The Joplin Tornado:
The 5th Deadliest Disaster in USA History
By Eric Romero
Fall - Meteorology - Tuorto
First, what is a tornado? A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air that has contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud, a dense, towering vertical cloud, forming from water vapor carried by powerful upward air currents, or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud, puffy, cotton-like clouds. These powerful whirlwinds can reach up to 200 MPH. There are also many types of tornados. A dust devil is a strong, and short-term whirlwind varying in sizes. Their motion is upward. Dust devils are usually harmless, but can on rare occasions grow large enough to pose a threat to both people and property; a waterspout is a very harsh vortex that occurs over a body of water. The water inside a waterspout is formed by condensation in the cloud; a multiple-vortex tornado is a tornado that contains several vortices rotating around as part of the main vortex. A gustnado is a short-lived, ground-based swirling wind that can form on the leading edge of a severe thunderstorm; a fire whirl is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often composed of flame or ash; and a steam devil is a small, weak whirlwind over water that has drawn fog into the vortex. They form over large lakes and oceans during cold air outbreaks while the water is still relatively warm, and can be an important mechanism in vertically transporting moisture.
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| Dust Devil |
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| Waterspout |
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| Mulitple-vortex tornado |
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| Gustnado |
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| Fire Whirl |
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| Steam Devil |
The Joplin Tornado
On May 22nd, 2011, a massive catastrophe would start. Exactly 158 deaths were confirmed on this date. More than $2 billion in damage at that time which is 2019, is $3.6 billion in damage, but what exactly was the Joplin Tornado? It was a catastrophic EF5-rated multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. To conclude its strength, there was a survey conveyed that categorized Joplin as a violent tornado rated as a high-end EF4. Subsequent damage surveys, however, found evidence of more intense damage, and so the tornado was upgraded to an EF5 with estimated winds over 200 mph 158 people were dead and some 11,50 others were injured. 200 MPH impeded people to escape to safety. For example, a store manager Christopher Lucas herded four employees and 15 customers into a walk-in freezer. He wrapped a bungee cable holding the door shut around his arm until he was sucked out and killed by the tornado. He made a huge sacrifice for these people. Many other institutional buildings were destroyed such as Walmart, Pizza Hut, schools, hospitals, and numerous other businesses and restaurants in the area, which made the damage's cost even more. The tornado carried everything in its path. This caused 25% of Joplin being destroyed.
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| Before and After |
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A View of the Joplin Tornado
The Aftermath
The Joplin Tornado was even capable of bringing up a rare fungal infection, zygomycosis, in at least eight serious cases of wound infection among the injured survivors. The tornado also created a new form of response, using social media. This type of response is now known as "Social Media Emergency Management." This tornado severely costed many people thousands of dollars with approximately 7,000 houses and 2,000 buildings destroyed. That was the nightmare of Joplin, Missouri.
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