David Eulitt

Joplin in 2011, the worst year

Scenes from the devastation of the EF-5 tornado that swept through the central section of Joplin, Mo. the evening of May 22, 2011. 161 people were killed in one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history, erasing a six-mile section of the southwestern Missouri city, destroying 900 homes and buildings.

   
Lightning struck the roof of the St. John's Hospital in Joplin, Mo. on May 23, 2011, the day after a EF-5 tornado swept through the central core of the city the night before, killing 161 and injuring 900. Severe weather hampered rescue operations with severe storms passing through the area. Riverside, Mo. police officer Jeff Taylor, helping with the rescue and security duties, was killed by a lightning strike during this thunderstorm.
   
While her Joplin, Mo. home was completely destroyed, Amy Jump, lower, her husband and three children all survived the EF-5 tornado which devastated Joplin on May 22, 2011. Jump and her neighbors were sifting through the rubble the morning after the tornado that killed 161 and injured 900, looking for salvageable items and photos. Amy was frantic to find her 5-year-old son's stuffed brown and white dog, Waggle. "He told me that's the one thing he wanted," Jump said, through her tears, "and I can't find it."
     
  
When the emergency sirens sounded during a severe weather alert that forced medical volunteers and patients into the basement of the temporary triage site in Memorial Hall in Joplin, Mo., certified nurses assistant Nancy Metzger, center, helped console Margaret Mosley, whose home was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the central core of the city the night before, killing 161 and injuring 900. Margaret's husband, William, at lower left, was treated with 17 stitches from the tornado, shielding Margaret's body from the debris.
   
Waiting for a severe thunderstorm to pass through Joplin, Mo. hours after an EF-5 tornado, William Mosley sat on the steps of Memorial Hall's temporary triage center as patient care associate Spencer Davidson held Mosely's IV bag for treatment of injuries that he received during the destruction of his home by an EF-5 tornado, shielding his wife of 58 years with his body. Mosely and his wife sought medical care on the morning following the tornado, having slept in the one surviving room of their flattened house, guarding against looters.
   
The medical helicopter at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo. lay in the parking lot of the hospital Monday, May 23, 2011, following a tornado that swept through the center of Joplin Sunday evening, causing widespread damage along the six-mile path of the storm.
     
  
The engagement portrait of Jarod Stice, left, and Jessica Bennett, right, lay in the ruins of their home in Joplin, Mo. on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following the destruction of a tornado that swept through the heart of Joplin Sunday evening. The couple found their wedding rings in the ruins and are still planning to wed on July 23rd.
  
Jerry Gibbens, top left, and John Spicer, center, with the Oklahoma Task Force 1, a search and rescue unit based in Tulsa, Okla., searched through the rubble Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
  
Dallas Lee, 6, held on to family friend Scott Rowan's neck on May 23, 2011, as Lee's mother searched for salvageable items out of the pickup truck the Lee family survived inside of during the EF-5 tornado that swept through Joplin, Missouri the evening before.
     
  
Matt McReynolds worked on sawing large branches off of a fallen tree at the home of his co-worker, Dr. Jay Farr of Carlson Chiropractic Center, on May 23, 2011, in Joplin, Mo., following the tornado the prior evening that destroyed a six-mile path through the city's central core.
   
After finding his wedding ring box for his fiancee, Jarod Stice found a for sale sign in his yard and pushed it into the ground outside his home on May 23, 2011, following an EF-5 tornado that swept through the center of Joplin the previous evening.
  
Sean Smith, DO, a physician at St. John's Regional Medical Center, coordinated the emergency triage clinic inside Memorial Hall in Joplin, Mo. on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following a tornado which swept through the center of Joplin on Sunday night.
     
  
As far as the eye could see, destruction from a EF-5 tornado left a path of ruin through the central core of Joplin, Mo. The tornado struck the southwest Missouri city on May 22, 2011, killing 161 and injuring 900. Insurers have already issued $1 billion in claims with losses estimated at $2 billion.
   
A shotgun was found among the rubble of the former home of Dr. Jay Farr in Joplin, Mo., on May 23, 2011, following an EF-5 tornado that swept through the center of the city. Volunteers helped comb through the debris and found the shotgun.
  
Kansas City Fire Department firefighters Rob Muir, left, and Chad Lunt, right, (Rescue 31) walked through the destruction in downtown Joplin, Mo. on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following a tornado that swept through the center of the city Sunday evening.
     
  
Scott Rowan sifted through the pickup truck of Trista Lee, upper right, on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following the destruction of a tornado that swept through Joplin, Mo. on Sunday evening. Lee and her family rode through the tornado inside the truck, unable to reach the church shelter they were headed for.
  
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon toured the city of Joplin, Mo. on May 23, 2011, following the devastation caused by an EF-5 tornado the previous day that swept through the center of the city, killing 161 people and injuring over 900. St. John's Hospital, closed and evacuated from the damage, stands shattered at background left.
   
A spray-painted mark on a home on 20th Street in Joplin, Mo. told search and rescue teams the human occupants were uninjured but their cat was missing on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
     
  
For the first time since an EF-5 tornado swept through the central section of Joplin, Mo., the sun rose at dawn on May 24, 2011 over the destruction caused by the tornado, which killed 161, injured 900 and caused nearly $2 billion in property damage.
   
Jon McCoy carried a dresser drawer filled with unbroken china plates out of his friend's home on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, at 2701 S. Winfield in Joplin, Mo. following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
  
SSheri McAllister hugged Jon McCoy, a family friend, for assisting in the cleanup of her home in Joplin, Mo. on May 24, 2011, following the EF-5 tornado that destroyed their home. Sheri's husband, Edward McAllister, stands in the rubble in the background. The McAllisters spoke with their next door neighbors the day after the storm and both decided to rebuild on the same spot.
     
  
During search and rescue operations on Tuesday morning, May 24, 2011, "Fire," a search and rescue dog, sniffed for a human scent in Joplin, Mo. following the devastation caused by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section. The dog signaled a positive scent but the destroyed building, a dentist's office, had human dental impressions buried in the rubble, which triggered the dog's signal. Rescue workers were searching for Skyuler Logsdon, a 16-month-old boy, who disappeared in the tornado. No bodies were found in the debris.
   
The hopes of a search and rescue team were raised when "Fire," a search and rescue dog, signaled a human scent in a pile of rubble on May 24, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. following the devastation caused by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161 and injuring 900. The destroyed building, a dentist's office, had human dental impressions buried in the rubble, which triggered the dog's signal. Rescue workers were searching for Skyuler Logsdon, a 16-month-old boy, who disappeared in the tornado. No bodies were found in the debris.
   
Jerry Gibbens, top right, and John Spicer, center, with the Oklahoma Task Force 1, a search and rescue unit based in Tulsa, Okla., searched through the rubble Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
     
  
Shawn and Joella Zaccarello of Joplin, Mo. pitched in to help sort through the debris of their uncle's home at 2203 E. 20th Street on May 24, 2011, destroyed by the EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central core, killing 161, injuring 900 and placing losses at nearly $2 billion.
   
A record album cover lay among the ruins of a home in the 2600 block of Jefferson Street in Joplin, Mo. on May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161, injuring 900 and nearly $2 billion in property damage.
   
Alexandra Kent, 19, removed her clothes out of her parents' washing machine while recovering salvageable items from the rubble that once was their home on May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161, injuring 900 and nearly $2 billion in property damage.
     
  
Thane Snider worked in the yard of his childhood home at 2606 Jefferson in Joplin, Mo. on May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161 and injuring 900. A statue of St. Peter lay among the rubble as Snider looked for power tools to assist in the cleanup.
  
Kevin Riley of Joplin, Mo. helped clean up the debris off of his sister's roof at 2332 Joplin Avenue on Thursday afternoon, May 26, 2011, following the tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
   
Storm clouds moved over Joplin, Mo. on May 25, 2011, following an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161, injuring 900 and nearly $2 billion in property damage.
     
  
Erick Castor, lower right, whose Joplin, Mo. home was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161, injuring 900 and nearly $2 billion in property damage, paused during a prayer on May 26, 2011, at a public forum for victims of the tornado to find information about assistance programs.
  
David Blank looked for a spot to place an American flag found in the rubble of a home he was helping clean up at 2411 Kentucky in Joplin, Mo. on May 26, 2011, following an EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section, killing 161, injuring 900 and nearly $2 billion in property damage.. Blank, who stopped to help William Brewer clean up his house, said he was driving into the area during the tornado when his wife wanted to turn around to put their plants away in case of hail. "It's the one time in my life I've listened to her," Blank joked.
  
David Blank found a photo album in the rubble of a home he was helping clean up at 2411 Kentucky in Joplin, Mo. on Thursday morning, May 26, 2011, following the tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening. Blank, who stopped to help William Brewer clean up his house, said he was driving to the area when his wife wanted to turn around to put their plants away in case of hail. "It's the one time in my life I've listened to her," Blank joked.
     
  
A tornado siren lay in front of the home at 2601 Jefferson Street in Joplin, Mo. on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
  
Athletic trophies inside Joplin High School were covered in dirt and rain on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
  
Jud Fisher, top left, planted an American flag he recovered from his basement atop his home at 2712 Jefferson Street in Joplin, Mo. on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
     
  
A truck for a disaster restoration company drove through a damaged section of Joplin, Mo. on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Joplin, Mo. following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
  
Angela Jennings, right, listened to Jeff Maxwell, left, her agent from State Auto Insurance about her home insurance policy coverage in the 2300 block of Joplin Avenue on May 26, 2011, following the EF-5 tornado that swept through the city's central section on May 22, 2011. Insurers have paid out $1.13 billion in damage settlements through November with the final total payouts expected to be between $1.8 and $1.9 billion.
  
Matt Maue, left, and Mike Stockglausner, right, both with Missouri American Water, turned off the water service in front of the former home of William Brewer at 2411 Kentucky in Joplin, Mo. on Thursday morning, May 26, 2011, following the devastation of the tornado that swept through the city's central section Sunday evening. The city has been under a boil water order since the tornado struck and crews are trying to disconnect service to homes and force water from the north end of the city to the south in an effort to stop the water contamination from the debris piles.
     
  
In an effort to clear the city streets and sidewalks for utility repairs, crews from Crossland Heavy Construction based in Columbus, Kan., used a trackhoe to pick up wrecked cars from 2406 Kentucky in Joplin, Mo. on Thursday morning, May 26, 2011, following the deadly tornado that swept through the central section of the city on Sunday evening.
  
A thank you to volunteers was spray-painted on the side of a home in Joplin, Mo. on Thursday afternoon, May 26, 2011, following the tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
  
     
  
Joplin, Mo. police officer Wayne Buck stands outside his patrol car on the site of his former home at 2109 S. Grand Avenue in Joplin, Mo., destroyed in the May 22nd EF-5 tornado. Buck and his family decided not to rebuild on their former site, instead choosing to commute from a nearby suburb. Buck was in his home during the tornado with his family, who were unharmed. Immediately following the tornado, Buck helped with search and rescue in his street clothes.
   
Todd Johnson, a building inspector with the City of Joplin, places a passed inspection sticker on the electrical junction box outside a new home under construction in the 2200 block of Kentucky in Joplin, Mo. on November 7, 2011. Johnson is one of five city building inspectors overloaded with site inspections in the post-tornado construction boom in Joplin.
  
Joplin, Mo. city manager Mark Rohr, right, spoke with Joplin resident Patrick Brown, center, about questions Brown had about his restaurant startup. Brown stopped Rohr after the reopening of the Walmart store at 1501 S. Range Line Road, rebuilding on the site of the store that was destroyed in the May 22nd tornado in Joplin.
     
  
Tawana Baker has been living in a tornado-damaged home at 1110 S. Moffett in Joplin, Mo. that Baker was buying on a contract-for-deed but has no insurance or proof of ownership and is in a dispute with her landlord over repairs, including the tarp-covered roof. Her landlord is also her adopted father and the tornado issues have strained their tenuous relationship.
   
George Allman sat in his heavily damaged home five months after the May 22nd EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Mo. Allman, who was buying the house on a "contract-for-deed" purchasing arrangement, was given eviction notice 15 days after the tornado by his landlord lender if he did not come up with the entire $3,868 still left as balance due on the contract. His landord lender kept the insurance settlement money. Allman's friends eventually helped pay off his balance and is now fixing the house with donated parts from other damaged homes in his neighborhood.
  
George Allman stood outside his heavily damaged home five months after the May 22nd EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Mo. Allman, who was buying the house on a "contract-for-deed" purchasing arrangement, was given eviction notice 15 days after the tornado by his landlord lender if he did not come up with the entire $3,868 still left as balance due on the contract. His landord lender kept the insurance settlement money. Allman's friends eventually helped pay off his balance and is now fixing the house with donated parts from other damaged homes in his neighborhood.
     
  
Chase Thomure with the City of Joplin, Mo. shoveled gravel in front of a tornado damaged home at the intersection of 23rd & Kentucky. A new home under construction at background left.
  
Headstones toppled in a small cemetery east of St. John's Hospital (in background) remain separated from their tombstone bases by the May 22nd EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Mo.
  
Utility poles and a lone tree are the tallest items on the barren Joplin, Mo. landscape looking southwest on October 28, 2011 on Kentucky Avenue at 22nd Street following the May 22nd EF-5 tornado. St. John's Hospital is at right.
     
  
Arthur Price, left, was shackled by Jasper County Sheriff's deputies outside a mobile home at 1101 S. S Street in the FEMA mobile home park just south of Joplin's Regional Airport on October 27, 2011. Price was later released uncharged as he was not a resident in the mobile home but Robert Lyle Sneed (not pictured) was arrested on possessing materials to make methamphetamine.
  
Alisha Courtney, 41, recounts her post-tornado experiences during an interview at Lafayette House in Joplin, Mo, a home for women and families who have suffered physical abuse or addiction. "Not having any place to go (after the tornado), I went back to an old boyfriend," Courtney explained. "I went back to him and he beat me terribly." Following the tornado, a 25% rise in women residing at Lafayette House is straining the agency's financial capacity.
   
Sheri McAllister will have fewer neighboring homes to look at out her picture window following the May 22nd EF-5 tornado wiped out the majority of their neighborhood at 2701 S. Winfield in Joplin, Mo. Sheri and her husband Edward McAllister have chosen to rebuild their home on the exact site of their previous home which was destroyed.
     
  
Luis Varrasa pulled electrical wiring for recycling out of a landfill in western Joplin, Mo. used for tornado debris from the massive storm on May 22nd. The tornado produced 3 million cubic yards of debris, 1.2 million more cubic yards of debris than was hauled off in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack.
   
One of the many streets in the FEMA mobile housing complex just south of the Joplin, Mo. airport has been addressed "E. Z Street." The FEMA mobile homes were assembled in one large site including three trailer areas following the May 22nd EF-5 tornado that left thousands of Joplinites homeless.
  
Lucas Owens, 21, fed a spoonful of soup to his son, Alex Owens, 2, center, in the FEMA mobile housing complex in Joplin, Mo. at 1604 E. Z Street.
     
  
Terry Martin of Joplin, Mo. sat outside her FEMA mobile home watching the television crew from ABC's "Extreme Home Makeover Edition" videotape a segment of a neighboring family living in the complex who had a home built for them by local volunteers, donating their time and services. The mobile home neighborhood, dubbed "FEMAville," is home to more than 500 white trailers housing the displaced after the May 22nd EF-5 tornado in Joplin.
   
Volunteers with Mennonite Disaster Service assemble a new home on S. Sergeant Street in the central core of Joplin, Mo, destroyed by the May 22nd EF-5 tornado.
  
Steven Weersing, 17, of Joplin, Mo. suffered massive trauma from the May 22nd EF-5 tornado that destroyed the central section of Joplin, Mo. "A lot of people want to see my stomach and all that….I don't mind," said Weersing of the injuries and fungal infection that ate away his skin and bone kept him at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. from June 1st until September 2nd. "That's mostly why I show them, 'cause I survived something really crazy. I died and came back to life."
     
  
An EF-5 tornado tore apart the second-floor apartment of Jordan Aubey, 27, a television reporter in Joplin, Mo., on May 22nd, 2011. The powerful tornado lifted he and the bathtub he was crouched in up into the skies. The resulting injuries…a shattered hip, and cuts and gouges across his face, hands, legs and feet…clarified his outlook on life. "I don't consider myself lucky, I consider myself blessed. The bottom line is that after you survive something like this, you're not wandering aimlessly. You do feel like you have a purpose."
   
Leona Rice of Carl Junction, Mo. was attending church services in Joplin during the May 22nd EF-5 tornado that destroyed the city's central section. Rice was about to leave the restroom at Joplin's Full Gospel Church when the church collapsed around her, trapping her leg in a drain, severing it. Five parishioners died in the tornado, which killed 161 and injured 900. Rice, who drove school buses for the Carl Junction school district, plans to return to driving school buses once she is comfortable with her new prosthetic leg. 52 days after the storm, she remarked with pride, "I drove myself home from the hospital."
   
Lacey Eagleshield of Joplin, Mo. carries the evidence on her face of the May 22nd EF-5 tornado that destroyed the central section of the city, where she received scars to her face from the deadly storm. "My fiancé and I were engaged before the tornado hit and we were going to get married this coming summer," Eagleshield said. "After the tornado, we were like, 'Life is too short. Why wait? Let's get married now." She and her fiancé were married on December 10, 2011.