Joplin tornado 2011 pictures12/31/2023 ![]() ![]() The Joplin tornado ranks as one of the United States' deadliest tornadoes: it was the deadliest U.S. Overall, the tornado killed 158 people (with an additional eight indirect deaths), and injured some 1,150 others. The insurance payout was the highest in Missouri history, with the previous record of $2 billion being the Aphail storm. The damage-which included major facilities like one of Joplin's two hospitals as well as much of its basic infrastructure-amounted to a total of $2.8 billion, making the Joplin tornado the costliest single tornado in U.S. The tornado devastated a large portion of the city of Joplin, damaging nearly 8,000 buildings, and of those, destroying over 4,000. The tornado tracked eastward through Joplin, and then continued across I-44 into rural portions of Jasper and Newton counties, weakening before it dissipated. Part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak, the EF5 tornado began just west of Joplin and intensified very quickly, reaching a maximum width of nearly one mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city. The 2011 Joplin tornado was a large and devastating multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Part of the tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 The personal remembrance was written by 41 Action News digital producer Zack Perry, who lived in Springfield, Missouri, at the time of the tornado.View of the rain-wrapped tornado in Joplinġ58 direct (+8-9 indirect) Joplin is still healing five years after the disaster, but the city is now stronger than ever. On a night that was meant for celebration, quickly turned into an emotionally scarring experience that can’t be erased. I was only able to help to clean up for several hours, but the experience has stayed with me ever since. Even at their worst, with nothing left, they still had everything they needed: Their family. It was that moment I knew the Joplin community would be okay. When picking up wood that previously held their home together, I saw the family - a mother, father, and two kids - just hold one another and thank God that they made it through alive. ![]() I began to help a family with several others clean up their property while trying to search for anything salvageable in the debris. Entire neighborhoods had been leveled, the hospital was destroyed, and so many lives were lost.īut the Joplin community remained resilient. I remember pulling over on the side of the road and just looked around at the rubble that once was the city of Joplin. will celebrate survival and assess the futureĪ few days after the tornado, I drove up to Joplin and witnessed the carnage firsthand. READ: Five years after devastating tornado, Joplin Mo. When I didn’t immediately hear back, I began to fear for the worst.Īfter about 24 hours, I was able to confirm that all of my friends survived the storm, but not everyone was so lucky. I then took to Facebook trying to make sure that my friends and their families were okay. SLIDESHOW: Haunting photos capture the post-tornado ruins of Joplin in 2011Īfter hearing the high school was destroyed in the aftermath, my heart sank and blood turned to ice. Growing up in southwest Missouri, I had numerous friends celebrating their graduation from Joplin High School that same evening. The town had been obliterated and 161 lives were taken in a matter of minutes. The frantic voice of the reporter and graphic images of the devastation, destruction and despair paralyzed me. STORY: Remembering the tornado that laid waste to Joplin, Mo. With eyes glued to a TV screen, my mother and I watched news coverage of an EF-5 tornado barreling through Joplin. I was just finishing up my high school graduation party in Springfield, Missouri, when I saw something horrific unfold on live television. May 22, 2011, is a date that’s hard to forget. ![]()
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