Those are incredible! What did it say on the roof of that house? I couldn't quite read it.

There is good every day on the roof and home is where family is on the side of the house. My friend thought a For Rent on the front of one house was funny. The house was a total loss and the people had a sense of humor. I have a story for animal lovers. We checked on a man we know was in a very bad neighborhood. He had a good sized two story house which is now down to a part in the middle of the lower floor. They survived cat on the bottom, wife over the cat, husband covering wife in the bathroom. After the tornado was over he got three scared and crying children and their mother out of a bathtub at a neighbor's house. His next door neighbor was found dead the next day under a tree and debris. They were told to walk to another area because of gas leaks, but about 9 they walked back toward their "home" because they knew family would come looking and not be able to find them. They carried a wet and mad cat around for several hours. It was a declawed cat I think, but I'm not sure. I can image me in a disaster trying to corral my six animals.

That's so sweet, Helen. I have 4 cats, 2 dogs, and 3 parakeets. I'd probably get blown away trying to gather everyone up.

The fish in the aquarium are on their own I guess.

Heartbreaking photos Helen.
I take my dogs and cat downstairs before there's a tornado warning here. I don't want my kids trying to save them if there's a warning. I want them to be able to get downstairs in a hurry instead of running around looking under beds for a cat as I'm sure they would.

It was sad to hear they found the body of the missing 18 year old. I feel so bad for his dad that was trying to hold onto him.

I'm sure everyone in Joplin has a loss in one way or another. Even in Springfield there are lots of connections. All four of my kids have friends/classmates at their schools with family members in Joplin that have been found dead.

"All four of my kids have friends/classmates at their schools with family members in Joplin that have been found dead."

That's so sad.

http://www.koamtv.com/story/14875802/cat-found-alive-in-debris-16-days-after-ef-5-tornado

Cat story.

Sorry about old news but the tornado is still fresh to me. I drive by the damage every time I get mushroom compost. I get mushroom compost every time I come to Joplin. This u tube was the most interesting to me. I didn't know why we didn't get more advanced notice of the exact location of the tornado. They said it was near Galena, Kansas and then next thing I know it was south of the TV station on the cam. This video shows how fast it formed if this is truely video of the Joplin tornado. My friend's relative works for a company that has towers and he said they had 70 towers out in Kansas and 17 out in Joplin. This is not very accurate because I don't even know what he does with the towers. Anyway there was bad weather in Kansas so there was warning. It is just that I thought they would be better able to tell where tornados were. Also it was a right turning tornado that didn't go the normal direction.

Here is a link that might be useful: young men who should have been in a basement

It's a wonder that video was ever seen. They were driving toward it and it does form very fast.

I thought the direction of the tornado was confusing too. I was watching it on radar and listening to the news because my husband and daughter were on I44 driving to Monett for the races. It looked like the storm was moving southeast on the radar but they said on the news that the tornado was moving NORTHeast.

Are you seeing some rebuilding now in Joplin or still just cleanup? Don't apologize for posting about it.

There is rebuilding. Some business are gaining ground quickly, Walgreens on 20th and Rangeline is nearly finished, several others are in the beginning stages. Home Depot has a big temporary store. Some places are repaired and open for business again. Many have moved to new locations away from the tornado zone. A lot of business are still finishing cleanup. There is little work being done on homes except the places that were damaged and can be repaired, those are getting done pretty fast. Most of what is going on is still cleanup, and there is a hold on building permits for residences until more cleanup can be done, as construction crews and cleanup crews can get in each other's way pretty easily.

This is what we were watching on TV before DISH went out. Notice how quickly they go from tornado in Galena to tornado in Joplin. Christie, the stores are rebuilding and fixing their damage. Wal-Greens pulled in a mobile pharmacy trailer soon after and are now working on their store fronts at the two damaged locations. Some were faster than others getting back in business. Home Depot put up a huge tent. People are getting new shingles and siding. The city has a deadline for cleanup. In the devastated area it is getting clearer and empty, but I don't see rebuilding. My landmark even after the tornado was the Salvation Army building which used to be IGA then J-Town. One day I drove by and no building at all. I got lost for a moment not knowing where I was on Main. The Elks Club was a pile of rubble and now it is a clear concrete pad.

Here is a link that might be useful: why we went to the hall

Helen, I drive from one side of Joplin to the other every day and I can tell you for sure that S. Main is not the only street you can get lost on! The cleanup is coming along but there are still whole neighborhoods where tnothing much has been done yet. They are mostly concentrating on the busiest streets, apartment buildings and businesses, it appears to me tho there are some residences that are being cleared. There is so much debris! We drove around the other evening just to see what was happening, and drove down Pennsylvania from 20th south....guarantee we were lost almost immediately with so much damage, no landmarks left. It looks like a wasteland.

The trees are leafing out again but only with stored energy. With very little bark left they will die very quickly as they can't take up any nutrients or water. Very few can be saved. Sad to see those old giants gone.

Sandy