(UPDATED) On the Scene in Joplin
UPDATE: The Joplin Globe is now reporting 116 dead. More than 1,000 people have been transported to area hospitals and there is every indication the death toll could go still higher. Hampering the search and rescue efforts is the continuing severe weather. The Joplin area has been under severe thunderstorm warnings several times today and the entire Four States region is under a flash flood warning.
Even more frightening, I talked to the National Weather Service this morning after I submitted the story and meteorologists are calling for an elevated risk for tornadoes Tuesday. Joplin is by no means out of the woods and the severe weather is expected to continue until at least Wednesday or Thursday.
Adding insult to injury, the flash flooding will impact both the corn and wheat crops adversely. This is a farming area and with the loss of jobs due to the tornado, the economic impact of a bad crop or two will be a difficult burden to bear for the communities in the metro area.
—————————————————————————-
I heard the news that a tornado had struck Joplin, Missouri, at about 6:15 p.m. on Sunday.
This was devastating news, as Joplin is only about 20 minutes from the small southeast Kansas town where I live.
As a journalist my job was clear — I had to climb in my car and go get photos. It is in some ways a ghoulish way to make a living. We don’t always like parts of our job, but we do what we must.
What I saw was utterly impossible to describe. National Weather Service Meteorologist Doug Cramer told me on Monday the twister was an EF-4 or possibly EF-5, but the damage was so extensive it may be days before a final determination can be made. Ninety people are dead as of this writing.
As a human being I found it impossible to leave without helping, and stopped to give what little aid I could.
Prayers. Thank you for your account and being there to help out and share it with us. Very sad.
Obama hates white people?
At the risk of feeding a troll, I am compelled to add this is not cool, funny, appropriate or called for.
Dude, you have a mental sickness. Get help now.
To bad the reaction of the previous 2 gentleman wasn’t the response generated by the equally stupid remarks against President Bush circa 2005 (ie aftermath of Katrina.)
It’s pretty clear by word and deed that Obama not only hates white people, he hates the white half of himself.
This is my dad’s hometown most of the family on his side lives in or near here Thankfully there all alive but most if not all the houses he lived in are gone now.
G-d’s speed to the Americans experiencing this terrible weather.
I live about 60 miles from Joplin, the lethal tornados the US has seen as of late have been quite scary and this one is a little to close for comfort.
Once again we hear the old meme, “Let ‘em pick there selfs up by theys bootstraps or fudge ‘em” from the Pajamas Media clown brigade. Why is it that the southern bible thumping conservatives go all silent when catastrophe hits THEM? Didn’t Jesus strike New Orleans cause he was pissed off at queers? Let the churches love and take care of the dispossessed, not the gubment. That works swell when you are deemed worthy of the church’s love. If your what they consider to be an outcast, well, it pretty much sucks to be you, now don’t it? It’s like the old and tired joke, “What’s the diffence between a divorce and a tornado?” “Either one, someone’s gonna lose a trailer”.
To post what you have written here, you are clearly a sick puppy.
I am praying for the residents of Joplin who have been struck by this catastrophe. May God be with them as they try to put their lives back together.
You know Mika, I just got done defending you repeatedly on my other post. I don’t know where any of that came from. No one said anything about “pick themselves up by their boot straps or fudge ‘em.”
I really am disappointed in all of the people injecting politics into this. This is a huge tragedy. I have friends who have lost loved ones over there. And for the record, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief went into New Orleans to help anyone who needed it regardless of race, creed, color or sexual orientation. Moreover a local SBD team leader still takes a team down there every year to continue to build and repair houses.
This has nothing to do with politics, kindly keep it out of the discussion.
Patrick
“Let ‘em pick there selfs up by theys bootstraps or fudge ‘em”
Really? I didn’t read any comments or articles here that said that, or anything at all like that.
Perhaps you could provide a link to any article or comment here that said that? Thanks!
They ‘go silent’ because they roll up[ their sleeves and go to work cleaning up, fixing things, and rebuilding their communities – Just like all the Iowa flood victims a couple years back.
You’re really quite the loser, mika. Absolutely pathetic you are.
I was raised in Iowa, I thought at the time, you heard zip-nada about the flood on national news, you didn’t hear about any “stars” lending their words or $$$ to help them.. You were, of course, still hearing about Katrina.. It’s a shame.
If you had any shame, you would hide your face, join a monastery, and hope to someday deserve forgiveness.
“Didn’t Jesus strike New Orleans cause he was pissed off at queers?”
Who ever said that? Maybe Robertson or Falwell, but they are (were in Falwell’s case) two guys. Two guys not from Missouri. And yet I see this tired theme constantly on sites: because two guys once said that New Orleans deserved it, that means it’s ok for you lefties to hate on the entire South and and celebrate every storm that kills people.
That’s disgusting behavior, whether from Robertson or you. You are behaving the same way, so just stop it. Stop it now.
I say this as someone who gave thousands of dollars to help Katrina refugees at the centers set up in Texas. What did you do for them??? BTW, Texas sure doesn’t catch any breaks from you lefties for helping the many thousands of Katrina/Rita refugees, but virtue is its own reward. We’ll just keep helping people in need–you can just keep on celebrating their devastation.
“Why is it that the southern bible thumping conservatives go all silent when catastrophe hits THEM?”
Umm, because they have work to do?
See, the difference is, New Orleans was preventable…
The Democrat leadership saw it coming, had plenty of time to evacuate, and refused multiple offers from bus and train providers.
The People who refused to evacuate simply sat on their roofs with outstretched arms and said “why isnt there a government program to whisk me away?”
And thus it became a POLITICAL disaster….New Orleans was primarily a POLITICAL story, driven by the POLITICALLY motivated Media to cast everything as “black/white” POLITICAL terms, with Celebs and talking heads regularly proclaiming that GWB didnt care because New Orleans was “black”
Dont worry, the in the Mid West WILL pick themselves up…just like after every flood and tornado that strikes….without any political/racist driven news stories and federal investigations into everything from the quality of the temporary shelters erected for them, to whether the flooded area “disproportionatly ” affected people of color”
In other words, like all natural disasters that affect middle Americans, the news crews will leave when “the story” is over…
In other words, it wont have a NAME and POLITICAL MEANING
Like the word “Katrina” does with the left.
They have more class, and GUTS than that.
Mikas comment is just reason to refer to the so-called “progressive” Left by it’s more accurate description. The Hate Based Community.
Sad…
It’s quite evident who “the old and tired joke” is, Mika. Liberals are such morose, pathetic people.
You have to be the saddest, most miserable human being I’ve come across in a long, long time. And filled with such hate too. Like most of the others have replied to your false accusations; the reason you haven’t heard from the Christian community is because they are there working already or they are back home and busy putting together supplies for the survivors of the tornado.
As for the Christian responses to disasters, the real reason they are not crowing about what they are doing and have done in the past is they don’t do it for the glory they receive here on earth. They do if for the love of their fellow man. Not for any reward or praise. One thing you obviously don’t understand about Christians is that we are commanded by Christ to love one another as Christ has loved us. He did not qualify by color or race or creed or sexual preference. Even though you fellow man might hate you, love him all the more.
Someone needs to sit you down and explain who Christ is and why he loves you. He loves you because who he is, not who you are.
I sincerely doubt that your name is Mika, but when I say a prayer for you tonight, He’ll know who you are. And I ask that everyone else will offer a prayer for you too.
You are as weird as icc (post #2). Both of you need to go back on your meds. As I recall among the first AID to arrive, in New Orleans, was Convoy of Hope, a religious organization located in southwest Missouri (that’s where Joplin is). If where you live is visited with a disaster they will likely come to your aid, in spite of your attitude.
Joplin is not the 4th largest city in Missouri. Not even in the top ten.
Joplin is not the fourth largest city in Missouri, however, the population within a 40-mile radius of Joplin is 400,000, making it Missouri’s fourth largest metropolitan area.
Joplin is not a ‘small town’ as has been reported by AP and others. Over 200,000 people work in Joplin during the day, then they all go home to surrounding areas.
And it really doesn’t matter, anyway – the people of Joplin have been so hard by this.
Please consider donating blood. The Red Cross needs it and is asking for donations in Kansas City and likely other large cities and towns within a couple of hours of Joplin.
Mika, what on earth are you talking about? Your response is at best nonsensical. I see/hear nobody making the kinds of remarks you are suggesting. Seems like this resentment you have of conservatives comes from somewhere pretty deep.
You are correct on that sir, I should have checked my sources closer. Thank you.
Pat
The beginning of the birth pains, sign of the last days coming?
No, simply “s..t happens”. Jesus made it pretty clear that bad stuff was a sign that the end was coming, but that we shouldn’t take it as a clue for scheduling. There have been tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, famine, pestilence, and war for the past 2000 years (and before that); this is only a sign of “impending judgment” in the general sense.
Oh great. Not just a Moby, but a bad Moby.
The Red Cross and Salvation Army both do a great job in the aftermath of a disaster, and the Southern Baptists do a better job than anyone feeding large groups of people – they are good stewards of your donations. If you want to do something hands-on, Mennonite Disaster Services performs volunteer rebuilds in disaster stricken areas. They build modest homes for people who otherwise wouldn’t have the resources to rebuild. All of these organizations were active in San Diego County after the 2003 & 2007 wildfires and helped a lot of families.
As one who also had his home violently taken away from him, I have a little understanding of what these poor people are going through. There are no words, other than to pray for a speedy recovery and God’s comfort and peace through their times of despair.
“The windows were blown out and much of the roof was gone, but the sturdy brick building was still standing. ”
Why don’t people there build their houses out of bricks and/or stone?
This not the first time a tornado went through there, and yet, all the houses seem to be made of wood.
Yes, I know wood is cheaper but the cost of rebuilding isn’t.
If the odds were such that you’d reasonably expect every house built to be destroyed by tornado within, say, 50 years, then yes, it would make more sense to use stronger materials. But despite the horror of major tornadoes striking cities, the risk to any specific house is rather small.
Compare the insurance premiums for brick houses to those made of wood, and you’ll see that the rates aren’t enough lower to offset the higher construction cost.
However, in hurricane-prone places like FL, I believe the odds may be different, such that building a house out of brick qualifies for sufficiently lower premiums that the combined PITI (Principal+Interest+Tax+Insurance) payment is no higher for the brick house.
A point to ponder Home Depot and Wal-Mart were of concrete and steel construction, both collapsed.
Installed a computer at a bank in Joplin during the fall of 1974.
Really wonderful people there. They took me into their community and treated me as one of them. Even went to the bank Christmas party. Hope all those I knew are OK.
God bless the fine people of Joplin, MO.
Seems like the “Rapture” folks were a bit off. It actually happened a day or do after…oh well, hope the believers all made it to heaven before the shit hit the fan in Joplin. The rest of the folks? I guess they were infidels. Probably infidels, homosexuals, adulterers, and the like. Had it comin, I spect. Now comes clean up time. Wonder if the crew that swept up after the Gulf can be taken off the Unemployment dole long enough to do some real work…the lagards!
What goes around, comes around! But rest assured the good people of Joplin won’t kick you when you are down, they’ll help you up, no matter that you don’t deserve such treatment.
Wonder if anybody has any stats on how many AIDS patients were at the hospital wiped out in Joplin. My guess is that there were PLENTY! Jesus knows what he’s doin. Bet that there were more than a few women undergoin abortions at that hospital, too. Jesus knows best, and he loves EVERYBODY!
Mika,
I don’t know what your major malfunction is, but seriously, this isn’t funny, no one is amused by you. There are 116 people dead at last count. The storms are still raging and people whose shoes you are not fit to shine are out there in the middle of it trying to save people, standing on the top of bucket trucks in the middle of thunderstorms trying to get the power back on, working for hour after hour without a break to bandage the wounded and too many other things to mention. So do us all a favor and just shut up if you can’t find just a little of the compassion you want displayed to you to give.
Mika, may God have mercy on your soul. I suspect you have no idea how much your dark heart needs salvation.
Good stock.
Having spent the last few weeks cleaning up in Alabama after the April 27 breakout, I can assure you it’s going to be a long haul for the people of Joplin and the surrounding area. They will need help and prayers long after the media is gone.
In response to a couple posts: Southerners, like Mid-westerners, get busy helping those who need help, not whining about who should be doing the helping. Although our entire area lost power and land lines, had spotty cell phone service and spotty radio reception and almost no working gas stations – people went out by the thousands to help others in every way possible. As one area regained power, new or almost new generators were passed along to those who remained without power. People gave up medicine, food and other essentials to those in need. Color, creed and economic standing did not matter. I expect the same thing is happening right now in Joplin.
Our experience is that the best groups to give money to are the larger denomination churches – United Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, etc. All the money given to those groups goes directly to aid, there is no overhead and it’s less likely to get redirected than with Red Cross. Also, the church groups are more hands on – they are the local people, know who needs help and how to get that help. When the Red Cross comes in, they bring so many regulations that everything slows down.
May God bless those in the Joplin area – my prayers are with them.
Interestingly, there’s a bulge of the cultural south up from NW Arkansas that includes Jopin (but not, e.g., Springfield).
(From a former resident of a second story Plaza Apartment, the complex right behind the Wal-Mart that got trashed…. Not fun.)
We live, roughly, in the in the westernmost mid-atlantic region. What is happening in Joplin is terrible beyond words to the people there, and familiar to the likes of us. Flash flooding has taken 1st place here. Our hearts, our prayers and our blood are offered to the people of Joplin.
As to the type of comments which are an embarassment to humankind, there’s little to add except that they typically originate with young children and need not occupy us unduly.
Massive Louisiana flooding; a tornado in Joplin leaving over a hundred dead and many still missing; millions of acres of farmland destroyed that will result in billions of dollars to restore; thousands left homeless and hungry. But where the heck is FEMA?
And how about the president? Where is he right now??? Missing in action again, just like right after the BP explosion and oilspill. Oh, that’s right, he’s hangin’ out at pubs, drinking beer and making jokes about his last name. And, as usual, he’s given a pass by the lamestream media. But only a few moons ago, they villified and hung dry George W. in the aftermath of Katrina and when he was a few hours in hiding right after the 9/11 attacks. What complete hypocrites we have in the liberal elitist establishment and with the occupants of the White House today.
This is the ultimate slap in the face of Middle America and the farmbelt.
In all fairness, FEMA is a post-96 hours agency, it’s up to the locals to handle things until then (i.e. Wednesday evening to Thursday would be their normal response time; as I write this it’s Tuesday morning). And whatever you might say about Obama, a President has to travel internationally.
Mika, there is no doubt in my mind that AIDS patients were receiving excellent care at St John’s Hospital, even if they couldn’t afford it. Charity is a big part of their tradition and they write off a lot of patient debt. As they are also owned by the Sisters of Mercy, I don’t think they perform abortions.
We heard about this up in Canada, we feel your pain and loss. The stubborn will of the average American to survive such stuff and rebuild is impressive. My heart goes out to all who lost loved ones, homes, work and businesses.
I was in an F5 tornado in 1947 called the Woodward, Oklahoma tornado. It killed about 100 people in my little town of 5,000 and a few more in smaller towns and on farms. I was nine years old. Ours was one of three houses that were not totally destroyed, and after the tornado passed over the town caught fire, despite occasional rains. When my uncle came to collect us from my Aunt’s house, where we had sought refuge, we passed through town and saw looters running rampant in a grocery store, and went to the hospital where they were laying dead and dying people out on the yard.
The town got no warning because of a national telephone worker’s strike. Seven workers broke the strike to help during the emergency, and were blocked from working by the union a week later and lost their jobs. The Oklahoma National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve moved in, along with the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and we began to repair and rebuild.
If you can imagine how horrible one of these tornadoes really is, them multiply that by a hundred. Donate to the Red Cross!
May I suggest that people also considering giving
to the Salvation Army or through a Southern Baptist
Church in their area. The Baptists have many rescue
and feeding operations run by laymen and EVERY penney
donated will go to the immediate need. Just like the
Salvation Army their work is a ministry and there are
no high paid executives. And neither group is selective
in choosing those who will be helped.
Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any points for novice blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.