Tornado kills at least 116 in Joplin, Missouri
Destruction in Joplin (Photo by storm chaser Brandon
Sullivan)
The huge tornado that razed much of Joplin, Missouri Sunday evening, killing at least 116, was the deadliest in the US since 1953. Many remain missing and hundreds have been critically injured.
The storm cut a six-mile-long and nearly one-mile-wide swath through the downtown, striking a hospital, department stores, nursing homes, houses, schools, and entire apartment complexes. The tornado “cut the city in half,” Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said, estimating that 25 to 30 percent of the town was damaged. Most of the 50,000 residents are directly impacted by the destruction, and hundreds of thousands more in the greater metropolitan area will face power outages, lost work, and other economic hardship. The Joplin tornado was one of 68 other cells moving through the Midwest over the weekend, including one that hit Minneapolis, Minnesota Sunday night. One person was killed by that storm; on Friday night a tornado claimed the life of a Kansas resident. More severe tornadoes are forecast for the region Tuesday.
The Joplin disaster once again lays bare certain social realities of American life. Masses of people live in cheaply fabricated housing, in towns with no public storm shelters and little forewarning of disaster. Thousands of the poorest people are exposed to both the raw force of nature and a protracted humanitarian disaster. Many lose what little they own and face the prospect of beginning anew without savings, insurance, or governmental help.
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