Tag Archives: May 22

Joplin MO Tornado, several footages – 75% of city gone, 89 dead, many still missing 1

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Currently estimated to have been an EF4 (166-200mph winds) strength twister. Death toll currently at 89 and still counting. 75% of the city has been devastated, leveled – 2,000 buildings. Estimated to have been a mile wide. Debris found 70 miles away.

The tornado slammed into St. John’s Hospital, doing damage from the top to the bottom of the building. One witness reported seeing a victim blown out of the building when the twister hit.

Will add more video through the day as it comes in.

On the following video, from the person who took it, “The video i took while at Fastrip on east 20th street. We huddled in the back of the store until the glass got sucked out , then ran into the walk in storage fridge. Sorry for the lack of visuals but the audio is pretty telling of how intense the storm was. The tornado hits at around 1:20 seconds.”

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Deadly tornado rips through Joplin MO, deaths and damage Reply

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Picture above shows the damage to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., after it was hit by a tornado on Sunday

A tornado steamrolled across Joplin, Mo., Sunday night, directly hitting a hospital and causing many deaths, according to various reports.

The city, which took a direct hit from the tornado, according to the reports, was left isolated in the destruction, with telephone connections largely cut off.

“The power lines have gone down – we can’t reach anyone there,” said Bill Davis, a meteorologist at the Springfield office of the National Weather Service. He said any assessment of exactly how strong the tornado was will have to wait until tomorrow, when experts drive to Joplin, but he said that on a scale from 1 to 10, the tornado looked to be “on the 8-9 level.”

The News-Leader of Springfield quoted Ryan Nicholls, the head of the local emergency management office, as confirming that there were 24 fatalities. The number of injuries was unknown, the newspaper said. But in a separate call to the office, officials said they were still trying to determine how many fatalities there were.

The storm blew out the windows of St. John’s Regional Medical Center, a large structure on the city’s south side, and swathes of its walls were ripped off.

One Joplin resident, Donald Davis, described to the News-Leader driving through the city, saying that Joplin High School had its windows broken out and part of the roof missing. A church across the street was demolished, he said.

He also described damage to a grocery store, and a large building, the Hampshire Terrace Apartments.

“They’re flattened,” Mr. Davis said. “You just can’t believe it. There must have been 150 units. One lady had a bathrobe around her. Others just had blankets around them.”

Mr. Davis of the National Weather Service said there was a tornado in May 2008 near Joplin that “very much looked like this supercell,” it but missed the city. Still, that tornado, he said, had more than a dozen fatalities.

Check back for updates, photos and videos

Post from The New York Times
By NOAM COHEN
Published: May 22, 2011