One hundred days after deadly storms, Joplin, springs back

By Didi Tang, USA TODAY
Updated 24m ago

JOPLIN, Mo. – Eric Polley, 31, considered leaving Joplin after deadly tornadoes rolled through the city May 22, killing 160 and injuring hundreds more.

"It would be a lot easier to move back home," says Polley, who came to Joplin two years ago from Kentucky. He says he feared more tornadoes and wanted to protect his young daughters, who have become jumpier at hearing thunder.

But Polley, whose house was damaged, decided to stay.

"Too many good things have happened, and I see how people have pulled together to work together," says Polley, who has assisted with disaster recovery in hurricane-stricken towns as a former power company worker.

"There's no comparison," he says. "It's so much different here. There is no whining, no pointing fingers, but people are getting back on their feet."

One hundred days after the tornado cut through the Joplin, smashing 7,000 homes and 500 businesses in its six-mile-long path, signs of life are sprouting from a ravaged landscape.

Skeleton-like trees still nod in the direction of the deadly forces from that dreadful Sunday afternoon, but new leaves have sprouted. And the town, too, is springing back.

FEMA diverts Joplin aid to Irene relief
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Some federal money pledged to Joplin, Mo., and other disaster sites is being diverted to help victims of Hurricane Irene, a move that is raising the concern of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Bob Josephson of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday that FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund is running low.

He says individual aid to victims of the May 22 tornado that destroyed about one-third of Joplin will continue, but money for long-term public repair and rebuilding projects will be used for immediate disaster relief on the East Coast.

Josephson says it will be up to Congress to restore full funding to Joplin and other places hit by disasters this year.

McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, said she will work to ensure that Joplin gets the promised funding.

Bells for classes at local public schools rang in time on Aug. 17. Two Walgreens stores, one of which was flattened, reopened Aug. 22.

St. Louis-based Mercy Health System will rebuild a hospital by 2014, after its St. John's Regional Medical Center took a direct hit from the twister.

As of Aug. 25, Joplin had issued 192 residential permits to rebuild and another 2,092 permits for home repair, according to city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot. The city also has issued 73 commercial rebuild permits.

Gerald and Carolyn Keller are rebuilding their Dequesne, Mo., home after it was almost completely destroyed in the May 22 tornado.
Mayor Mike Woolston says he could not be prouder.

"Our folks didn't wait for the help to get started," he says, noting governmental assistance was crucial yet he credits self-help with the rapid recovery. "It's the way the community responds that sets the tone," Woolston says.

Displaced families stayed

Disaster-stricken communities often fear exodus, and Woolston can see why.

"When people lost their home, vehicle and job, and they got a big insurance check, what keeps them here?" he says.

That is not happening in Joplin.

Troy Bolander, the city's director of community development, says 88% of the displaced families are living within a 25-mile radius of the city.

Jono Anzalone, a spokesman for FEMA, give credit to "a very robust commitment" by the local government and by private employers for retaining the population .

"A key facet in retaining the population is whether people have jobs," he says.

St. John's, for example, continued to pay its 2,200 employees despite the loss of the hospital. Within a week, a tent hospital was up and running.

Victims and residents speak favorably of responses to the disaster, crediting prompt governmental relief efforts, generosity of volunteers and faith for the town's resilience.

"They do a good job," says Lena Swoveland, 85, who moved back to her home six weeks after the tornado and never considered leaving.

"Given how devastated it was, it's amazing how much they've done. "

There are some "For Sale" signs up, but there are also many "Rebuild Joplin" placards.

Local real estate agent Tanya Scott says most lots are put up for sale by previous homeowners who already have purchased new homes in and around the city in the wake of the tornado.

Builders, betting on a surging demand for houses, are buying up the lots to build homes, she says. "It's speculation, but it's grounded."

A 'unique opportunity'

Along Dingle Drive, Carolyn and Jerry Keller — who now live in a travel trailer — are among those who decided to rebuild.

"It's more financially sound to rebuild," Carolyn Keller says.

Luis Ortega and Margarita Rangel, a couple that own a Mexican restaurant, won't return to their old neighborhood because they want to keep any reminder of the disaster away from their 2-year-old daughter. But the couple is not leaving the area. They are buying a house in nearby Carthage.

"No one guarantees anything," says Ortega, whose family now lives in a trailer home provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency near the municipal airport.

A civic group has formed to vision the town's future to rise from the ruins.

"The tornado has given us a unique opportunity," says Jane Cage, of the Citizens Advisory Recovery Team. "It's not an opportunity we hoped for. But now we've received it, it is a chance to build Joplin better and stronger than before."

On McDonnell Avenue, Polley has promised his daughters, 5 and 7 , the family will be back in their house by Christmas. He knew his new home would be better — and safer.

"I'm buying a storm shelter," Polley said.

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