At least 900 individuals were injured in the disaster, and thousands of people have been left homeless. One hundred thirty-four people died in the tornado. John’s,” people said as they brought the injured to Freeman. John’s Regional Medical Center, located just a quarter mile to the north in Joplin. But the storm destroyed major portions of St. They rolled the beds of patients on life support as close as possible to corridors.įreeman Hospital, which is accredited by the AOA’s Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, sustained relatively minor damage from the multivortex tornado that struck the evening of May 22. Graham and other hospital staff began moving patients out of their rooms toward the windowless central areas of the hospital. “Rain was pounding the window horizontally, large trees were swaying, and several flags flying over the hospital’s helipad suddenly vanished,” he remembers.Īt 5:17 p.m., tornado sirens blared. Graham knew that a twister had touched down a few miles away, and that tornado warnings had been issued for towns north of Joplin, his first premonition of the impending destruction came when he looked out a hospital window. The complete report is available here: Final Report, Technical Investigation of the May 22, 2011, Tornado in Joplin, Missouri.Though Dr. For more information on the recommendations that have progressed see the presentation here. create national codes and standards for clear, consistent and accurate emergency communications and then ensure that emergency managers, the National Weather Service, and the news media in local communities have a joint plan for delivering those messages quickly and persuasively during tornadoes.ĭuring the June 2023 NCSTAC Meeting updates were provided on the status of the recommendations that were issued as a result of the NCST Joplin Tornado investigation.installing tornado shelters in new and existing multi-family residential, commercial, and other larger buildings (hospitals, schools, large retail stores, and other commercial spaces that accommodate 200 to 300 people at a time) and as part of this effort, develop and implement uniform national guidelines to help communities site, design, install, and operate those shelters and.developing national performance-based standards for tornado-resistant design of buildings and infrastructure, as well as design methods to achieve those standards, and requirements that critical facilities such as hospitals, be designed to remain operational in the event of a tornado.Based on the analysis of the data collected and other criteria required by regulation, NIST Director Pat Gallagher established a research team to proceed with a more comprehensive study of the impacts of the disaster.īased on its findings, the NIST technical study team developed 16 recommendations for improving how buildings and shelters are designed, constructed, and maintained in tornado-prone regions and for improving emergency communications. NIST sent four engineers to Joplin from May 25-28, to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of building performance and emergency communications during the tornado. The Joplin tornado damaged 553 business structures and nearly 7,500 residential structures over 3,000 of those residences were heavily damaged or completely destroyed. The damage to the built environment made this the costliest tornado on record as well, with losses approaching $3 billion. since official records were begun in 1950. The May 22, 2011, Joplin tornado, rated EF–5 on the Enhanced Fujita tornado intensity scale, caused 161 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries, making it the deadliest single tornado on record in the U.S.
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