* FATALITIES.116 REPORTED AS OF 3 PM MONDAY * ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED.190-198 MPH * END LOCATION.1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF DUQUESNE * BEGIN LOCATION.APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF JOPLIN This is a closeup view of the Joplin track: Hayes said the storm had winds of 190 to 198 mph, and at times, it was three-quarters of a mile wide.Midnight Update: The NWS has posted track maps for the 3 tornadoes in the Joplin area (click to enlarge): The rating is assigned to storms based on the damage they cause. The National Weather Service's director, Jack Hayes, says the storm was given a preliminary label as an EF4 - the second-highest rating given to twisters. But the devastation in Missouri was the worst, eerily reminiscent of the tornadoes that killed more than 300 people across the South last month. The Joplin twister was one of 68 tornadoes reported across seven Midwestern states over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. "My husband and I went out and saw two or three dead bodies on the ground." "My sons had deceased children in their arms when they came back," Fritz said. Their sons, ages 20 and 17, both Eagle Scouts, ventured outside after the storm. They quickly realized they would never find the belongings they stored there or much of what was in their home after the tornado ripped away the roof. Kelley Fritz, 45, of Joplin, rummaged through the remains of a storage building with her husband, Jimmy. In others where structures still stood, families found their belongings jumbled as if someone had picked up their homes and shaken them. Some neighborhoods were completely flattened and the leaves stripped from trees, giving the landscape an apocalyptic aura. Survivors picked through the rubble of their homes, salvaging clothes, furniture, family photos and financial records, the air pungent with the smell of gas and smoking embers. Police officers staffed virtually every major intersection as ambulances screamed through the streets. He said his home was among those destroyed. Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles estimated the damage covered a quarter or more of Joplin, a city of about 50,000 people some 160 miles south of Kansas City. He said colleagues who were injured worked all night long.Īn unknown number of people were injured, and officials said patients were sent to any nearby hospitals that could take them. Jim Roscoe said he didn't know whether those killed were staff or patients. The winds blew out hundreds of windows and left the facility virtually useless.ĭr. Staff members had hustled patients into hallways before the storm struck the nine-story building. John's Regional Medical Center, where a doctor said at least four people were killed. Officials have estimated that 2,000 buildings were damaged. Photo gallery: See more images from the Joplin, Mo., area At Memorial Hall, a downtown entertainment venue, emergency workers treated critically injured patients. Triage centers and temporary shelters quickly filled to capacity. Crews found bodies in vehicles the storm had flipped over, torn apart and left crushed like empty cans. The rescuers' work has been made more difficult by downed power lines, jagged debris, blocked roads and a thunderstorm that brought strong winds, heavy rain and hail early Monday. Jay Nixon said he was "optimistic that there are still lives out there to be saved." He said seven people had been rescued, and search and rescue efforts were still going on. A massive tornado that tore a six-mile path across southwestern Missouri killed at least 116 people as it smashed the city of Joplin, ripping into a hospital, crushing cars and leaving behind only splintered tree trunks where entire neighborhoods once stood.Ĭity Manager Mark Rohr announced the new death toll Monday afternoon.
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