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Joplin Missouri Tornado Analysis

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The “official story” of the Joplin, Missouri tornado of May 22, 2011 is a composite of assertions from public officials and media outlets, collected data from relief agencies, and recalled details of the citizenry. This story developed from the ongoing, dialogical process of storytelling, combining details from many sources and distilling the information into themes shared in the majority of tales, while stripping most individual stories from the overall account. It is the story of a city; individuals are only named as they become symbols of the collective narration. For approximately 38 minutes, beginning at 5:34 pm and ending 6:12 pm on May 22, 2011, Joplin, Missouri endured the brutality of a multi-vortex, EF-5 tornado. Tearing a mile-wide, 13-mile path through the city, the tornado destroyed over 7,500 homes, 18,000 vehicles, numerous churches and schools, injured over 1,000 people, and claimed 161 lives (Onstot 2013). These statistics only count the physically wounded who required medical care and only the deaths of those whose physical wounds caused death, not the untold number of psychologically wounded survivors nor the death of those who took their lives, mistakenly believing it was the only way to relieve the pain. The tornado damaged communications …show more content…

Awarded the Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience (DHS Press 2012) and praised by President Obama, Missouri Governor Nixon, Director of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (Associated Press 2012), and every major news outlet, Joplin’s quick response and recovery became a symbol for American hope and determination. During the following summer, communities affected by the Colorado wildfires looked to Joplin as an example of how to rebuild. Even home improvement programs capitalized on Joplin’s image while rebuilding homes, improving facilities, and encouraging volunteers through national attention (Orso

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