Joplin, MO tornado breaks record

Victoria

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Well, it's official. With 117 confirmed dead and many still missing, the tornado that devastated Joplin, MO is now the deadliest single tornado on record. The last was in 1950 with 116 deaths from a single twister. My prayers and thoughts go out to my neighbors down south. I wish I could do more. I truly do. God bless.
 

KellyAssauer

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I can't watch the news coverage, it's just a nightmare. I hear about the injuries and the deaths and like so much other 'news' it seems to just wash over me.

Then they show the scene of destroyed homes and the rubble path and a little tiny voice in the back of my head whispers *what about the books?* and I hate myself just enough to turn the channel. =(

Isn't that awful?
 

Don Allen

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...and they're calling for more bad weather over the next few days....
 

Mom'sWrite

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My sister and her family live in Joplin. They survived with their home intact, but they were very lucky. The university where my sister works has been turned into a shelter for those who lost everything.

There's a lot we can do to help from other places, in addition to our thoughts and prayers. If you're on Facebook, go to the Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery page. They have a million ways to help and many companies are doing donation matching. Unfortunately, it looks like Mother Nature isn't done with them yet.
 

bluntforcetrauma

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Anything I could say at this point would be either too much or not enough. May G-d have mercy on us all.
 

benbradley

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I can't watch the news coverage, it's just a nightmare. I hear about the injuries and the deaths and like so much other 'news' it seems to just wash over me.

Then they show the scene of destroyed homes and the rubble path and a little tiny voice in the back of my head whispers *what about the books?* and I hate myself just enough to turn the channel. =(

Isn't that awful?
Here's some good news, the library was not in the tornado path, and is undamaged:
https://twitter.com/#!/georgialibs/status/72771459365355520

The link in the tweet goes here, which tells of the library being open for business and as a place for people to charge their laptops and cellphones, get on the Internet, etc., as well as some personal reflections and links of where to get and give help:
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/inside-scoop/joplin-public-library-safe-amid-post-tornado-chaos

Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery
https://www.facebook.com/joplinmo
 

Victoria

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I drive a school bus in Columbia, Mo, and the First Student bus lot in Sedalia, MO was destroyed today. I was at work, huddled in the cinder block hallway with my fellow drivers when we got the news.
 

gabbleandhiss

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Well, it's official. With 117 confirmed dead and many still missing, the tornado that devastated Joplin, MO is now the deadliest single tornado on record. The last was in 1950 with 116 deaths from a single twister.

(Not trying to be a jackass, I swear. I'm a southern Illinois native . . .) I think the 1925 tri-state tornado is considered the deadliest. Joplin is, currently, 8th. *Fingers and everything else crossed for those poor folks.* 1950 was when the weather service began keeping official records.
 

Victoria

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(Not trying to be a jackass, I swear. I'm a southern Illinois native . . .) I think the 1925 tri-state tornado is considered the deadliest. Joplin is, currently, 8th. *Fingers and everything else crossed for those poor folks.* 1950 was when the weather service began keeping official records.

Yes, but they aren't certain that it was a single tornado that killed over 700 people in '25. The last record holder 'officially' was 116 people, and at last count, Joplin had 121 with at least 20 still missing. This is from a single confirmed tornado. At least this is the info my source has. Gimme yours, if you would. I'm fascinated by weather and eager to learn new facts. Thanks!
 

gabbleandhiss

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Unfortunately, at last count, Joplin had at least 132 reported fatalities with 156 people reportedly missing. http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1190395389/Death-toll-rises-to-132-after-Joplin-tornado

However, those figures are in dispute. As I was typing this post, the following article was released: http://politicmo.com/2011/05/27/officials-report-152-missing-conflict-on-joplin-death-toll/

Way too many people, regardless which figures are used.

The Joplin tornado is thought to be a multiple-vortex tornado. So, it had more than one vortex, but wasn't a family of tornadoes. I'm assuming that's still considered to be a single tornado. At least, that's the way it's being presented by noaa.

116 was the figure for the Flint, MI tornado of '53. That was the deadliest u.s. tornado on record since they started officially keeping the records in 1950. But if you scan the list of the 10 deadliest u.s. tornadoes, including Joplin at #8, there was a tornado in WI in 1899 with 117 fatalities:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html

Yes, the tri-state tornado of '25 is considered to have been one continuous tornado that cut a 200-mile-long swath across the heartland. That said, scientists have discovered that tornado-producing storms are capable of producing one tornado after another. Given the information available on such an old event, it has been difficult for scientists to officially determine whether the tri-state tornado was a singular tornado or a family of tornadoes. But you're right in that there's certainly been a debate as to whether it was one or many tornadoes. Stats, all the same: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/?n=1925_tor_tt

Lists for the 10 deadliest u.s. tornadoes and 10 longest u.s. tornado tracks. (Not yet updated to include Joplin.) :
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/?n=1925_tor_gi

Bangladesh has had several massive, deadly tornadoes through the years that are considered equal to and worse than both Joplin and the tri-state tornado. :\ A list of deadly tornadoes across the planet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tornadoes_causing_100_or_more_deaths
 

mscelina

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Actually, the National Weather Service lists the Joplin tornado as the eighth deadliest.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/killers.html

Here's the top ten:



1. 18 Mar 1925
Tri-State (MO/IL/IN)
695

2. 06 May 1840
Natchez MS
317

3. 27 May 1896
St. Louis MO
255

4. 05 Apr 1936
Tupelo MS
216

5. 06 Apr 1936
Gainesville GA
203

6. 09 Apr 1947
Woodward OK
181

7. 24 Apr 1908
Amite LA, Purvis MS
143

8. 22 May 2011
Joplin MO
123*

9. 12 Jun 1899
New Richmond WI
117

10. 8 Jun 1953
Flint MI
116

Not that this changes the absolute tragedy that occurred in Joplin.
 
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Victoria

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Obama is supposed to tour the destruction this Sunday. He's catching a lot of flak about not coming sooner, but really, is the hype and hubub of a presidential visit what they needed in Joplin, especially when organization and time were of the essence? I made the mistake of reading some of the comments at the end of the articles on Yahoo, and some are simply cruel and sick. I've made a vow never to read the comment sections again. They weaken my faith in humanity. Yeah, the Joplin tornado is 8th overall, and number one since official records have been kept. It's only May, and we've already lost over 400 lives to storms this spring. Scary.