Midwest turned into another weather warzone: 89 dead and toll likely to rise as terrifying tornado cuts a four-mile swathe through Missouri town. STRANGE HAARP RAINBOW SEEN AFTER.

Midwest turned into another weather warzone: 89 dead and toll likely to rise as terrifying tornado cuts a four-mile swathe through Missouri town

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:26 PM on 23rd May 2011

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• 75 per cent of Joplin, Missouri is gone says Red Cross
• Residents 70 MILES away find x-rays from hospital hit by twister
• Lethal tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long
• Missouri governor declares state of emergency
• Emergency workers say thunderstorms are hampering efforts to find survivors
• Family and friends of the missing post moving appeals for information on Facebook and blogs

At least 89 people have been killed - with unknown number injured and trapped - after a tornado measuring a staggering one mile wide and four miles long flattened Joplin in Missouri.
Joplin city manager Mark Rohr announced the death toll at a news conference outside the wreckage of St John's Regional Medical Centre, a hospital that took a direct hit from Sunday's storm.
Governor of the state Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the Missouri National Guard in response to the destruction the storm left in its wake.
Fire chief Mitch Randles said his own home was among the buildings destroyed as the twister swept through this city of about 50,000 people some 160 miles south of Kansas City. 'It cut the city in half,' he said.

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Emergency: Extensive damage can be seen at the St John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri. An emergency agency spokesman says fatalities had been reported but was unsure of the exact figure

Unbelievable: Destroyed vehicles are piled on top of one another in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Centre

Community spirit: Residents of Joplin help a woman who survived in her basement after a tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses

SIX MONTHS OF DESTRUCTION

January - February 2011
North American blizzards - Violent storms blanketed thirty states in snow, wreaked havoc on the Super Bowl and turned the Hollywood mountains white.
April 4 2011
Alabama tornadoes - A massive thunderstorm front spawned 137 tornadoes, killed at least 180 people, and destroyed sections of Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville, Alabama.
April – May 2011
Texas wildfires – More than 2.5 million acres were burned as the fires spread, efforts to fight the flames were hampered by the ongoing drought and strong winds.
April - May 2011
Mississippi River floods –Two major storms dumped record rainfall, thousands of homes were ordered evacuated and the Morganza Spillway was opened for the first time in 37 years to deliberately flood 4,600 square miles of Louisiana.

'I would say 75 per cent of the town is virtually gone,' said Kathy Dennis of the American Red Cross.
Thunderstorms are hampering search and rescue efforts for any survivors of the tornado.
Fresh storms began at about 8:30am on Monday, bringing strong, gusty winds, heavy rain and quarter-size hail to parts of the southwest Missouri city just beginning recovery from Sunday's tornado.
Emergency officials said the storms will slow down work to find anyone who might still be trapped in damaged buildings.
St. John's Regional Medical Centre in Joplin was fully evacuated after it took a direct hit from the tornado, and seven people have been reported dead at a local nursing home, according to police reports.
Ryan Nicholls, of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management, had earlier said that 24 fatalities had been confirmed.
But, with no electricity or communications available in the affected area, it was hard to get vital information in or out.

Authorities in Joplin have been contending with multiple reports of people trapped, as well as dealing with the significant structural damage to St. John's Regional Medical Centre.
U.S. news outlet KSHB said there were reports of fires throughout the hospital.
One facade of the building made of glass was completely blown out, and authorities were evacuating the medical centre, staff had to set up makeshift triage centres were in tents outside, witness Bethany Scutti said.
Residents 70 miles away from Joplin in Dade County, Missouri, were reportedly finding X-rays from St. John's in their driveways, indicating the size and power of the twister.

'You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like,' said Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin High School.

'I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw.'

Condolences: President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon during his visit to Dublin, Ireland. The President extended his condolences to all impacted by the deadly tornadoes

A total mess: Rachel Hurst picks through her belongings that were strewn about from her garage that was blown away in Minneapolis on Sunday

Heatbreaking: Joplin resident Chue Vang, 50, reacts after coming home to discover that her home was destroyed by the devastating tornado

WHAT IS CAUSING THE DEVASTATING STORMS?

Meteorological and environmental experts are trying to offer explanations for the string of tornadoes that have been more frequent and severe than usual.
Many weather experts are blaming global warming.
Twisters generally occur when cold air hits warm air and, because it is almost summer, the air is warm over much of the U.S.
Unusually cold air is pushing down from the north, contributing to major storm activity.
When the cold air hits the warmer air, it pushes it higher into the atmosphere than is normal, which produces major storm activity.
A lot of rain has accompanied the increased storm activity, producing massive flooding.
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said: ‘There are certainly issues related to warnings and building codes, but we cannot unduly discount climate change and high sea surface temperatures in the Gulf.'

The tornado, which touched down just before 6pm, cut a path of destruction through the heart of the city, hitting heavily populated areas. Michael Ratliff, a stormchaser for eight years, said it's possible the tornado was "rain wrapped," making it impossible to see as it mauled the Midwest city.
State and local law enforcement agencies, including fire mutual aid, are coordinating search and rescue and recovery operations.

 

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Mr Nixon said: 'These storms have caused extensive damage across Missouri, and they continue to pose significant risk to lives and property.
'As a state, we are deploying every agency and resource available to keep Missouri families safe, search for the missing, provide emergency medical care, and begin to recover.'
Phone communications in and out of Joplin, which has a population of about 50,000 people near the Kansas/Missouri border, were largely cut off.
Earlier in the day at least one person died when a tornado hit Minneapolis, ripping through homes, blowing over hundreds of trees and leaving dozens with minor injuries.
Minneapolis spokeswoman Sara Dietrich said one death was confirmed by the Hennepin County medical examiner.
Tornado warnings and watches wereissued Sunday evening throughout parts of the central U.S.
Two fire stations in Joplin lost their roofs in the twister, but no fatalities had been reported at either station.
The tornado came a day after powerful storms walloped north-east Kansas, wrecking 200 homes and killing one man.
In Minneapolis, Jasper County Emergency Management Director Keith Stammer said a tornado hit the St. John's Regional Medical Centre and that there are multiple reports of injuries.
A further 18 people were hurt were treated at North Memorial Hospital, where spokesman Wendy Jerde said the injuries were not serious.

Devastation: Emergency personnel walk through a neighbourhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin hospital. There are are no firm details on the number of dead or injured, as the hospital is out of action

Levelled: Red Cross representatives say 75% of Joplin is gone - here, vehicles and houses in the vicinity of Twenty-fourth and Main Streets are a jumble of rubble after a the tornado swept through

Widespread devastation: Another tornado in Minneapolis damaged at least 100 homes, toppling hundreds of trees and injuring at least 29 people

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP? THE DESPERATE SEARCH FOR LOVED ONES BEGINS

As rescue workers continued their search for survivors, friends and family of loved ones posted moving appeals online for help finding those missing.
Groups of residents set up Facebook groups and blogs to post photos of people whose whereabouts is unknown.
Heather Hill Stoneburner posted: ‘Please look for Ruth Lawrence...96 years old & lived alone...close to St. John's at 3142 Tyler.
‘I have seen pictures on the news. It is hard to watch. Thank you for any information. Please be safe.’
Savannah Richardson wrote: ‘i was wanting to know if you found or if my dad is okay cause I've called him 50 times and no answer I was wanting to know if you could keep eye out for him cause I'm scared he could have been in Joplin at the time of the storm.’
Pam Fricker posted a photo (above) and wrote: ‘My aunt, Janice Knight, lives at 1829 S. Moffett. She's about 5 feet tall, blonde, age 74.
‘The girl in the red shirt is Lynsey Knight, and works in ER at Freeman's... If anyone has seen them, please let them know that Uncle George was found stranded at 20th and Maiden Lane but has been helped.
‘I live in Oklahoma City, and have not been able to reach anyone.’
On a blog for relatives of those missing, one man wrote: 'my brother is missing please help - michael dodd 1516 east 18th street joplin mo i cannot contact my brother in any way if anyone finds any information please let me know i am so worried i am praying for all of our families and friends back there.'

The metro area's other two trauma centres, Hennepin County Medical Centre in Minneapolis and Regions Hospital in St. Paul, reported no injuries.
National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Krause said the line of damage stretched from just west of Minneapolis through the city and into the north-eastern suburbs.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said it wasn't immediately clear how many homes were affected, simply saying: 'It's a lot.'
Though the damage covered several blocks, it appeared few houses were totally demolished. Much of the damage was to roofs, front porches that had been sheared away and fences.
The tornado left part of a garage door in a tree and many large trees were left leaning against houses.
Pat Trafton said her family escaped unharmed after a tree was left leaning against her house.
Mrs Trafton, 67, said: 'It's been a crazy day.
'They say it was a monster tornado. It all just happened so fast.'
It was the first tornado to hit the city since August 2009. 'There was no doubt right away,' the meteorologist said.
North Minneapolis resident Tiffany Pabich was taking a nap just as the tornado blew through.

Bettered streets: Debris is scattered about in Minneapolis. On Sunday night a tornado warning was issued for several areas in central states

Crushed: Vehicles were picked up and dumped across the city by the tornado which left 30 people dead and dozens injured

She said: 'It went right between our houses. A tree landed on top of my car. We smelled gas right away.'
It is the latest in a string of natural disasters to strike the U.S. - which began with blizzards shutting down the North-East over New Year, and wildfires devastating the South.
A deadly system of twisters in April and the continuing flooding crisisof the Mississippi River will push the cost of recovery and compensation over $5 billion.
Added to this are the predictions of a bumper hurricane season this year in the South-East, and the prospect of nine Western states - from Washington to New Mexico - suffering flooding as snowpacks up to 60ft deep in placesmelt and swell waterways in the warmer weather.
The weekend's Midwest storms uprooted as many as 50 natural gas service lines in Minneapolis and suburban St. Louis Park, and CentrePoint Energy warned residents to be careful of gas leaks.
Xcel Energy reported more than 20,000 of its customers lost electricity in the metro area.
The Minneapolis Police Department asked people who didn't live in the area to stay away.
A shelter for those displaced by the storm was set up Sunday afternoon at a nearby armoury.
In the north-east Kansas, powerful storms spawned funnel clouds and hail that ripped limbs off of trees and shattered windows.
About 200 homes were damaged in and around Reading with the tornado sweeping through the small town around 9:15pm Saturday night, said Kansas Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson.
A man was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to Newman Regional Hospital in Emporia, about 20 miles from where the tornado hit, hospital supervisor Deb Gould said.
Ms Gould said two other people were brought in with injuries but she had no further details.
Five people were injured in all, along with the person killed, said Ms Watson. 
Reading, a town of about 250 people is 50 miles south of the Kansas capital city, Topeka. 
Severe thunderstorms pelted the region with hail that some Topeka residents claimed was the size of baseballs, authorities said this morning.
The storms hit the area from 6pm until midnight with the first significant calls of damage coming in about 6.30pm local time in Shawnee County, Ms Watson told CNN.
'There was significant damage caused by large hail, which broke windows and broke tree limbs,' she said.
The local post office and volunteer fire department were damaged, and all roads in and out of the town have been closed off.
'I'm hoping it's over for us,' said Ms Gould, noting that local authorities were still at the scene in Reading this morning.

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Path of destruction: No house escaped the wrath of nature in some of Minneapolis

Carnage: Rescue vehicles line up along northbound Rangeline Road in Joplin, Mo. after a fatal tornado swept through the city

Reverend Lyle Williams, who is a pastor for about 10 worshippers at the Reading First Baptist Church, said the church suffered extensive damage: 'Yeah, it's pretty bad,' he said. 'My daughter was out there and told me about it.'

'I'm not going to be able to have church today that's for sure,' he added, saying he's been a pastor at the church for 21 years.

In Jefferson County, a mobile home was destroyed with an elderly couple was trapped inside, Ms Watson told CNN. She said responders cleared the debris and rescued the couple unhurt.

Wreckage: A man stands amid the remains of a Wal-Mart store, after it was hit by the tornado, in Joplin

Night fall: An emergency worker searches the same Walmart storelater the same day

Rescue effort: Local resident Justin Titus watches crews clean the streets in Joplin

Power had been restored in the town by early Sunday and a shelter was being set up at a local school.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado also touched down in Topeka and northeast of the city near Lake Perry, where damage was reported at a nearby campsite, Ms Watson said.
While many states have been struck by severe storms this spring, Kansas has been having one of its lightest tornado seasons in decades, according to the National Weather Service.

A taste of spring? Trees were stripped of branches and many were left resting against houses

Flattened: Reading - a town of about 250 people, 50 miles south of capital city Topeka

Clean-up begins: 'There was significant damage caused by large hail, which broke windows and broke tree limbs,' Ms Watson said. The local post office and volunteer fire department were damaged

Until Saturday, no tornadoes had been reported in May, a month that averages nearly 30. Last May, 127 tornadoes tore through the state.
Governor Sam Brownback declared an emergency for 16 counties, including the one surrounding Reading, Ms Watson said.
The declaration allows state resources to be used in recovery and cleanup and paves the way for federal assistance if needed.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389737/Joplin-MO-tornado-At-89-dead-twister-cuts-4-mile-swathe-Missouri-town.html#ixzz1NBqK5PMw