Joplin, Missouri: Five years after the EF5 tornado of May 22, 2011

Pictures above: (left) Mercy Hospital after the tornado hit. (right) Mercy Hospital after it was rebuilt (completed in 2015)

Five-years ago, the town of Joplin, Missouri was forever changed by a nearly mile-wide EF5 tornado. The tornado killed 158 people, injured 1,100+ and caused damages totaling $2.8 billion.

[The May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missour EF5 tornado]

While looking over how the recover progress is going, I compiled a list of articles, websites, and other information to try and tell the story of how Joplin has healed since the tornado struck.

If you know of any additional stories, information, additional pictures, etc., to share, please leave a comment and I will update the post!

Joplin Tornado: Recovery Efforts Five Years Later

KCStar Joplin Before and After

KCStar Joplin Survivor Stories

An article from the Kansas City Star about Joplin’s success and failures since the tornado:

Joplin five years later: Healing and scars

Story from The Joplin Globe about Joplin’s recovery:

Six Miles of Recovery: The Journey Back

Video showing areas before/after using a drone (also from The Joplin Globe):

The rebuild and the lingering scars 5 years after the #Joplin EF5 #tornado. https://t.co/UjDZxaFAAU pic.twitter.com/zf5ZvtJTWV

— Jonathan Erdman (@wxjerdman) May 21, 2016

The Joplin tornado touched down 5 years ago tomorrow. @AP's account of recovery: https://t.co/5R9q9yH8A9

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 21, 2016

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wrote a pretty lengthy technical investigation report following the tornado. A portion of their abstract, as quoted from the final report:

This is the final report of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigation of the May 22, 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, conducted under the National Construction Safety Team Act. This report describes the wind field of the tornado and how the wind pressures and windborne debris damaged and destroyed thousands of buildings; the emergency communications before and during the tornado and how the public responded; the influence of tornado hazards and public response and building and designated shelter area performance on survival and injury; and areas of current building and emergency communications codes, standards and practices that warrant revision.

The report can be read, in full (almost 500 pages) here

Residents of Joplin created The Joplin Proud, a committee that consists of community volunteers to help remember what was lost, thank those who came to lend aid and support and for the residents to be proud of the progress that has been made.

During the month of May, residents have joined together in numerous events as a celebration of their city.

Also, on May 19-20^th, there was a Joplin Disaster Recovery Summit. It took place at Missouri Southern State University. The summit was an opportunity for lessons learned to be shared across communities in the Midwest.