Ef5

Joplin -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving $40-million to the city of Joplin to help rebuild following the May 22 tornado. Half of the money will be used to clean up the wreckage from Joplin High School and cover the National Guard's response costs; the other half of the funds will go to rebuild Saint John's Hospital that was in the path of the EF-5 twister. One-hundred sixty-one people were killed in the disaster.

JOPLIN, Mo - Joplin City Leaders say they've approved nearly $635 million worth of building permits to help with construction following the EF-5 tornado. The permits cover all residential and commercial construction.  The biggest one was issued to build the new Mercy Hospital.  Not included in the total is the $180 million permit to build the new Joplin high school.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A master plan is now in place to help Joplin city leaders rebuild after the EF-5 tornado.  Council approved the $800 million plan on Monday night.  It includes a new library with a movie complex, a minor league baseball stadium and more than 1,400 homes.  City council will also apply for federal grants to help cover the proposed disaster recovery efforts.

    TODAY Upper 70s Mostly sunny, light winds. TONIGHT Mid 50s Clear. WEDNES Mid 80s Mostly sunny, breezy south wind and warmer. 12-hour forecast 24-hour forecast Satellite & Radar Feels Like Allergy Index Almanac REMEMBERING JOPLIN Today is the one year anniversary of the EF-5 tornado that devestating Joplin, MO. Many activites are planned to remember that day. Luckily, the weather is going to be beautiful for those activities to commemorate the one year anniversary of that horrific EF-5 tornado.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- It's been just more than three months since about a third of this city was wiped out by the most powerful category of tornado - an EF-5.  As people recover from it, they've discovered they share a bond with other Midwest communities devastated by disasters. "Not to make anybody upset, or selfish, but coming and getting your hair done is about the only normal thing people can come to do around here,” said Kimberly Hoover, owner of Cut Loose Hair Salon. While it was the usual business of grooming hair inside Hoover's salon this past Wednesday, it was another world outside it.  Destruction is in every direction.  The salon didn't fare any better.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- There's a new nationwide push to build commercial structures to hold up better in thunderstorms, hurricanes, or tornadoes.  There's a price, however, for standing up to Mother Nature's fury. All you need to do is listen in Joplin and you hear the sounds of recovery.  Some sounds come from machines; others come from smart minds. The EF-5 tornado in May 2011 wiped out Frank Ikerd's Orthotic and Prosthetics Office. "You just don't know where to even begin to start to try to recover things," said Ikerd.  "You just start somewhere.

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The Joplin school board will get a tentative timeline tonight for rebuilding schools destroyed or damaged by the EF-5 tornado.  That includes when they'll be presented with contracts to hire architects and when those projects should be completed. The superintendent hopes to have all construction done by August 2014.  Ten buildings will be rebuilt.  11th and 12th graders are attending school in a Joplin mall after the high school was destroyed.  Lower classmen are at the Memorial Hall downtown.

MISSOURI -- A month packed with tornadoes and flooding has caused billions of dollars of damage in Missouri.  Experts say the economic impact may be felt for years. Insurance premiums are likely to increase for home and vehicle owners statewide.  Restaurants and retail shops in flooded areas are likely to see lower sales.  Utility rates are likely to rise following the EF-5 tornado in Joplin. That twister and the others that ravaged the South are estimated to have caused a combined insurance loss of up to $8 billion.

JOPLIN -- The family of a man killed inside the Walmart Supercenter during the 2011 Joplin tornado has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Arkansas corporation and the store's manager. According to court documents, Janice and Jodelle Kirk, both of Joplin, filed the suit on July 31st.      The Joplin Globe reports they are the wife and daughter of Stanley Kirk who died as a result of injuries suffered during the EF-5 tornado.      The lawsuit alleges that Kirk attempted to leave the store to return home, but was forced to stay.

Last Sunday night, the EF5 twister that ripped a path through Joplin damaged St. John's Hospital so badly it cannot be used. One week later, the hospital is up and running with a temporary facility nearby.  In this set up of tents and semi trailers, staff can offer medical services including an E.R., surgery, pharmacy and 60 inpatient beds. Staff say the temporary facility will allow them to do everything they could in the hospital, just on a smaller scale. Amazingly, the hospital had just connected to Mercy's electronic health record system at the beginning of this month, so staff still have access to the health records of all their patients.