Joplin MO : Tornadoes death toll rises, more storms forecast

[Jolie Rouge]

Tornadoes death toll rises, more storms forecast
Elliott Blackburn – 43 mins ago

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) – The death toll from a monster tornado that savaged Joplin, Missouri, rose to 125 on Wednesday and tornadoes overnight in nearby states caused at least 14 more deaths.

Bulldozers pushed through rubble in Joplin and teams searched through the night over a six-mile-long path of destruction looking for survivors but found no one alive in the rubble, authorities said.

At least 823 people were injured by the tornado that hit on Sunday at dinner time, and an estimated 1,500 remain missing.

Another wave of tornadoes roared across the Midwest overnight, leaving eight dead in Oklahoma, four fatalities in Arkansas and two in Kansas, officials said.

In Newcastle, south of Oklahoma City, a storm blew the steeple off Jesus Alive Church and flung it nearly 100 yards away, where it landed on the doorstep of the longtime pastor's 86-year-old mother, Lovina Frizzell. "I said 'Oh, my goodness, there's the steeple,'" Frizzell told Reuters on Tuesday evening as she stood on her front porch sweeping. "Yes, it's quite a mess."

The latest nasty storm was moving east, putting Arkansas, northern Mississippi, southern Illinois and Indiana at the highest risk for devastating tornadoes on Wednesday, according to AccuWeather.com.

A line of storms and tornado activity moved across Kansas City and into western Missouri on Wednesday afternoon, dipping in and out of rain clouds to wreak havoc.

One funnel cloud struck Sedalia, Missouri, population 20,000, on Wednesday afternoon, damaging homes and businesses, overturning vehicles, downing power lines and rupturing gas lines, Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond told local media. Search teams were rushing to tally the damage and aid the injured, he said.

The storms on Wednesday could hit Joplin again although the weather was better during the afternoon.

The Joplin tornado on Sunday was rated an EF-5, the highest possible on the Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado power and intensity, with winds of at least 200 miles per hour.

EF-5 tornadoes are rare in the United States but already this year there have been at least four. They are so destructive that experts said they can turn a house into a missile.

Authorities in Joplin established checkpoints and issued permits to allow homeowners to return to demolished sites and try to recover valuables.

So far 823 people had been treated for storm-related injuries, both in area hospitals and in a temporary medical center set up in the town's concert hall, which used equipment salvaged from the town's heavily-damaged main hospital.

In Arkansas, the National Weather Service reported a tornado flattened Denning, a town of about 200 people.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe were surveying destruction in their states on Wednesday.

The storms also extended to North Texas, where tree limbs and other debris littered Dallas-area roads. A Dallas man was found dead outside his apartment, apparently after being electrocuted from downed power lines, Jason Evans, a spokesman for the Dallas Fire Department, said on Wednesday.

About 10,000 people spent the night at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where golfball-size hail was reported, according to airport spokeswoman Sarah McDaniel.

Two-hundred flights were canceled Tuesday night and another 100 on Wednesday, McDaniel said. In addition, 61 flights scheduled to land at the airport were diverted elsewhere. There were no injuries at the airport, she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110525/ts_nm/us_weather_tornadoes_midwest;_ylt=AixvMCqeWjY2Vryn WDkSHGWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQxb2I2dnAzBGFzc2V0A25tLzIw MTEwNTI1L3VzX3dlYXRoZXJfdG9ybmFkb2VzX21pZHdlc3QEY2 NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMxMARwb3MDNwRwdANob21l X2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3Rvcm5hZG 9lc2RlYQ--

[Jolie Rouge]

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In tornado-weary Joplin, graduates eager to move on despite Obama visit
By Kevin Murphy | Reuters – 4 hrs ago.

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - Having the president of the United States speak at commencement would normally be the most memorable day in the life of a high school senior. But not in Joplin, Missouri, where President Barack Obama's commencement address on Monday will come one year after the deadliest tornado in the United States in six decades killed 161 people. "I'm pretty sure we will remember the tornado more than Obama's speech," said graduating senior Ethan Ritschel.

Joplin is still recovering from the EF-5 tornado - the strongest rating possible - that claimed among its victims one graduating senior returning home from his commencement and six other public school students. It also destroyed 7,500 buildings, including Joplin High School.

Students who graduate Monday said they will do so with a mix of relief, sadness and gratitude. They went to classes their senior year in a shopping mall building that serves as the temporary school for 11th and 12th graders. "It's bittersweet," said senior student Taylor Camden after high school seniors finished a commencement practice Friday. "It's going to be a sad, emotional day for a lot of people just to be at graduation. We all lost something, and everyone here lost their high school."

The high school, a two-story 1950s building, has been demolished and lays in rows of rubble behind a chain-link fence decorated with painted wooden stars that memorialize the school and victims. A few blocks away, graduating senior Danielle Campbell sat on the front steps of her newly built house Friday with the just-released 2012 high school yearbook on her lap.

Her previous home was destroyed as her family and small dog huddled in a closet. Campbell's neighborhood is rebuilding, but vacant lots and treeless horizons are still reminders of the disaster. Campbell said seeing the high school destroyed made her teary. "But I don't cry much anymore," she said. "You have to pick yourself up and keep going. I've become a stronger person."

The yearbook is titled "Back to the Drawing Board," a reference to starting over in what students call "Mall High School." Ground will be broken Tuesday on a new high school, middle school and two elementary schools to replace buildings destroyed by the tornado on May 22 of last year.

Allie Pederson, who dodged the tornado by getting into a large freezer with others at a convenience store, said attending school at the mall has been difficult. "It gives you an ominous feeling; it's a reminder of the tornado every day," said Pederson, a junior.

But an outpouring of generosity and support has given students some unusual benefits, Campbell said.

GIFTS, OPPORTUNITIES

Every student got a MacBook laptop to use all year. The prom was sponsored in part by singer Katy Perry and included discounted dresses and tuxedos, free makeup for the girls and top entertainment and décor.

The football team got to play at the stadium of the NFL Kansas City Chiefs. A softball player, Campbell threw out a first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game. "There were so many amazing opportunities we were able to get through school because of the tornado," Campbell said.

And of course Obama is speaking at commencement.

Ritschel said the perks were welcome but cannot fill the void for students who lost family, friends or their homes. "It's not going to replace anything," he said.

More than 3,000 students lived in the path of the tornado, which was up to three-quarters of a mile wide and stayed on the ground for 13 miles. The storm forced 4,200 students to attend temporary schools. The school district received extra counselors to help students cope with their fears and feelings, said Lisa Orem, director of special services. In all, 40 percent of students received help, with many of them complaining about fear of another tornado or losing parents, she said.

Some students said the trauma of the tornado changed them. Rachel Berryhill, who took shelter in a bathroom with her family when the tornado tore the roof off their house, said she no longer gets stressed over small things -- such as being "super neat" or wearing the best clothes. "I'm more relaxed," she said. "Not having material things doesn't bother me."

Pederson said she values people closest to her more than she did before the tornado and she tries to reach out to them more often. "I've become more caring, more attached to people," she said. "I'm trying to live my life in a better way."

At commencement, tribute will be paid to the two high school students killed in the tornado. Senior Will Norton died when the tornado pulled him through the sunroof of his car just as he was arriving home from graduation. Freshman Lantz Hare also died in a vehicle.

Commencement, normally held on a Sunday, was moved to Monday evening to accommodate Obama. A statement released by the White House said Joplin's "resilience and selflessness in the face of tragedy continues to inspire our nation."

The city has rebuilt at a rapid pace with the help of thousands of volunteers in cleanup, construction and other services. Building permits have been issued for two-thirds of the destroyed homes while 446 of 553 businesses have reopened.

On Tuesday, the anniversary of the tornado, the city has organized a "walk of unity" through the long path of the tornado. Many of the 428 students who graduate Monday are expected to take part. Many students have grown tired of the attention the tornado has brought, Ritschel said. "I'll feel relieved and I think most everyone will be relieved," he said. "It's time to move on with college or wherever life takes people."

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-visit-marks-trials-resilience-graduates-tornado-hit-192053999.html
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