On Sunday, May 22nd, 2011, a tornado bore down on the town of Joplin, Missouri.
From Wikipedia…
Part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak, the EF5 tornado began just west of Joplin and intensified very quickly, reaching a maximum width of nearly one mile during its path through the southern part of the city. The tornado devastated a large portion of the city, damaging nearly 8,000 buildings, and of those, destroying over 4,000. The damage-which included major facilities like one of Joplin’s two hospitals…amounted to a total of $2.8 billion, making the Joplin tornado the costliest single tornado in U.S. history.
As part of a larger assessment and recovery project, I was given unprecedented access to St. John’s Regional Medical Center and the surrounding areas. Until that point, no one had been allowed into the building to document the damage due to ongoing safety and stability concerns. These photos are a subset of that work. During subsequent years, I would return to photograph the demolition of the old building and the groundbreaking and dedication of its replacement. The resiliency of the people of Joplin made a gigantic impact on me. I made friends with members of the community. Talked to medical and city officials. Time and time again, folks recounting harrowing tales of the ordeal. One story told of hospital workers moving patients into interior hallways and then laying on top of them to hold them down in defiance of the howling wind. In this collection you see examples of people following the textbook tornado response by moving into a bathroom with a pillow to shield them from debris.
As I slowly picked my way through the structure and grounds, I marveled at what wasn’t touched by the massive storm. Magazines neatly stacked on waiting room tables. A patient’s dopp kit neatly resting on a cart. A pair of slippers, robe and pillow in an open closet. One patient room remaining relatively preserved, yet the windows are totally blown out. This is the first time I’ve shown these photos publicly.
I would be forever changed by what I saw in Joplin. The aftermath was both frightening and inspiring. This post is written to honor the men and women of Joplin who battled the elements and survived…
…and to the 158 souls who didn’t. God Bless Joplin.
