Joplin tornado Sunday May 22, 2011 (Springfield, Branson: costs, office, best)

[Arrby]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

...The thing is, according to this guy (the cinematographer), there are many, many more deaths than are being reported. Supposedly, the only deaths that are being reported are those who have been identified. According to him, there are actually over 1,000 bodies in body bags and more being discovered on a daily basis...

Eye witnesses stated that there were "bodies up and down the street" on Restaurant Row, and that more than 2,000 structures were demolished. There is a facebook page dedicated to people who were killed and there are 40 pictures that are there....
20yrsinBranson

From the evening local news: Less than 100 Joplin School students still unaccounted for - FOX 14 TV Joplin and Pittsburg News Weather Sports | 132 are now reported dead.

The path of total destruction is usually quoted as approximately 6.5 miles long. While I have not personally seen the precise east or west end, I have been within a couple of blocks both east and west. This number has to be pretty close. The width does vary from a bit less than 1/2 mile to about 3/4 mile. This I have seen from nearly end to end. The number of housing units lost is estimated to be about 2,000 - not 2,000 individual buildings. Approximately 4 square miles, eight houses to the mile, 2400. Subtract maybe 30% for schools, churches, parks, vacant land, the hospital, and you have 1600. Add back for some higher density apartments, and yes, 2,000 sounds about right.

For there to be 1,000 people dead one would have to die in every other housing unit - not credible. Given that in almost any disaster five to 10 times as many are injured as are killed that would mean 5,000 to 10,000 injuries. This could not be hidden as every hospital for 200 miles in every direction would be stuffed with injury cases. So, again, 1,000 dead is not credible. Finally, the number of missing is down to almost 200. This number cannot be manipulated either as local media are running announcements from people looking for family, friends, etc. and people are keeping track on published lists.

I cannot doubt that more deaths will be discovered. There are missing individuals whose location at the time of impact was known and who do not appear to be in any hospital or morgue. There are hundreds of houses and dozens of buildings that have had only the most cursory search. Experts are even now going house to house with trained dogs. The next step will require heavy equipment to lift off layers of roof and ceilings. There are more tragic stories to be told, but there is no chance that hundreds, much less a thousand people have died and the secret is being kept.

[firebll31]

We were very fortunate that the tornado hit on a Sunday evening. Many of the destroyed buildings were medical offices which were virtually empty. Had it been the middle of the week, patients, doctors, office staff and nurses would have filled those buildings. Also, being a weekend, the hospital was not as full as normal with either patients or staff. The schools were empty also. It was not a busy Friday or Saturday at the restaurants. It could have been much worse.
I know personally 12 families who had homes destroyed. None had fatalities, most minor injuries. Most people know where to go in their homes for safety and are used to taking shelter. I think it is an overstatement to say that there were 1000 fatalities. I have no doubt more will be discovered as the debris is removed, and some will never be found. I pray that the number doesn't increase much more.
At one point, it was reported that 75% of the town was gone. The actual number is more like 25-30%.
St. John's was my second home for 20 years. I have not gone back, but have seen photos. Very grateful I was not working that night.

[Arrby]

Apologia and Correction:

I woke up this morning with my two posts in this topic running through my head. I realized I had posted two basic arithmetic errors. In the first post I noted that the path of total destruction is 6.5 miles long by .5 to .75 mile wide. I then stated that would be 8 sq. mi. Obviously that is more like 4 sq. mi., making the path of TOTAL destruction maybe 15% of Joplin proper.

In my more recent post I got the 4 sq. mi. right, but multiplied that by eight housing units to the mile, which is ridiculous to come up with 2400, even more ridiculous. Let me start that one over. There would be six to eight housing units on the typical block. There are 100 blocks in the typical sq. mi. So six hundred to eight hundred housing units to the sq. mi. That would be somewhere between 2400 and 3200 units in the area of total damage. Taking out for schools, churches, offices, parks, three four lane streets (Main, 20th, and Rangeline), business properties, and vacant land, but adding back higher density apartment buildings in some blocks, it does seem that the estimate of 2000 housing units - not buildings, but units - is reasonable.

I am so sorry for the errors. I plead fatigue as a mitigating factor. All of us who have been dealing with this are getting a bit loopy.

[thriftylefty]

I think the initial shock of seeing how fast body bags piled up in the first hours after the storm would make anyone exaggerated what was to come as time passes. I think at a press conference an official was asked if there was a "secret number" of casualties that was being kept from the public. I probably wouldn't rely on logic to determine the effect of a tornado's devastation as they are pretty illogical. To be on the missing list you have to be missing, that is, some one has to be looking for you.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

I think the initial shock of seeing how fast body bags piled up in the first hours after the storm would make anyone exaggerated what was to come as time passes. I think at a press conference an official was asked if there was a "secret number" of casualties that was being kept from the public.

Granted I'm a conspiracy theorist at times,,, but really, I can't grasp the reasons for keeping such truth 'secret' or 'manipulated'... Who would gain? What positive is there to do such? What is the negatives of being honest about such numbers?

Honestly, what bugs me a lot is the fricking low lifes who steal, lie, loot, and cheat others:

Missouri tornadoes: Joplin's police chief warns about looters, scams - latimes.com

As more residents ventured back into Joplin's massive tornado zone Friday, sifting through wet belongings and shoveling aside debris, police warned against a small number of nighttime looters who have plundered the 6-mile-long path of the violent twister.

"Wrapped up in what we view as debris is what's left of people's lives," Police Chief Lane Roberts told reporters, declaring that his force was "saturating" the damage zone and had already made arrests in the cases of 17 thefts and three burglaries. ...

The clean-up and rebuilding, of businesses, people's lives, homes, etc...
Joplin tornado hit 4,000 jobs, group says - CBS News

... Officials estimated that 300 businesses have been lost, ranging from big-box stores and fast-food franchises on Range Line Road to small mom and pop stores. At least 4,000 employees have been affected by the tornado, O'Brian said, although that count could go up. St. John's Regional Medical Center alone employed 2,000 people.

"That's the bad news," said O'Brian. "The good news is the reports of Joplin's demise are greatly exaggerated. "We have 2,000 businesses in our community, and 50,000 people. The important thing for us to remember is we have many resources left." ...

[SW Missouri Dave]

LISTS OF TORNADO FATALITY VICTIMS » Breaking News » The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by SW Missouri Dave

LISTS OF TORNADO FATALITY VICTIMS » Breaking News » The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Add the teen who was sucked out of his vehicle's sunroof following graduation.

Aunt: Teen missing after graduation has died - Yahoo! News

[brushrunner]

Pic from Joplin talking about power!



brushrunner

[thriftylefty]

One of the officials at a press conference cleared up some of the rumors about the conflicting numbers fatalities. I read an email from someone who said some one they knew had personally seen over three hundred body bags. Many of the bags do not contain complete remains.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

One of the officials at a press conference cleared up some of the rumors about the conflicting numbers fatalities. I read an email from someone who said some one they knew had personally seen over three hundred body bags. Many of the bags do not contain complete remains.

I suspect it may come down to comparing DNA from relatives with missing family members to get identity confirmation. So very sad.