This study explores the reasons for the unexpectedly high number of fatalities caused by the 2011 Joplin, MO, tornado. The record number of deaths caused by the single tornado in Joplin, MO, was far higher than the average number of yearly tornado deaths caused in the United States during the both time periods (i.e., 11). Average annual tornado deaths in the country were 55 for the period 2000-2010, but if the 554 deaths caused by 2011 tornadoes are added, the figure increases to 63.5. In contrast to the horrific new record, 45 tornado fatalities were recorded in the United States during all of 2010, and just 21 stemmed from the 2009 calendar year. The Joplin event stands as the deadliest single tornado to hit the United States since modern record-keeping began in 1950, surpassing the 8 June 1953 tornado that claimed 116 lives in Flint, MI (Mustain 2011). This EF5 tornado, which at its zenith was three-quarters of a mile wide, levelled much of the city’s south side, and completely flattened some neighbourhoods, with leaves stripped from trees, the landscape took on an apocalyptic aura. As Williams says, “… people listened on May 22 and they knew what to do.”įEMA provides three grant programs that offer funding for eligible mitigation planning and projects that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program.įollow recovery updates in Missouri on Twitter and Get the latest information at Missouri's recovery website and FEMA's disaster webpage.įEMA's mission is helping people before, during and after disasters."A massive tornado that tore a 6-mile path across southwestern Missouri killed 162 people as it raged through the heart of Joplin on the evening of. Residents, Cole County and Jefferson City officials feel safer with the sirens. “National Weather Service warnings prompted siren blasts for 30 minutes damage reports came into the 911 system as the tornado passed,” he added. Watches and warnings from the National Weather Service feed into the Jefferson City Police Department, the joint communications center for the city and county.” A digital message sent with the siren blast indicated a tornado was on the way. David Williams, Jefferson City Police Department, noted residents were positive about the siren warning. Trees fell on and totaled his car, but he was unhurt - except for cat scratches. Jefferson City resident Joe Gassoway, Jr., who lives in a street parallel to the area where the tornado touched down, said, “I heard the second siren after hearing the wind pick up, felt my house shake, grabbed my cat and headed toward the cellar.” A former New Orleans resident and Hurricane Katrina survivor, Gassoway knows that weather can wreak havoc.
An EF-3 tornado, with 136-165 mph winds plowed through Cole County and Jefferson City. The joint Cole County-Jefferson City siren project was completed in 2012.Įerily, on May 22 this year, the eighth anniversary of the Joplin tornado, Mother Nature tested the new emergency sirens. The project was funded by capital improvement sales taxes. The new system with 29 sirens cost about $750,000 with each siren averaging between $30,000 and $35,000.
They were “old-style World War II civil defense sirens.” Maintenance costs were “unbelievable” and parts for repair were no longer available. The county and city evaluated their emergency sirens and agreed to replace them.Īccording to Bill Farr, Cole County’s emergency management director, the warning sirens within Jefferson City limits needed to be upgraded and replaced. The catastrophic event, which brought down nearly 7,000 homes, a hospital and other public buildings, prompted a wave of initiatives throughout the state to reduce risks to lives and damage to property in the path of another disaster. In 2011 a deadly EF-5 tornado-winds more than 200 mph, top of the Enhanced Fujita Damage Scale-took 161 lives in Joplin, MO. – Thanks to new sirens blaring a warning message about the approaching tornado this past May, no lives were lost in Missouri’s Cole County and Jefferson City, the state capital.
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