to move up and down
Tornado brings Joplin believers closer
In a May 25 news conference for area faith leaders, Missouri Gov. Jeremiah Johnson, upon witnessing the catastrophic destruction at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, described it as a war zone.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church was in the storm’s direct path. The sanctuary, elementary school, rectory, parish hall and the St. Vincent de Paul building, the original church from 1938, were all leveled by the storm.
“Most people’s emotions are still too raw for them to begin processing this catastrophic event,” said Father Justin Monaghan, St. Mary’s pastor. “I just want to tell them, ‘Our prayers are with you, and we will rejoin you in rebuilding, healing and renewal, in the midst of the pain you are all suffering.’”
Photo: The remains of a church, destroyed by a tornado, stands in Joplin, Missouri. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Tornado ‘cut the city in half’
“There’s going to be some things out there that are hard to see and hard to stomach and I ask that everyone keep these workers in their prayers,” Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said of the rescue workers. “It’s a very difficult job to do, but we’re going to cover every foot of this town, we’re going to make sure with search and rescue that every person … is accounted for. We remain positive and optimistic that there are still lives out there to be saved until this matter is completed.”
Photos: Tornado in Joplin, Missouri
A monster tornado that may have been the single deadliest in the United States since 1953, struck the Missouri town of around 50,000 people on May 22, 2011.
Photo: Ernie Darby hugs his son Davis Darby as they salvage what they can from their house after it was destroyed when a massive tornado passed through the town on May 24, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Tornado ‘cut the city in half’
It came with a “massive roar,” one that swallowed the sound of warning sirens before paving a remorseless path through Joplin, Mo.
The deadliest tornado to hit the United States since the 1950s touched down at dinnertime Sunday, killing at least 116 people and reducing a 10-kilometre long and 2-kilometre-wide swath of the midwestern city of 50,000 to rubble.
Emergency workers and residents walk through a neighbourhood on May 23, 2011 after a devastating tornado hit Joplin, Missouri. (Ed Zurga/Reuters)
