Stopped in Joplin MO
 

We were on our way to OKC to record and thought we'd see how things were.

There's some attempts at rebuilding but the destruction is still evident. No trees, no shrubs, on the south side of town very few original house remain. Older trees stripped of leaves & branches.

Here's a short video I took. I'll post a few pics I took too.


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jf1mGx20sFU


Joplin has a nice downtown but when a substantial amount of the population's homes are leveled, the economic effects are near insurmountable.

...and for the inevitable next time:

I haven't been down to Joplin since the tornado hit but I've lived in Missouri most of my life and have dealt with them plenty. The destruction from this particular storm is far and away more than I've ever seen from any I experienced. The only real comparison I have is driving through Tuscaloosa, AL after a huge tornado hit there a year or two ago. It's just a very surreal thing to witness.

I also didn't point out that EVERY telephone/utility pole was new.

EDIT: 1-29-13 Nearly every roof in Joplin had new shingles as well.

nice pics

I'll take my earthquakes

I was living in Tuscaloosa when the tornado hit (about 1/4 mile away) and while the damage was terrible Joplin was hit much harder. It's estimated that about 12% of Tuscaloosa was affected and we were lucky that it missed both HD and Lowe's and missed our hospital by a few hundred yards. I have close family that live in Joplin and from talking to them the damage there is going to be much harder to come back from. Surreal is the word.

I think that a lot of storm-ravaged areas of this country, Gulf Coast, NY/NJ, Joplin, etc. likely won't ever be rebuilt.

Some areas destroyed by Katrina in 2005 haven't been reconstructed and likely never will be.

It's consistent with a pattern of slow collapse of this country due to Peak Oil. Aided and abetted by climate change.

An I-Phone 4. Took this one through Burning Man, Yellowstone & Arches National. My digital camera runs a distant 2nd for resolution & color.

Some are here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f34/ye...l-park-927578/

I really dig your photo threads. Thank you for taking the time to share the pictures with us along with some commentary.

Did you have a chance to stop and visit with any of the town folk?

-Mike

We were in transit to a recording session in OKC. A lovely town that's on the verge of becoming trendy.

FWIW: I had to do 7 songs on bass. Got 2 on the 2nd take clean! 5 others were done in less than 2 hours. Glad I took some study music for the duration.

Where are you guys from?

I am from Huntington Woods, MI. The guitarist, singer, composer is from Wayne, MI. Met him via-Craig's List.

A very talented youngster with some good A-list pop songs. An OKC label & publisher picked him up. After years of nothing but cover-bands filled with hobbyists, I am up for something new.

We got a great and lively product. Release somewhere 'round April-May.

Just looked at your pix thread - Thanks SO MUCH for sharing them. Fantastic.

Wow that's a heck of a drive from Michigan! I live an hour east of joplin, not far from I44, so I was just wondering if you were from the area.

Here are some pics of the tornado damage I took in Tuscaloosa after.the big storm hit. These were taken a few days after the storm hit as I was driving by. These are pictures of a two story apartment complex about a quarter mile from where I was living at the time. It's amazing how quickly it happens. The tornado came and went in less than a minute.

[IMG]http:/ [/IMG]

[IMG]http:/ [/IMG]

[IMG]http:/ [/IMG]

And some random damage pics.

[IMG]http:/ [/IMG]

[IMG]http:/ [/IMG]

These were taken after a lot of fallen trees had been removed to allow access to roads and homes.

We were fortunate to have had a few days warning that the weather would be volatile that day. Most schools and businesses shut down early and people knew to be off the street. My relatives in Joplin say that their tornado hit with very little warning.

Look how shredded the trees are. An amazing & scary force of nature.

Looks like Detroit...just with more new construction.