Gotcha.

However, in my defense, I was just making fun of him. :)

I know it looks bad on TV and in picture, but growing up and living here, it is literally unrecognizable in a large portion of the town.

It is worse than it looks from a distance and I know it looks bad.

Not being melodramatic but trying to be honest.

The pics of the hospital (St. John's) that everyone has seen look bad. It looks like a hospital in a big open area that was hit by a tornado.

Thing is that's not a big open area, that was heavily populated with buildings etc...

There was a YMCA just west across from the hospital I have worked out at during my lunch break for probably close to 5 years that I think is gone.

It's hard to fathom.

I know. I'm tempted to do the same, but it's the whole "attacking the defenseless" thing in a sense.

Like I said, it looks a lot like Parkersburg, which was completely leveled.

Why is that tornadoes occur in the US far more than anywhere else?

How long ago was that?

I for one believe we as a "planet" of should do something for those in Joplin: A Chiefsplanet fund? I've always believed that helping others is helping yourself and that you help simply because it does good and it feels good.

Shall we?

Heck, I mist up just looking at pictures and videos. Can't even imagine seeing it first hand.

Two years ago or so. Through a LOT of hard work and community help, they've rebuilt. It's an incredible story.

Edit: There are many photos of Parkersburg after the tornado. Here is one example:

http://fly-iowa.com/Photos/Parkersbu...28Large%29.jpg

There are plenty of ways people can individually give to the efforts as a whole, but I'd pitch in if we had some specific purpose that would be different from just pooling our money and giving it to the red cross.

Was that the town that was rebuilt 'Green'?

No, that was Greensburg, KS.

Parkersburg, IA is the tiny Iowa town that produced four current NFL players. Kampman, Wiegmann, Meester, & DeVries.

Greensburg is the one that's gotten all the press about it anyway.

Ah, ok. Thanks.

I plan on giving something individually- as soon as I decide upon the charity. I just thought it would be nice if we all did something as a pool as well- something that shows that we as Chiefs fans all care.

Ooh-ooh-ooooh!

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbn...9cf5f5fbdb1696

Saw that, pretty powerful stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_climatology

I can imagine it takes a ton of work and I am sure Joplin will get it done but at this point its hard to see.

Being a Sunday and during daylight may have made it little less impactful on human life as it could have been but I doubt it could have hit any worse of an area from a purely residential and business standpoint.

Joplin HS had graduation ceremonies at MSSC that started at 3:00 and let out around 6.

Thank goodness the don't do it at the HS anymore which is destroyed.

Joplin will rebuild/rebound. Zero doubt in my mind.

Without meaning to make light of the situation, can you imagine being one of the students in that class? You graduated, and immediately afterward, your school was destroyed.

I asked this question earlier today. The answer I got
Warm humid golf air. Colliding with cold fronts from Canada. I guess their is no other place on earth, that mixes these two, like the USA does.

Amen. They'll get through this, and we'll help 'em as best as we can.

Yea, sorry didn't mean to sound like it won't happen just saying right now, it's hard to fathom.

I have no doubt. The Mid -West is full of resilient people.

News is saying a policeman was struck by lightening directing traffic today and is in critical condition.:huh:

Parkersburg is also known for Ed Thomas, the high school coach that I believe coached all of those guys and then was murdered by one of his former players. For a little town, that place has really had ups and downs.

Not to divert attention from Joplin but just an interesting sidenote.

The Y should be fine, its on 32nd right by Freeman so I dont think it was destroyed or anything

Somehow through all of this I got Freeman and St. John's mixed up, I tended to do that before this. Crazy.

Amazing what a difference a few blocks makes.

My friends parents were at McDonalds on the corner of 32nd and Maiden Lane through the whole thing.

That happened not too long after the tornado. It was a tough time for those folks.

From what I've heard two if them. Bless all these first responders. I was up til 7 searching houses and at about 3 an envoy of fire trucks and ambulances were pouring in, all from different points on the map. It is especially dangerous right know because everything is leveled. It's like searching for survivors on a golf course during a thunderstorm.

I live in Joplin. Our family is ok, but Pizza By Stout has been destroyed. It's located right off of 20th & Range Line Rd in front of Home Depot and that whole area was absolutely destroyed.

Me too.how are you holding up?

Not to make light of the situation, but that really sucks. Great place for a brew/pie.

My grandma was in the apartments 2 blocks away. Her house was unscathed.

Yea that sucks. I went to PBS at least 2 times a month for pint and a half night. (Thursdays)

Had my wedding rehearsal dinner there in 1998.

My buddies 40th BD there last year.

Found out today Southwest City, MO was hit by a small tornado / strong winds with the destruction of six homes on Sunday, and tonight Seneca, MO has begun to flood.

As if Its not bad enough, they are saying there is a 50% chance of another tornado hitting tonight due to the current storm.

Yeah just a few blocks past 7th its fine and right around Kings Palace theres damage then it just gets worse and worse but from what I understand everything 32nd and on is fine..I never made it further than around Home depot myself

I looked through only the last few pages, so I apologize if this was covered, but how is the guy's family that BigRedChief posted about?

Yeah, I'd buy "50% chances of severe thunderstorms", but 50% chance of an actual tornado would be some magical breakthrough in tornado prediction technology.

CNN has made the 50% claim numerous times in the last hour

I thought it was odd as well, first I had heard of someone apointing a percentage to something like that

They also say a f4 is 166-200 mph and 200+ is a f5

Good

One of the attorneys at work said he talked to a guy he knows that is a fireman over there. He said they went to the graduation, got done, and the sirens went off so they went to the fire department. Thanks to the graduation, their whole family was together. Lucky, beause some of their homes got destroyed, and they might have been home had they not gone to the graduation.

I just checked out Accuweather's website. The way they are talking, yes, there's a good likelihood of Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and southern MO getting hammered by another round of severe storms and possibly tornadoes. Damn. As if these poor people haven't seen enough shit already.

I went to MSSU from 91-96 was a Sigma Pi I worked at lowes from 95-96 My siseter lived in Joplin from 84-97 She worked at St Johns. My kids live in Joplin. My ex wife and I started Creative Kids Academy 1606 e 20th right near commerce bank Totally destroyed. I lived in Joplin from 98-00 and 05-08

I have several friends and fraternity brothers who still live in the area as well

I went down to Joplin today I took lots of water, took blankets and food.

They need hand sanatizers, tioletries, water, gloves, safety vests

I know they don't want people to self deploy but they do need it. The devastion is so widespread they don't have enough help to search and rescue. My friend his son and myself were helping people search and rescue people from homes today. THEY NEED HELP!!! If you are able to go down there tommorow please do so You can get around ONly the major roads are blocked off. The side roads are open

I plan on going back to Joplin with a group this weekend.

It is only a 3rd of the city not 75 percent. It is moslty between 15th and 26th street. west to east

The Y is safe and Northpark Mall is open Also both are shelters, taking blood and offering shild care.

BLOOD IS NEEDED

From what I understand the severe weather is supposed to occcur Tuesday into Tuesday night. I don't think its here yet.

Actually they got alot of search and rescue taken care of. If you do want to help, meet at mssu leggett and platt center at 8, they will be coordinating the efforts there.

Apprently not I was out in it today Most of the search and rescue was near St Johns and Rangeline. No where near the high school .

The authorties no where to be found It was families just searching their homes.

I saw that these people had no help

My wife and I are trying to clear our schedules so that we can drive up Thursday night and work through Monday evening.. She's a counselor and I can help with about anything, but telecom is my strength. We've signed up on the 211missouri.org site but if you have a better suggestion on who to contact please let me know.

Well, not to look a gift horse in the mouth....

But the Chiefs donated 35k today and are holding a water bottle drive over the next two days.

While I think its AWESOME that they are making a donation.... I find it surprising that its A.) such a random figure and B.) such a low random figure.

You'd think Clark and/or the players could easily throw together a million. That being said, while it is $35k, it is $35k more than the Rams have dropped.

I'd like to see other major players in the area start pitching in... Sprint..WalMart...Lowes...Taco Bell... etc..

Another sidenote, I had to take RustShack to the ER the night before it happened... Thomas died in that same room less than 12 hours later.

The Cardinals donated 25k

I don't know where you were but there is nothing but cops ask through out the city. Especially by the high school.

It's hard to not do anything IMO.

Agreed 100%

Maybe a few sparesed i was near the high school i was also near the park right near Dillons I understand why it was sparse there was help needed elsewhere and so much destruction go near St Johns and Rangeline Many more over there

I'm sure it's just a start ... the Chiefs will surely donate more once arrangements are made for the collection and distribution of monies.

People have learned a lot over the last year or two about the right and wrong way to go about assisting disaster victims with financial donations. For example, there are currently millions of unspent funds in Nashville that were originally donated to assist the flood victims. The red tape associated with that boondoggle is frighteningly moronic. Many have gone without needed assistance while others are double and triple dipping.

Among the volunteer community, our experience (as well as the total freakshow that was Katrina and other recent disasters) has taught them to organize the donations and distribution methods before shelling out big amounts of private cash that winds up going either nowhere or into the pockets of administrators.

FAX

FAX the sensible.

It's truly sad when the people coordinating the efforts don't get the help to where it's actually needed. Especially when the need is so incredibly immense.

Anyone seen a map of the damage areas yet?

When we were hit in Haysville Ks the town was put on lock down by law enforcement and later the National Guard. Proof of residence to enter. I moved to the coast of North Carolina last year and it caught quite a bit of damage in the last go around. People here were freaked out and appeared ill prepared for tornados. The company I work for didn't have a tornado warning system in place until after the storms hit (strange as they are headquartered in Kansas) A lady I work with lived in a trailer and was inside of it while it flew 50’. She lost everything and was extremely lucky to live to talk about it. My heart goes out to those affected. The loss of loved ones, keepsakes and memories is devastating~

Thats what Im talking about The destruction is so widespread that they dont have enough help

Yes the cops were ouit but they were on yhe main streets There were not on the side streets in the neighborhoods searching Mainly near the hospital and Rangeline is where they were searching They just need more help

I've seen this type of destruction before. I was a kid living in Topeka when an F5 in tornado hit the city on June 8th 1966. An 8 mile path of destruction that was about 1/2 mile wide as it cut through town.

Only lost 16 lives. 14 during the storm and 2 from heart attacks before and after. Bill Curtis, who would go on to some fame at CBS later in his career, uttered the famous words:"For God's sake take cover" over the air at WIBW.

The most vivid memory was picking up law school documents that blew into my yard from Washburn University about 10 miles away.

I am tired of hearing "we don't want your help, give us your money.". I dont have a lot of cash but i am more then willing to clear debris and such. I plan on going down this weekend to make sure my friends that live there have everything they need. Stay strong Joplin.

Sounds like a great idea - do exactly the opposite of what they are asking.

Be sure to call a volunteer center to make sure they can utilize your help before you just decide to show up.

If you want to volunteer, please do it here:

http://www.joplinmo.org/article.cfm?AID=966

I appreciate that sentiment. We do need the help, what we don't need is the influx of lone rangers who's presence and traffic is hampering qualified search and rescue teams. nobodys turning anyone away, but go through the red cross or other places that are coordinating.

I watch a special on PBS about that tornado every year on PBS. Pretty remarkable that more people weren't killed. The tornado tore a hole in the dome of the Capital.

We had family friends that worked for the Shawnee County Sheriff Dept. that lost homes but all survived. I remember as a kid, my uncle and his sons, Dad, my brother and I to go help them. It was the 1st tornado damage I had ever seen as a kid.I remember always taking cover for one but never seeing the destruction on one till then.

So much for the theory / myth that the hill on the west side would shield Topeka from a twister.

Oh man, that's way too close. It's still standing, but I'm sure it sustained damage.

Yea, I live at 44th, and I had no damage... not even a tree limb feel. Three blocks away, there are a few trees uprooted, and the further north you go, you start to see more damage. But you're right, hell starts at 32nd. Not sure about the old J-Town / Safeway building at26th and Main. They just turned it into a Salvation Army. It had to take a direct hit. It was an older building, that looks like it was probably built like a fortress.

I love the awesome power of tornadoes. I love watching documentaries and cable shows about them. I would love to go stormchasing. But I really wish they would stay away from heavily-populated areas and stick to the farmlands and plains where they do little damage. My thoughts go out to the people of Joplin. It's easy for people to say, "Well, things and houses can be replaced, people can't be". Trust me, if you've lost your house, you know that it's something you never get over. It's not just the objects you had, it's the memories you made in that house and with those objects. I had a house fire when I was 17 that took most of my belongings. Decades later, it still resonates.

Events like this underscore the whole reason meteorologists chase these things, to learn how they form and why. Even Reed Timmer has edged from being a voyeuristic chaser to a guy who's also interested in the science of them (after he witnessed one too many devastations of a populated area).

Hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis kill far more people. But the tornado is so concentrated, nothing can stand in the way of a big one. It's like the finger of God came down and just drew a line on the map. Scary shit. I'm glad I don't live in an area that produces them.

No Doubt.

Once people recover from the personal loss of life and injuries, everything from the cleanup to the rebuilding of the community will end up stimulating the economy.

You can't replace the lives of family and friends, but there isn't a structure that can't be replaced with something as good or better than what was destroyed.

I was there right after it happened. Frame remains nothing else.

From my cousin this am....

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult, difficult time! My grandparents are still unaccounted for. The rescue dogs were at the site where their home stood but did not detect anything. They have been reported as missing so hopefully we'll hear something very soon!!

I trust that all those out of town volunteers are self-sustaining. That is, they bring their own shelter, food & water, and sanitary items so that they don't strain already limited resources in that area.