Thread: Missouri Tornado

I am not sure quite how to go about this, so hopefully this thread will be moved to the correct place.

I would just like to express that I am sure that I am not alone in saying my thoughts are with the dear people of Joplin Missouri during this disaster, and also with Lynn,his family, his friends and the people of Cape Girardeau, only some three hundred miles to the east, to be kept safe, well and away from harm during this fearful time.

Sincerely, Mike

We actually had a Tornado in Pennsylvania last night. This is a extraordinary occurrence because of the mountains. I'm sure that this isn't even in the ballpark of what you guys experience in the midwest, but it wreaked havoc. Trees and power lines down everywhere. It took me an 45 minutes to get to work because an interstate was shut down. I live less than 10 minutes from my office.

You guys will be on my mind.

Hi Mike,

This is very kind of you and truly appreciated.

The poor people of Joplin will be re-building for quite some time and we are saddened by the loss of life there.

These tragedies remind me constantly of just how lucky I am in life no matter how bad I may think things are going.

My very best regards,

Lynn

As horrible as it is from what I hear this afternoon conditions are set for another round of tornadeos in Joplin, hopefully if there are any the people will be better prepared and there won't be any more serious damage or injuries.

My neighbor drives across the state for a living, he went through Joplin yesterday and said that"you've never seen anything like it", he also said that most of downtown is gone. I was checking out the you tube videos yesterday, the most impressive one to me was the one from that convenience store where everybody hid in the refrigerator, you coulndt see anything but what you heard was absolutely intense.

Having lived through a tornado in Iowa City a few years ago, I can tell you that the most frustrating part of the aftermath was the CONSTANT parade of gawkers for the first week. The passable streets were full of cars just taking in the view taking pictures. I had throngs of people milling around my yard while I was picking up debris and they got indignant when I told them to either help or leave. They clearly felt they had a right to be there and not one of them offered to lend a hand. Most of the food and water brought in for the victims was consumed by the tourists who had no compunction about taking it. There was no compassion, just morbid curiousity.

I have a friend who got lucky thru it, his neighbors who back up to him lost their house & he just received some wind damage like windows & shingles. They came out lucky.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Having lived through a tornado in Iowa City a few years ago, I can tell you that the most frustrating part of the aftermath was the CONSTANT parade of gawkers for the first week. The passable streets were full of cars just taking in the view taking pictures. I had throngs of people milling around my yard while I was picking up debris and they got indignant when I told them to either help or leave. They clearly felt they had a right to be there and not one of them offered to lend a hand. Most of the food and water brought in for the victims was consumed by the tourists who had no compunction about taking it. There was no compassion, just morbid curiousity.

Wow, that is absurd. I can't believe people there to site see would eat/drink the supplies meant for the victims. *shakes head*

That's right around where I grew up, just over the border in Kansas. Joplin is a place that I've remembered fondly for years, where we did our shopping and our eating out, and about the only place with any "culture" for miles. We had friends there, and of course family in the area. We were lucky in that only one cousin was injured and she's already out of the hospital (I think...?) but she was there to witness the loss of life it caused.

It's utterly heartbreaking.

Man am I sick of disasters.

These events just break my heart. And Utopian, what a disheartening event for you. I am sorry there were not more good people around for you during that time.