TORNADO STRIKES MISSOURI TOWN, KILLING 116

May 23, 2011 - The deadliest single tornado to strike the United States in nearly 60 years has reduced the Missouri town of Joplin to rubble, ripping buildings apart and killing at least 116 people.

The deadliest single tornado to strike the United States in nearly 60 years has reduced the Missouri town of Joplin to rubble, ripping buildings apart and killing at least 116 people.

Disaster struck on Sunday evening when, with little warning, the monster twister tore a strip six miles long and more than a 1/2 mile wide through the center of the town.

Rescuers worked through the night to try to find people trapped in their homes, relying on torchlight as they listened for terrified cries from survivors piercing through the blackness.

Heavy winds and strong rain forced teams to halt the effort on Monday morning and some rescuers took advantage of the brief respite to catch a bit of much-needed sleep inside one badly damaged bank.

THE GIST

·         Local media reports that 116 people have been killed after Joplin took a "direct hit" from a tornado.

·         Missouri Governor has declared a state of emergency as the threat of further tornadoes continues.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency late Sunday and activated the National Guard to help out after one of the worst disasters in the state's history.

President Barack Obama called Nixon and offered his condolences to those affected, assuring the governor that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would provide whatever assistance was needed.

"The president has directed FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to travel to Missouri to ensure the state has all the support it needs," a White House statement said, adding a FEMA team had already been dispatched.

Caring for the injured was made more difficult because the main hospital, Saint John's Regional Medical Center, had to be evacuated after suffering a direct hit -- the tornado ripped off its roof and smashed all its windows.

Media reported that cries could still be heard early Monday from survivors trapped in the wreckage, with the latest tragedy coming less than a month after a horrific tornado outbreak left 354 dead across seven U.S. states.

Authorities estimated that up to 30 percent of Joplin, which lies near the border with Oklahoma and Kansas, had been damaged by the tornado, which experts said carried winds of up to 200 miles per hour.

It was the deadliest of 46 tornadoes reported to the National Weather Service in seven states on Sunday.

"It's a war zone," Scott Meeker of the Joplin Globe newspaper said.

"We've got hundreds of wounded being treated at Memorial Hall (hospital), but they were quickly overwhelmed and ran out of supplies, so they've opened up a local school as a triage center."

Obama earlier sent his "deepest condolences" to victims and said the federal government stood ready to help Americans as needed.

"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tornadoes and severe weather that struck Joplin, Missouri, as well as communities across the Midwest today," the president said in a statement sent from Air Force One as he flew to Europe.

"We commend the heroic efforts by those who have responded and who are working to help their friends and neighbors at this very difficult time."

People in Joplin clawed through the rubble looking for friends, family and neighbors after the storm tore buildings apart and turned cars into crumpled heaps of metal.

Flames and thick black smoke poured out of the wreckage of shattered homes, and water gushed out of broken pipes as shocked survivors surveyed the damage, early photos showed.

A tangled medical helicopter lay in the rubble outside Saint John's Regional Medical Center.

Jeff Law, 23, was able to take shelter in a storm cellar and was overwhelmed by what he saw when he emerged.

"I've lived in this neighborhood my entire life, and I didn't know where I was," Law told the Springfield News-Leader. "Everything was unrecognizable, completely unrecognizable. It's like Armageddon."

The emergency manager at the neighboring county of Springfield-Greene was told that at least 24 people were killed before he could rush over to help, a spokeswoman said.

Officials said the last twister to wreak such loss of life occurred in 1953 in Worcester, Massachusetts, when a tornado killed 90 people.

On Saturday, a deadly tornado pummeled the east Kansas town of Reading, killing a man and damaging an estimated 80 percent of Reading's structures, mostly wood-frame buildings.

Meanwhile, a tornado was also responsible for the death of one person in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday, authorities said. At least 30 others in that city and its suburbs were injured.

Source: Discovery News

Facts about Tornadoes

Tornadoes are vertical funnels of rapidly spinning air. Their winds may top 250 miles (400 kilometers) an hour and can clear-cut a pathway a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide and 50 miles (80 kilometers) long.

Twisters are born in thunderstorms and are often accompanied by hail. Giant, persistent thunderstorms called supercells spawn the most destructive tornadoes.

These violent storms occur around the world, but the United States is a major hotspot with about a thousand tornadoes every year. "Tornado Alley," a region that includes eastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and eastern Colorado, is home to the most powerful and destructive of these storms. U.S. tornadoes cause 80 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries per year.

A tornado forms when changes in wind speed and direction create a horizontal spinning effect within a storm cell. This effect is then tipped vertical by rising air moving up through the thunderclouds.

The meteorological factors that drive tornadoes make them more likely at some times than at others. They occur more often in late afternoon, when thunderstorms are common, and are more prevalent in spring and summer. However, tornadoes can and do form at any time of the day and year.

Tornadoes' distinctive funnel clouds are actually transparent. They become visible when water droplets pulled from a storm's moist air condense or when dust and debris are taken up. Funnels typically grow about 660 feet (200 meters) wide.

Tornadoes move at speeds of about 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 kilometers) per hour, although they've been clocked in bursts up to 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour. Most don't get very far though. They rarely travel more than about six miles (ten kilometers) in their short lifetimes.

Tornadoes are classified as weak, strong, or violent storms. Violent tornadoes comprise only about two percent of all tornadoes, but they cause 70 percent of all tornado deaths and may last an hour or more.

People, cars, and even buildings may be hurled aloft by tornado-force winds—or simply blown away. Most injuries and deaths are caused by flying debris.

Tornado forecasters can't provide the same kind of warning that hurricane watchers can, but they can do enough to save lives. Today the average warning time for a tornado alert is 13 minutes. Tornadoes can also be identified by warning signs that include a dark, greenish sky, large hail, and a powerful train-like roar.

Source: National Geographic