Nursing home lost at least 11 in Joplin twister
As rescue crews in this city made their way through the debris of thousands of homes and concrete slabs where large stores once stood, the death toll crept higher and a nursing home operator reported that at least 11 of the fatalities were at its premises.
"What used to be a building was nothing more than a pile of rubble," said Bill Mitchell, who operated Greenbriar on the city's south side. Ten victims were residents and the 11th was a staff member, he added. One person remains unaccounted for.
"One of the little old men from the nursing home was standing in the middle of the street when we came out of the house," neighbor Sandy Conlee told the Joplin Globe in describing the aftermath. "He had blood all over his head. He was in shock."
Conlee's brother and two sons went inside to search for survivors. "They said they wished they hadn't," she added. "There were bodies and broken bones and blood."
Staff at Greenbriar and another heavily damaged facility, Meadows Care Center, had received a warning that the storm was coming and started moving people into the halls. But it hit quicker than expected, Mitchell said.
More warning, he said, "wouldn't have mattered."
Greenbriar, which had 89 residents, and Meadows Care Center, which had 104, have been able to send survivors to other facilities.
The overall death toll rose to at least 119, according to the Jasper County coroner.
Some 1,500 people were reported missing, according to Keith Stammer of Jasper County Emergency Management. That tally could include many who simply have not yet been able to let relatives know they are fine, authorities said.
The Joplin area was also bracing for new storms, after forecasters warned that a vast swath of the United States could be hit by severe thunderstorms — with a risk of tornadoes in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri, including Joplin.
Expect "a few strong tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds over parts of the southern and central Plains and Ozarks this afternoon and tonight," the National Weather Service warned in a statement.
By midday, tornadoes had been reported on the ground near Canton, Okla., and Hugoton, Kan. A debris cloud was spotted outside Canton as the twister moved north.
In Joplin, search teams included one that poked through the remains of a Home Depot store, while others searched a Walmart and wrecked apartments as the clock ticked down on another round of severe storms that was forecast to hit later in the day.
Source:msn.com
