I didn’t think we were going to make it, it happened so fast.’ ‘You could just feel the air pull up and it was so painful. Mrs Fritz said she was surprised she survived. ‘My husband and I went out and saw two or three dead bodies on the ground.’įlattened: Members of Missouri Task Force One search-and-rescue team work at the tornado-damaged Home Depot store in JoplinĬhaos: A destroyed apartment complex is seen in an aerial view over Joplin ‘My sons had deceased children in their arms when they came back,’ Mrs Fritz said. Their sons, aged 20 and 17, went outside after the storm and saw that every home was destroyed. 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.

Kelley Fritz, 45, rummaged through the remains of a storage building with her husband, Jimmy. Her husband looked on grimly at the scenes of devastation, and said they would rebuild their home of 33 years. ‘I’ll never disregard the sirens again,’ said Mrs Sumners. 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.Īround 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. He had had to use a metal bar to pry himself out of his crushed home. ‘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. Still visibly shaken, many stared solemnly over the landscape. Survivors of the disaster were today coming to terms with the sheer scale of the devastation that had been wreaked upon their city. Multivortex tornadoes contain two or more small and intense subvortices that orbit the centre of the larger tornado circulation. Storm Prediction Center director Russell Schneider said video evidence shows Sunday’s tornado appeared to be a rare ‘multivortex’ twister. The National Weather Service said on Tuesday that the tornado appears to have had more than one vortex.

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 shocking photos reveal for the first time the true extent of the damage caused when the mile-wide tornado that killed at least 122 people blasted much of the city off the map and slammed straight into its hospital.įorecasters warned residents on Tuesday to prepare themselves for a looming storm system that has all the early signs of spawning more deadly tornadoes.įrom the sky: Uprooted trees and building without roofs lie devastated in Joplin, Missouri after the tornado hit on Sunday

Obama to visit region on Sunday as he says tornado was ‘devastating and heartbreaking’Īs 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.

Tornado was rare ‘multivortex’ twister, reveals National Weather Service.

‘This is a very serious situation brewing,’ warns Storm Prediction Center as forecasters say city could be hit again.

1,500 people still remain unaccounted for, according to fire officials.

Deadliest single tornado in more than 60 years with at least 125 people killed.

Devastating 198mph tornado tore a path a mile wide and six miles long straight through Joplin, Missouri.

Joplin tornado damage