Global Issues: Unit Five

Joplin Tornado

On May 22, 2011 a tornado hit the small town of Joplin, Missouri. This tornado was a category F-5, which has wind speeds from 261 mph to 318 mph. It was three-fourths a mile wide and traveled over six miles on the ground. F-5 tornadoes cause an incredible amount of damage, even to buildings built to withstand tornadoes. 161 people were killed, causing this tornado to be the deadliest single tornado to hit America since the early 1950's. Many people were missing, most buried under debris, and over a thousand were injured by this natural disaster. The tornado in Joplin damaged and destroyed around 7,500 homes and demolished the main hospital, a nursing home, the local high school, the fire station, Walmart, and a Catholic elementary school. The total cost in damages was estimated to be $2.9 billion.

Joplin, Missouri has had plenty of tornado warnings in the past. It's part of living in what is called "Tornado Alley." Tornado drills were practiced regularly in businesses and schools. People knew what to do when the sirens went off. Some, not all, of the houses and buildings had rooms or shelters built for when tornadoes would hit. Joplin had the resources to give medical care and provide food, water, and shelter to its citizens.This town was mostly prepared for a tornado to hit at anytime, except for one thing. The hospital was not prepared at all to deal with the damages a tornado could cause. The tornado warning siren sounded for 24 minutes before the tornado actually hit Joplin. The St. John's Regional Medical Center's emergency warning system did not go off until a few precious minutes later. Doctors and nurses were scrambling to get patients out of their rooms and into safe areas. They were overwhelmed by how fast the tornado hit the hospital and did not have enough time to get everybody out of their rooms. The worst part was that the back up generator was destroyed by the tornado. Leaving five patients, who were on respirators, to suffocate to death. Hospital radios did not work, which cut off communication between the hospital workers. The hospital did not have its back up generator in a safe place if a tornado were to hit and it did not have the necessary equipment that would allow crucial life saving things to operate on batteries. The hospital did have an emergency plan and it saved many lives, but the generator issue caused major problems.

The disaster relief efforts for this tornado were pretty amazing. Over a thousand police officers and 250 National Guard members came to Joplin to help search for people. FEMA responded with resources such as food, water, and shelter. People with long term illnesses were evacuated to other hospitals to make room for survivors found with critical injuries. Hundreds of people from around the country came to help search for people and repair houses. Joplin is still in the process of being rebuilt. The new hospital is being built to withstand strong tornadoes, extra back up generators are built away from the hospital, more emergency shelters are being installed in places. 90% of the 550 businesses are being repaired or rebuilt, and 84% of the 7,500 homes are being repaired and rebuilt too. People are returning back the Joplin, and the town is becoming stronger and better than it ever was.