DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star Lightning struck the roof of the St. John's Hospital in Joplin, Mo. on Monday afternoon, May 23, 2011, following a tornado which swept through the city on Sunday evening. Severe weather hampered rescue operations with several storms passing through the area.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT In an effort to clear the city streets and sidewalks for utility repairs, crews from Crossland Heavy Construction based in Columbus, Kan., used a trackhoe to pick up wrecked cars.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star Obama paused with Missouri Govenor Jay Nixon after the tour to briefly comment on the devastation.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star President Barack Obama visited some of those whose homes were destroyed a week ago in the massive tornado that hit Joplin.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star President Barack Obama visited some of those whose homes were destroyed a week ago in the massive tornado that hit Joplin, Mo. The president walked through several blocks of a residential area that was extensively damaged by the storm that claimed well over 100 lives. He and Missouri Govenor Jay Nixon paused during the tour of the area to have a picture taken with a family clearing debris from one of the many houses that was destroyed in the storm.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Kenji Numata shoveled out debris from the home at 2525 Kentucky in Joplin, Mo. on Thursday morning, May 26, 2011, following the F5 tornado that swept through the city's central section.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star President Barack Obama visited some of those whose homes were destroyed a week ago in the massive tornado that hit Joplin.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star President Barack Obama visited some of those whose homes were destroyed a week ago in the massive tornado that hit Joplin.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT The yard at 2203 E. 20th Street in Joplin, Mo. on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, was buried by rubble from houses following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Erick Castor, lower right, whose Joplin, Mo. home was destroyed by a tornado that swept through the city's central section, paused during a prayer on Thursday afternoon, May 26, 2011, at a public forum for victims of the tornado to find information about assistance programs.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Shawn and Joella Zaccarello of Joplin pitched in to help sort through the damage of their uncle's home at 2203 E. 20th Street on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, destroyed by Sunday evening's tornado that swept through the city's central section.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star While her Joplin, Mo. home was completely destroyed, Amy Jump, lower, her husband and three children all survived the tornado which devasated Joplin on Sunday evening. Jump and her neighbors were sifting through the rubble Monday morning, looking for salvagable items and photos.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star A tattered American flag, found by the owner of the destroyed house (rear) flaps in the wind in Duquesne, near Joplin. The owner, Jim Wills, rode the tornado out in his bathtub.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Athletic trophies inside Joplin High School were covered in dirt and rain on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT The home at 2020 Mississippi Avenue was the site where Don Lansaw lost his life as he lay atop his wife, Bethany, in the bathtub during Sunday evening's F5 tornado that swept through the central section of Joplin.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Jim Burd hung his clothes on a makeshift clothesline tied to a tree stump and a car.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star Firefighter Rob Muir of the Kansas City Fire Department (Rescue 31 engine) sorted through the ruins of a clock shop on Main Street in Joplin.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star A bench at Peace Luthern Church withstood the tornado in Joplin.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star This is a 360 degree view of the neighborhod near Joplin High School after on Saturday, May 28, 2011, after a EF5 tornado ripped through the town on Sunday in Joplin, Missouri.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT The effects of an F5 tornado that swept through the central section of Joplin, Mo. on Sunday evening, May 22, 2011, were still evident on Thursday morning, May 26, 2011.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Residents of Joplin reached out to each other as a prayer was said when the town gathered for a moment of silence at 5:41p.m. on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri to mark the time when the EF 5 tornado struck their town last week.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star The destruction in Joplin, Mo. was seen Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following a tornado that swept through the city Sunday evening.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Amid the rubble of Joplin one new building was taking form on Thursday, May 26, 2011. The Cut Loose Beauty Saloon was destroyed by the tornado. The shop is run by Diana Collins and her husband runs a construction company that is doing the work. He said he hopes to have it done in 45 days.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Daybreak in Joplin brought a sunny sky over the storm damaged town on Tuesday, May 24, 2011.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Tornado damage in Joplin.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Storm clouds moved over Joplin, Mo. on Wednesday afternoon, May 25, 2011, following the devastation caused by a tornado that swept through the city's central section on Sunday evening.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Rev. Bill Pape (right) handed out the body of Christ as Janic Kibler, associate to the bishop, and Judy Stiles, congregation president, held chalices as the congregation came forward to received communion during a Sunday service in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 2002 Walnut, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star Lydia Cranston, lower left, looked up as she helped rummage through the personal items of her cousin's home in Joplin, Mo. on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following the destruction from a tornado that swept through Joplin.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star The engagement portrait of Jarod Stice, left, and Jessica Bennett, right, lay in the ruins of their home in Joplin, Mo. on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following the destruction of a tornado that swept through the heart of Joplin Sunday evening. The couple found their wedding rings in the ruins and are still planning to wed on July 23rd.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star With other emergency response help on hand, Joplin Firefighters searched for a couple of convenience store employees across the street from St. John's Regional Medical Center on Monday, May 23, 2011, after a tornado cut a half-mile wide and six-mile long swath through the heart of the city on Sunday in Joplin, Missouri.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star 360 degree view of the St. John's Regional Medical Center neighborhood on Saturday, May 28, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT Joplin High School incurred major damage from the F5 tornado.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT The bathtub at 2020 Mississippi Avenue was the spot where Don Lansaw lost his life as he lay atop his wife, Bethany, in the bathtub during Sunday evening's F5 tornado that swept through the central section of Joplin, Mo. Bethany survived the tornado.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT David Blank, left, and his daughter, Poppy Wilson, comb through the debris at 2406 Kentucky in Joplin.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT A Missouri Highway Patrol officer held up his video camera to record the damage at St. John's Regional Medical Center as the sun rose over Joplin.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star President Barack Obama (middle) shared a hug with a couple of Joplin residents follwing his speech at the Joplin Community Memorial Service at the Taylor Performing Arts Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus on Sunday, May 29, 2011, after a EF5 tornado ripped through the town last Sunday in Joplin.
DAVID EULITT
— DAVID EULITT David Blank looked for a spot to place an American flag found in the rubble of a home he was helping clean up at 2411 Kentucky in Joplin.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star From a helicopter Staff Sgt. Daryl Kelley of the Missouri National Guard took video and pictures of tornado damage in Joplin.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star 360 degree view of the St. John's Regional Medical Center neighborhood on Saturday, May 28, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Members of the audience were busy with cellphone photos as President Barack Obama began his speech during the Joplin Community Memorial Service at the Taylor Performing Arts Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus on Sunday, May 29, 2011, after a EF5 tornado ripped through the town last Sunday in Joplin, Missouri.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Tornado victims Kevan Cole and his wife, Tonya Cole, waited in line early Wednesday, May 25, 2011, for a permit to get back to their home in the storm damaged area of Joplin.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Edna Lassaman (left) talked with Carey Prater (right) about their home as the congregation gathered for a Sunday service in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 2002 Walnut, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star Dallas Lee, 6, held on to family friend Scott Rowan's neck on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, as the pair searched for salvagable items out of the truck that Dallas was in during Sunday evening's tornado that swept through Joplin.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star President Barack Obama shook hands with a member for the military following his speech at the Joplin Community Memorial Service at the Taylor Performing Arts Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus on Sunday, May 29, 2011, after a EF5 tornado ripped through the town last Sunday in Joplin, Missouri.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Carrying their own chairs, Martha Clifton (left) and Suzanne Carney (right) made their way across the parking lot as they prepared for a Sunday service in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 2002 Walnut, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri. In spite of their building being razed by a EF5 tornado last Sunday afternoon, the church held it regular worship service.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star With other emergency response help on hand, Joplin Firefighters searched for a couple of convenience store employees across the street from St. John's Regional Medical Center.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star A sign was posted at the corner of 20th Street and Wisconsin announcing the congregation's intentions of holding a Sunday service in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 2002 Walnut, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri. In spite of their building being razed by a EF5 tornado last Sunday afternoon, the church held it regular worship service.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Kathrin Elmborg's home was destroyed but her engagement ring was recovered from the rubble.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star With storm clouds looming overhead, Stewart Munson, of St. Louis, Mo., checked to see if his sister's generator could be salvaged.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star Scott Rowan sifted through the pickup truck of Trista Lee, upper left, on Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following the destruction of a tornado that swept through Joplin, Mo. on Sunday evening. Lee and her family rode through the tornado inside the truck, unable to reach the church shelter they were headed for.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Paula Barnett (left) leaned into Susan Dodson as she and Dodson embraced as the town gathered for a moment of silence at 5:41p.m. on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri to mark the time when the EF 5 tornado struck their town last week.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Devoid of limbs and bark, but wrapped with scraps of metal and cloth a tree stood in front of Joplin High School on Monday, May 23, 2011, after a tornado cut a half-mile wide and six-mile long swath through the heart of the city on Sunday in Joplin, Missouri.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Saying that they like the community and the good people, Tim and Stacey Bartow are planning to stay in Joplin. The survived the tornado by taking shelter in their basement along with a neighboring family. They were at the home on Thursday, May 26, 2011, to locate belongings. Speaking about the hand painted sign, Tim said "I wanted to get the message out there that there's hope."
Tammy Ljungblad
— TAMMY LJUNGBLAD/Kansas City Star Stormy weather didn't stop Brian Paterson from unloading donations of bottled water in Lot C outside Arrowhead Stadium.
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
— DAVID EULITT/Kansas City Star The destruction in Joplin, Mo. was seen Monday morning, May 23, 2011, following a tornado that swept through the city Sunday evening.
Eric Adler | The Kansas City Sta
John DeGraff, a resident of Joplin, Mo, surveys the damage to his house after a tornado hit the city. The tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses.
President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, during his visit to Dublin, Ireland, May 23, 2011. The President and Gov. Nixon discussed the deadly tornado that touched down in Joplin, Mo., Sunday night. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Rev. Bill Pape prepared for a day out in the sun by applying sunscreen to his head as he prepared for a Sunday service in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 2002 Walnut, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri. In spite of their building being razed by a EF5 tornado last Sunday afternoon, the church held it regular worship service.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Amid the rubble of Joplin one new building was taking form on Thursday, May 26, 2011. The Cut Loose Beauty Saloon that was destroyed by the tornado should be finished in about 45 days said construction company owner Darren Collins. His wife, Diana Collins, runs the business.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Sunrise in Joplin on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, revealed a barren landscape.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Members of the congregatoin sat in whatever chairs they could find as they held a Sunday service in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 2002 Walnut, on Sunday, May 29, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri. In spite of their building being razed by a EF5 tornado last Sunday afternoon, the church held it regular worship service.
Tammy Ljungblad
— TAMMY LJUNGBLAD/Kansas City Star Former Kansas City Chiefs Duane Clemons shook hands and thanked Lieu Kidwell of Independence for her donation of bottled water outside Arrowhead Stadium.
Rich Sugg
— RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star From a now open-air bedroom, Tom Messner leaned against his gun case and talked about riding out the tornado, that first swept through Joplin and then Dequesne, where he has lived his entire life.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star A car sat in a pile of rubble that were homes.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star With morning's first light three unidentified men looked over the damage on Monday, May 23, 2011, after a tornado cut a half-mile wide and six-mile long swath through the heart of the city on Sunday in Joplin, Missouri.
SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star
— SHANE KEYSER/Kansas City Star Windows were blown out all over St. John's Regional Medical Center.
Keith Myers
— KEITH MYERS/Kansas City Star Tornado damage in Joplin on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
