their stuff and helped the City with the FEMA qualifications. That was a horrible situation and one that I don't wish upon anyone. The middle of town was totally destroyed.

[HayWire]

Here's a video from a local guy that shows footage.

He started the song after Katrina but never did finish it until after Joplin.

PSA....kind of some eery shit for those who don't know what we're talking about.

<iframe width="545" height="409" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a7_iXoG_UDM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[D.A.P.]

Lost my office that day. Street my office was on was unrecognizable.

[oldman]

The worst damage I ever saw was the Greensburg, Ks one in 2007. A good friend was from there, so a bunch of us retired guys drove out there to help with the cleanup over the weekend. The whole freaking town was gone. Previous to the EF-5 there,the population was about 1500 and only about half came back after.

[The Iron Chief]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SWLvve8KN20" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
.
I remember being amazed when I first saw this video.
Unbelievable..
Damn Nature you Scary!

[smithandrew051]

Wasn’t this also just a month or two after the Tuscaloosa tornado? That one got overshadowed a bit by the Joplin storm.

[smithandrew051]

I was working an internship with ALDI at the time. The Joplin Aldi was destroyed and somehow everyone survived. The manager got everyone to the safest place and saved like 15 lives.

[Rukdafaidas]

Several Springfield restaurants took grills and coolers to cook meals for workers and volunteers. Every church group that went to volunteer took loads of water and clothing. Several organizations, both profit and non-profit were constantly sending groups of people over at some point each week. Some employers that had people go volunteer even gave employees days off with pay. It was a pretty spectacular sight seeing communities work together.

The volunteers were amazing. Thousands came in from all over the nation to help. Really remarkable. Our nation can be really fantastic at times.

[golfindude]

My office was east of Joplin, but I bet every insurance agent has that date 5/22/2011 locked in their memory. I too was so proud of the thousands of people who volunteered to help. In fact I heard they had more volunteers then they could use. My son in law had an employee who strapped himself, his wife and newborn to a toilet in their home while the home was destroyed around them. They survived. We knew someone who lived on the street just west of Rangeline. In early June we took a drive thru that area. We went 2 blocks. People were still walking around their property picking up things. I felt like a peeping tom so we left. My hats of to Joplin and it's people.

[Chief Roundup]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SWLvve8KN20" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
.
I remember being amazed when I first saw this video.
Unbelievable..
Damn Nature you Scary!

It would be even cooler if someone would do another one driving through now after 10 years of rebuilding. The comparison would be interesting.

[Flying High D]

The worst damage I ever saw was the Greensburg, Ks one in 2007. A good friend was from there, so a bunch of us retired guys drove out there to help with the cleanup over the weekend. The whole freaking town was gone. Previous to the EF-5 there,the population was about 1500 and only about half came back after.

I was with Mid Plains Power at that time and we had just completed converting that town’s electrical system from a Delta to a Wye power system. All that money of converting over to a new power system gone in an instant.

[displacedinMN]

Same day as the Minneapolis tornado. Guess I has forgotten that.

Big system caused a lot of problems


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ten years ago on May 22, 2011, North Minneapolis and nearby suburbs were hard hit by a tornado that tracked from St Louis Park to Blaine. We look back at that awful day: <a href="https://t.co/Nn5Xa5G1XD">https://t.co/Nn5Xa5G1XD</a> <a href="https://t.co/VgPLUslDRS">pic.twitter.com/VgPLUslDRS</a></p>&mdash; NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSTwinCities/status/1395885779759419392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[displacedinMN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OTD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OTD</a> A decade ago, a deadly tornado devastated a 22.1-mile stretch through Joplin, Missouri, with winds 200+ mph at times. We remember the 158 people lost: <a href="https://t.co/C2z5LrmxDe">https://t.co/C2z5LrmxDe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NWS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NWS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSpringfield?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NWSSpringfield</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOwx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MOwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/0sbCSHVBdx">pic.twitter.com/0sbCSHVBdx</a></p>&mdash; NOAA NCEI Climate (@NOAANCEIclimate) <a href="https://twitter.com/NOAANCEIclimate/status/1396076141048483840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[J Diddy]

Yes I remember it well.



Fuck that thing.

[J Diddy]

The volunteers were amazing. Thousands came in from all over the nation to help. Really remarkable. Our nation can be really fantastic at times.


I remember walking to my grandmother's house at 3 AM after I located my kids and seeing a convoy of first responder vehicles from cities and towns I've never heard of rolling into town. It literally dropped me down to my knees.



I'll never forget that nor the look on the faces of hundreds of people immediately afterwards. Expressionless. Shocked. Looked like a scene out of The Walking Dead.

[tyecopeland]

I was living in Springfield at that time. Went through joplin awhile after and it was amazing the damage but also amazing how quickly they had rebuilt some businesses.

[SuperBowl4]

Almost 51 years ago Janice Joplin died

[Flying High D]

Almost 51 years ago Janice Joplin died

We’re getting old. RIP hippy freak. Worked with people that went to school with her and Jimmy Johnson. The town and school and didn’t like her back then. She was to wild.

[REDHOTGTO]

i remember i was at a funeral in tulsa, towards end of service i kept hearing phones chirping all over the church. when we walked out we heard of the storm, you could see the cloud bank clear in tulsa, was quite a scary sight. i couldnt find my dad and brother as they were in a cooler in miami,ok and made it thru with no harm, what a scary day.

[philfree]

Happened on my daddy's birthday and we were all having dinner at my brothers house down by Rogersville. Today he would have turned 91 I think. Happy birthday Dad and may you rest in peace.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

The new high school is incredible.


Thank you.

[HonestChieffan]

we watched it build and the following day we had items dropped in the yard. One was a cancelled check we sent back to the bank. The owner contacted us 3 or 4 months later...quite a story for sure