Joplin Tornado

[Patrick Carter]

Has anyone heard from Dave Bush yet? Also Mark Adams another inspector that lives in that area?

Keep them in your prayers...

[Bobby Hamilton]

I've been watchin the pictures on tv, total devestation. They're all in our prayers

[Blaine Wiley]

Hey Pat, I think Paul Sabados has Dave's cell number, or at least he used to.

[Michael Larson]

Bushart is not too far from there either.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

Hope every one is ok

[Dan Bowers, CMI]

Besides the humongus damage, a huge amount of Joplin is without power.

EVERYBODY in the world with friends or relatives in Joplin is trying to get through AND phone lines are major duty tied up.

Mark Adams lives several miles south of town out in the County on a farm. From what I can tell he's probably without power but I'm guessing the major brunt of the storm went around him.

The last time I was in Joplin and at Dave Bushes store I think he was in the area that could have been slammed.

[John E. Mullarkey]

I pray those guys are ok but what the hell is going on? Tornadoes, the midwest is under water and hurricaane season starts next week. Dam.

[Blaine Wiley]

I just talked to Paul. He left a message with Dave. Dave's house is approximately 2-3 miles southwest of where the tornado when through. He doesn't know where Mark Adams lives.

Bushart is far from that area.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by mlarson

Bushart is not too far from there either.

What are you saying?

[Linas Dapkus]

Originally Posted by jfunderburk

What are you saying?

God is cleansing the Earth of it's heathens!!!!

[Dave Bush]

Sorry, I have not been on here. We are all fine. My son and his family moved a week before the tornado from a house that was right in the destruction area. I keep hearing the word devestation, but that is the best way to describe it. If you drive through town at night, there are no landmarks. You can't tell where you are, no lights, no street signs, no stop lights an d no buildings. 8000+ buildings; 125 dead, 750+ injured (enough to go to hospital) and last I heard over 1000 unaccounted for.

[Nick Gromicko]

We are all fine. My son and his family moved a week before the tornado from a house that was right in the destruction area.

Wow. I'm so glad you are O.K.

[Blaine Wiley]

Great to hear you're ok Dave.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

I just heard the city of Sedalia, Missouri got hit some by a tornado. They are predicting more tornadoes at least through 6:00 p.m. Luckily most of Missouri is rural, so when a tornado does touch down usually a few livestock fly up in the air and that is about all, at least in the reports I have heard so far in central Missouri. There is some areas getting softball sized hail.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by dbush2

Sorry, I have not been on here. We are all fine. My son and his family moved a week before the tornado from a house that was right in the destruction area. I keep hearing the word devestation, but that is the best way to describe it. If you drive through town at night, there are no landmarks. You can't tell where you are, no lights, no street signs, no stop lights an d no buildings. 8000+ buildings; 125 dead, 750+ injured (enough to go to hospital) and last I heard over 1000 unaccounted for.

As I drove to Joplin for my first shift at the relief center at McAuley High School ... about the time I reached the "Joplin - 9 miles" sign on I-44 I started seeing the batt insulation and splintered rafters scattered through the fields and along both sides of the road. The worst hit areas are blocked off and secured, but there are no words to describe the damage to the structures as well as to the lives of those who lived in them.

A gentleman who lost his home and is helping distribute bottled water to the workers in the "area of devastation" (which is what it seems that everyone is referring to the damaged area as) who are still searching for missing people, he mentioned that those in the unaffected areas are in need of the same distribution of bottled water due to the backflow, but that the word is not getting out to people. He described that many are without electricity or gas (the means to boil their water) and are unaware of the contamination. They are telling as many as they can, as they see them.

Then he blew my mind away when he told me how surprised he was to see that the "national news" was covering "their weather event". He described how he was on his friend's porch, which was all that was left of his house, when a CBS news crew showed up. He wasn't sure if any of the other stations were carrying it, and was surprised to see people outside of the area so concerned about his town.

A little five year old girl was "helping me" and her mom set up her cot while she told of the big cloud that "huffed and puffed and blew her house down". Her mom laughed ... then cried a little ... then helped her pick out a new pair of shoes from hundreds that had been donated by her neighbors and businesses.

Joplin is going to come back bigger, stronger and better than it ever was because of the character of its people.