# Photos of Joplin, MO tornado damage



## chakalakasp

These images were shot on May 25, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri.  After the May 24 chase, I ended up overnighting in Tulsa, so I made my trip back home to Nebraska through Joplin.  I ended up spending much more time there than I'd anticipated -- around seven hours.  I parked outside the damage area and walked in, then later retrieved my car and drove around a bit.  (At the time, there was still so little traffic that I did not create any kind of nuisance to volunteers).  

These photos and videos honestly do not begin to tell the story of what happened to Joplin -- I couldn't figure out how to simultaneously capture the incredible heartbreak and at the same time render the unbelievable scale of the disaster.  The place looked like Hiroshima; stand atop a hilltop and for as far as the eye can see, nothing but rubble.  

If anyone has the time and resources, I highly encourage you to take a trip down and volunteer -- they need all the help they can get.

This is a small selection.  To view all the damage photos I shot that day, go here and here:

http://on.fb.me/jAjU7h 
http://on.fb.me/l1fXYZ

Let me start this photostream by linking to the three panoramas that I shot.  Click any of the three images below for very large, scrollable versions.  













Sorry for the stitching seams, I wasn't using a pano tripod (or any tripod for that matter) when I shot them.

And now into the regular photos.

The kind of damage that occurred can only be described as epic.


























Note that that "Emergency" sign is the sign for the Emergency Room parking lot at Saint John's hospital -- which is located over half a mile from the location that I'm shooting this.





The owners of this home took shelter in the basement.  The man explained to me that he generally doesn't pay much heed to tornado sirens but prefers to get a visual himself.  When the sirens went off, he went outside to look at the incoming storm.  It was apparent to him pretty quickly that this was going to be pretty bad, so he ran inside and herded his family into the basement.  In the basement, he knew the tornado was coming right over head when his ears begun popping and all the HVAC ducts in the basement began imploding inward like crushed soda cans.  The passage of the tornado took around one minute and thirty seconds to two minutes, according to the man.  After the tornado, they had to crawl out of the house.  This is all that was left.





This is the back side of that same house.  





... and a telephoto view to give perspective.





A running theme throughout Joplin was the gratitude that the residents expressed for the hordes of volunteers who descended from surrounding communities (and in some cases, all over the country).  





Free food and water was set up all over the place by volunteers.  This was a good thing, as there were no food or water services for miles around.










One of the things I noticed over and over was the undeniable truth of the conventional wisdom of "do not shelter in your car".  More on this later.





Residents were rather shell-shocked as they cleared debris to try to find their home's possessions.  





This man was looking for his mother's possessions; his mother lived in the house just down the street and was hoping they blew this way.  From the way he talked about her in the past tense, I assume she was killed; I didn't ask.  










The amount of damage done to the hospital was staggering, considering how well built it was.  Things were sucked out of it and blown for miles -- several hundred yards from the hospital, I had to be careful where I stepped as you would find the occasional syringe laying on the ground.















The strangest things would be found up in trees.  Pillows, box springs, (minus all fabric and wood -- just the springs would be up there, usually half unwound) -- here, the front of a washing machine.





Periodically, you'd hear fire engines as fires broke out in homes.  There were still some small gas leaks (you could smell them from time to time as you walked around), so I suspect that this was the culprit.










Here, a kitchen survived... and only a kitchen.  






[/IMG]
Similar story at this house, as well.





Messages to loved ones were scrawled on buildings everywhere with spray paint.  I imagine when all telecommunications are down, this sort of thing is the only resort.

I tried to spend some time shooting the smaller details -- the devastation was so huge, and yet there were so many tiny tragedies.  




































So... back to vehicles.  As a chaser, seeing all of this made me redouble my commitment to always play it conservative near tornadoes, especially HP rain-wrapped tornadoes.





This was a car.





So was this.





A side view of the above car.





This car looks mostly okay.  It's not.  See that hole in the windshield?





That's what came through that hole.  That's metal wrapped around the passenger headrest.





Here's a back view.  That's all strong metal back there.















The tornado bent this car around a pole.





This is the most mind-blowing thing I found there that day.  This is a semi-truck.  Wrapped around a debarked tree.  Look at the bottom, you can see the actual frame is wrapped right around.  





Here's a truck I found... blown inside a former Salvation Army.  It came through one of the large windows.















An example of an interior room being a good place to be.  Stepping through the door in the white bit of wall at center, we find...





... not as good as a basement, but in this case, it would have been survivable.  (The owners of this house survived).





This man crawled out of the house you see behind him.  





He heard the tornado sirens and took shelter, though he said that he doesn't always do this.  He said that "every storm has a voice", which I found quite poetic and interesting as a storm chaser.  The voice of this storm told him to get the hell into a small room and take cover.  The room he took cover in is the only room that survived.  The neighbor in the house across the street died.    





This is the Joplin High School.  A small part of it, anyway -- it was quite a large school.  This is the main entrance.

Lastly, here are several Youtube videos of the damage.  They are embedded here, but note that they will look better in Hi-Def over at Youtube.  They were shot with an iPhone and I'm a photographer not a videographer, so apologies in advance for the crappy videography and jittery picture at times.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msvcW_ZuK3o





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1mMKN9Gwm4





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daMNWY4B-WI





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7poCxB2ZUY





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV7vkPCiH08





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sHcz1877Zg





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_SNOSfV6hk





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diUIApl21Xw


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## molested_cow

Thanks for sharing.


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## Bitter Jeweler

No words can describe what these photos capture.


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## Big Mike

Wow...just wow.


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## 480sparky

THAT................... is incredible!


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## memento

scary


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## ronda

Amazing captures of nature's fury and its devastating consequences. Thank you for sharing.


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## bazooka

chakalakasp said:


>



This one is speaks to me man... incredible images.


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## PhotoTish

Bitter Jeweler said:


> No words can describe what these photos capture.



My thoughts too.

What incredible photographs.


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## behanana

I have to give you credit for being there and capturing amazing photos. I would be no good at this kind of photography, it's just not something I could do, so thanks for sharing.

Oh yeah, and for having the stones to chase a tornado!


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## mishele

Thanks so much for sharing!! You really captured the just how destructive the storm was!! I can't even imagine what it would be like to live there.


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## wilsoncs3980

Incredible photos!


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## Lloyd50

Stunning photos


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## KBM1016

These are amazing.  Fantastic job!  Stay safe


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## GreatPhotoRace

Wow.  Unbelievable.  Thanks for sharing!  Hearts go out to everyone afflicted!


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## mommyphotog

Fantastic job with these images. I used to live in Springfield,Mo (very close to joplin) and know a lot of people out there. i know they can use all the help they can get. People out there are holding garage sales and doing what they can to help this town. I know that the restaurant I used to work at donated a lot of food to the survivors and workers. Thanks again for your amazing work.


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## Kiwi_gav

Great Set, thanks for sharing. These really give an appreciation of the scale of destruction and our thoughts are with the many people that have been affected.


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## JBArts

So sad and devastating 'coz this photographs shows how dangerous and how natural disaster affects our lives but you have so much incredible photos. By caring for our environment it can prevent this kind of disaster. Keep on posting!


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## DragonHeart

Thanks for sharing.  Our hearts and prayers go out to those affected by the storms. Seems mother nature is reaping revenge on us for destroying and polluting the planet.


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## FiveAlarmPhotography

Amazing coverage of a very tragic event.


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## sportsphotographer

Chak - moved - well wrought photographs of a very terrible time - done with amazing sensitivity and genuine heart. Thank you for sharing, prayers for the people.


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## cepwin

Unbelievable!!  Thoughts and Prayers go out to those folks!


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## LaFoto

Oh - my - God!
NO news footage can convey what these photos do! 
Oh, oh, oh ... ale:


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