- Devastating 198mph tornado tore a path a mile wide and six miles long straight through Joplin, Missouri
- Deadliest single tornado in over 60 years with at least 118 people killed
- 1,500 people still remain unaccounted for, according to fire officials
- ‘This is a very serious situation brewing,’ warns Storm Prediction Center as forecasters say city could be hit again
- Tornado was rare ‘multivortex’ twister, reveals National Weather Service
- Obama to visit region on Sunday as he says tornado was ‘devastating and heartbreaking’Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389737/Joplin-MO-tornado-At-89-dead-twister-cuts-4-mile-swathe-Missouri-town.html#ixzz1NKCPd1xj
Here are some images of the Missouri damage. You can see all of them and watch some videos here.
As shell-shocked residents of tornado-hit Joplin braced themselves for another powerful storm system this evening, new aerial images emerged showing in terrifying detail the path of the twister which destroyed the Missouri city.
The shocking photos reveal for the first time the true extent of the damage caused when the mile-wide tornado that killed at least 118 people blasted much of the city off the map and slammed straight into its hospital.
Devastated: Aerial photo shows 26th street, the main route through the centre of Joplin, Missouri. On the right is St Mary’s elementary school
Housing: Whole residential neighbourhoods were destroyed by the powerful tornado when it went straight through the centre of the city that has has 50,000 people
Blown away: The remains of this apartment block surround what was once a swimming pool. Around 2,000 homes are thought to have been destroyed
Closed for business: The Home Depot do-it-yourself store was where many dead bodies have been recovered. Many of the shop shelves are still intact though
Grocery store: The city’s Walmart superstore is barely recognisable in this photo from after Sunday’s tornado that killed over 100 people
Shopping mall: This line of shops was severely damaged by the storm system when it struck on Sunday evening at around 6pm
Hospital: The St John’s Medical Center was at the heart of the tornado’s path through the city. Hundreds of patients had to be evacuated
Fire chief Robert Daus said that 500 people had been injured by the tornado, in addition to the 1,500 people who remain unaccounted for.
But he said the high number of people still recorded as missing could be a reflection of the widespread breakdown of communication systems in the city.
Thunderstorms that are moving across southeast Kansas, central Oklahoma and north Texas this afternoon are forecast to move into the Joplin area between 10pm and 2am tonight.
Destroyed: This incredible aerial image reveals how the tornado tore off the roof of Joplin’s Home Depot
Flattened: This aerial photograph shows the scale of the destruction to the Home Depot store
Razed to the ground: Joplin’s Walmart store was completely destroyed by Sunday’s devastating twister
Wasteland: The horror of Sunday’s tornado is laid bare by this harrowing panoramic shot of Joplin
Authorities said they were stepping up search efforts as they raced against the forecasts of more bad weather on the way.
Rescue crews dug through piles of splintered houses and crushed cars in a desperate final search for survivors.
Emergency teams accompanied by cadaver dogs picked their way through the rubble of thousands of homes and businesses laid to waste by the deadliest tornado in the U.S. in 64 years.
One team sifted through the remains of a Home Depot store, while others searched a Walmart and wrecked apartments as the clock ticked down on another round of severe storms.
Horseshoe: A destroyed neighbourhood is seen in Joplin on Tuesday after a big tornado moved through much of the city
Ruins: The winding path of the devastating tornado is seen in this aerial picture of Joplin, Missouri
Savaged: The path of the powerful tornado is seen in an aerial photo over Joplin, Missouri
Destroyed: The tornado ruined thousands of houses in Joplin, Missouri
From the sky: Uprooted trees and building without roofs lie devastated in Joplin, Missouri after the tornado hit on Sunday
Thousands of houses have been reduced to slabs, cars crushed like soda cans and shaken residents have been roaming streets in search of missing family members.
The National Weather Service said on Tuesday that the tornado appears to have had more than one vortex.
Storm Prediction Center director Russell Schneider said video evidence shows Sunday’s tornado appeared to be a rare ‘multivortex’ twister.
Multivortex tornadoes contain two or more small and intense subvortices that orbit the centre of the larger tornado circulation.
Survivors of the disaster were today coming to terms with the sheer scale of the devastation that had been wreaked upon their city. Still visibly shaken, many stared solemnly over the landscape.
‘That’s all that’s left,’ Roger Dedick said as he pointed to a section of foundation, the remains of his home of 17 years.
He had had to use a metal bar to pry himself out of his crushed home.
Searching: Matt Asbill digs through the wreckage of the office of his engineering business on the east side of Joplin
Rescue: Search dogs assist in the hunt amongst the ruins of devastated buildings for survivors of the tornado in Missouri
Down the street, Carolyn Hall fought back tears as she and her teenage sons combed their destroyed home hoping to find some clothes and the family cat.
Only a few interior walls remained standing, but after a desperate search came a ray of hope when they found the terrified cat hiding under a bed.
Around the corner, Dottie and Tim Sumners had uncovered scores of framed photos and albums, memories that survived when the massive mile-wide tornado, with winds of up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) an hour hit late Sunday.
‘I’ll never disregard the sirens again,’ said Mrs Sumners.
Her husband looked on grimly at the scenes of devastation, and said they would rebuild their home of 33 years. ‘We’ll make it,’ he said.
Kelley Fritz, 45, rummaged through the remains of a storage building with her husband, Jimmy. They quickly realised they would never find the belongings they stored there, and that they had lost much of what was in their home after the tornado ripped away the roof.
Their sons, aged 20 and 17, went outside after the storm and saw that every home was destroyed.
‘My sons had deceased children in their arms when they came back,’ Mrs Fritz said. ‘My husband and I went out and saw two or three dead bodies on the ground.’
Flattened: Members of Missouri Task Force One search-and-rescue team work at the tornado-damaged Home Depot store in Joplin
Shock: Joplin residents are still coming to terms with the loss of their homes as rescue workers continue efforts to find survivors
Chaos: A destroyed apartment complex is seen in an aerial view over Joplin
Mrs Fritz said she was surprised she survived. ‘You could just feel the air pull up and it was so painful. I didn’t think we were going to make it, it happened so fast.’
‘I’ve never seen such devastation – just block upon block upon block of homes just completely gone,’ said former state legislator Gary Burton who showed up to help at a volunteer center at Missouri Southern State University.
Another resident had to run through the storm as power lines and trees crashed around him.
Winds from the storm carried debris up to 60 miles away, with medical records, X-rays, insulation and other items falling to the ground in Greene County, said Larry Woods, assistant director of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management.
Matt Sheffer said: ‘My office is totally gone. Probably for two to three blocks, it’s just levelled.
‘The building that my office was in was not flimsy. It was 30 years old and two layers of brick. It was very sturdy and well built.’
As residents came to terms with the damage, President Barack Obama said he will travel to Missouri on Sunday to meet with people affected by what he called ‘devastating and heartbreaking’ tornadoes.
Recovery: Beverly Winans, left, Debbie Spurlin and Austin Spurlin look for what they can salvage from their home after it was destroyed
Powerful: Aerial pictures reveal the devastation caused by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri
Lost: Carra Reed looks at a friends home that was destroyed when the massive tornado passed through Joplin, Missouri
Missing: Rescue workers and neighbours search for victims and survivors
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