Joplin tornado aftermath: President Obama tells Joplin community, 'we will be here every step of the way'

The following story is being made available for all ACM newspapers & websites on President Obama's remarks, along with others, at the Joplin Community Memorial Service Sunday to honor the lives lost in the May 22 tornado — the deadliest in U.S. history in more than six decades.

During his remarks to the city of Joplin at a community memorial service Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama said
there "are heroes all around us," in the wake of the May 22 tornado that claimed 139 lives, injured hundreds more and
caused widespread damage to approximately 8,000 structures throughout the city of 50,000 residents.

Headline: Joplin tornado aftermath: President Obama tells Joplin community, 'we will be here every step of the way'
By Rick Rogers, American Consolidated Media News Service

JOPLIN, Mo. —With President of the United States Barack Obama and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon sitting in the front row of a packed auditorium at Sunday's Joplin Community Memorial Service, it was Rev. Aaron Brown of St. Paul's United Methodist Church of Joplin who provided words of comfort to a city of grieving souls.

Brown, whose own church suffered damage to more than 30 percent of its building, offered the community service's message and told the audience in attendance and watching live on television that "death does not get the last word. Death doesn't win — ever. Even when it looks like death wins, it doesn't get the last word. Life wins. Life wins."

Brown, Gov. Nixon and President Obama offered words of inspiration as the city of Joplin and the four-state area begins the healing process after a May 22 EF5 tornado shook the region to its core. The tornado claimed 139 lives, injured hundreds more and damaged or destroyed approximately 8,000 structures in the heart of the city.

During his address to those in attendance at the community service, President Obama said many of the storm's victims were asking the simple question, "Why?"

"Today, we keep in our prayers the ones who are still missing, and their families during this time of pain," Obama told a crowd of approximately 2,000 who packed every seat of the Taylor Performing Arts Center on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

Obama's remarks came after he viewed the damage in Joplin from high above on Air Force One, as well as surveying the path of destruction on the ground in the neighborhoods of the city with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and other federal, state and city officials.

"The question we are all asking is, 'Why?'" Obama continued. "Why our town? Why our home? Why my son, or husband, or wife, or sister, or friend? Why? You can't know when a terrible storm will strike, or where, or the severity of the devastation it may cause. We can't know why we are tested with the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a home. These things are beyond our power to control, but that does not mean we are powerless in the face of adversity. How we respond when the storm strikes is up to us. How we live in the aftermath of tragedy and heartache is within our control. It is within these moments, through our actions, that we often see why life is worth living in the first place.

"In the last week, that is what Joplin not just taught Missouri, not just taught America, but has taught the world… The world saw how Joplin responded."

Obama spoke about how Missouri Southern State University turned into a makeshift hospital, and how residents used their own pick-up trucks as ambulances to carry the injured. He spoke about the giving spirit of local restaurants and businesses through donations of food, items and services.

"Through all of this you have displayed a simple truth, through heartache and tragedy no one is a stranger," Obama said, followed by a large round of applause from the crowd.

Obama praised the heroic efforts of Dean Wells, the electrical department manager at Home Depot, and Chris Lewis, manager of the Pizza Hut restaurant on Range Line Road, who both lost their lives saving others as the tornado bore down on their businesses.

"There are heroes all around us, all the time," Obama said. "In the wake of this tragedy, let us live up to their example and make each day count. We must live with that same compassion that they demonstrated in their final hour."

Obama said rebuilding what has been lost will not be easy. He said residents must be asking themselves, "where to begin, how to start?"

"There will be moments where after the shock has worn off, you will feel alone," Obama said. "There is no doubt in my mind that Joplin will rebuild. As president, I can promise your country will be there with you every single step of the way. We are not going anywhere."

Prior to Obama's remarks, Missouri Gov. Nixon offered words of support and encouragement to his fellow Missourians.

"That storm, of the likes that we have never seen, has brought forth a spirit of resilience the likes of which we also have never seen," Nixon said. "What our nation and world have witnessed this week is the spirit of Joplin, Mo. You have given love thy neighbor a new meaning."

Nixon said God has given Joplin residents a mission to build their community back stronger.

"We are not just going to build it back the way it was, but to make it a better place," Nixon said. "There is work to do. God has said, 'show me,' so now it is time to show him. The people of Missouri were born for this mission. We are famously stubborn, practical, impatient, but whatever may divide us, we come together in crisis. No storm, no fire, no flood can turn us from our path."

"In the days to come, when the satellite trucks leave town, Joplin stories will disappear from the front pages," Nixon said. "But the tragedy will not disappear from our lives. We will still be in Joplin, together, preparing for the long journey out of darkness and into light. We will need more hands, more tools and more Good Samaritans every step of the way."

At the end of his speech, Rev. Brown assured that "God didn't do this to Joplin to punish us. Read the book, Jesus took that punishment for us. This happened because life on this side of eternity is unpredictable, chaotic and broken… God loves you and God loves Joplin.

"His mission now is for us to get busy — get busy serving and get busy rebuilding."

Joplin tornado aftermath: Photos now available from President Obama's speech

The following photos are now available for use by all ACM newspapers and websites concerning President Obama's speech and visit to Joplin, Mo., to tour the devastation left behind from the May 22 tornado, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history in more than six decades.

Click on photo to enlarge and drag to desktop to save. Please credit Rick Rogers / ACM News Service

This small American flag was draped over the balcony of the Taylor Performing Arts Center at MSSU during a
Joplin Community Memorial Service to honor those lives lost in the May 22 tornado that killed 142 people
in Joplin, Mo. 

President Barack Obama offers a hug and a word to Father Justin Monaghan of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Monaghan
was caught in the church during the tornado but escaped harm in his home's bathtub.  

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon greets President Barack Obama to the podium to deliver his speech during a Joplin Community Memorial Service Sunday on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

President Barack Obama told the capacity crowd of 2,000 residents at Sunday's Joplin Community Memorial Service
in the wake of the May 22 tornado that "amid the heartbreak and tragedy, no one is a stranger."

President Barack Obama assured the crowd of more than 2,000 at the
Joplin Community Memorial Service that the federal government "will be
there every step of the way" in the rebuilding process.

A crowd of more than 2,000 packed the Taylor Performing Arts Center on the campus of Missouri Southern State
University to attend a Joplin Community Memorial Service to honor the lives lost in the May 22 tornado.

President Barack Obama spoke at a Joplin Community Memorial Service minutes after seeing the destruction left
behind from the May 22 tornado that claimed 142 lives, injured hundreds more and damaged more than
8,000 structures in the heart of the city.

The residents seated in the balcony of the Taylor Performing Arts Center greeted the President with a standing ovation.

President Barack Obama and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon speaks with residents at the end of the Joplin Community Memorial Service Sunday.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told the crowd gathered for the memorial service that "the nation and world has witnessed
this week the spirit of Joplin, Mo."

Joplin tornado aftermath: Joplin couple provides moment of happiness with first wedding after historic tornado

ACM Newsroom has provided the following feature on the first wedding help in Joplin, Mo., after the tornado, a happy moment amid all the sadness in this region. The family in the wedding was affected by the storm as well.

Aaron and Brooke McKenzie Cox are greeted by rose petals and friends and family after their wedding at the
United Methodist Church in downtown Joplin Saturday evening. It was the first wedding held in Joplin after
the May 22 tornado that claimed 142 lives and has been deemed the worst in U.S. history in terms of the loss of
human life in more than six decades.  / Rick Rogers-American Consolidated Media

Headline: Joplin couple provides moment of happiness with first wedding after historic tornado

By Rick Rogers

American Consolidated Media News Service

JOPLIN, Mo. — Under clear blue skies and the evening sun, newly-married couple Aaron and Brooke McKenzie Cox walked out of the historic United Methodist Church in downtown Joplin to a shower of rose petals and wild applause.

Their wedding offered a glimmer of hope in what has been a dark week of death and devastation for the city of Joplin in what now has been deemed the deadliest U.S. tornado in more than six decades.

The May 22 EF5 tornado has claimed 142 lives, injured hundreds more and damaged or destroyed 8,000 structures in this community of more than 50,000 residents. And six days after the tornado threw a knockout punch to their hometown, the wedding of Aaron and McKenzie Cox offered a unique time to celebrate for family, friends and the community needing something positive to cling to amid all the sadness.

It was the first wedding in Joplin since the tornado brought the city, which serves as a hub for a four-state region and its more than 150,000 residents, to its knees.

And for Aaron Cox and Brooke McKenzie Watson, it was a miracle that the wedding took place.

Even though several family members lived in the tornado’s destructive path, none were seriously injured, or worse, killed.

McKenzie’s younger brother, Jay, lived at an apartment complex at the intersection of 20^th Street and Connecticut Ave., which now has every building reduced to rubble by the storm. Jay was not home at the time the tornado hit.

Aaron’s sister and husband were home when the tornado threw a knockout punch in their neighborhood in the heart of Joplin and the storm’s path. Their home suffered massive damage and is considered a total loss.

After the tornado passed, Aaron and McKenzie went to the neighborhood were his sister’s home once stood, but couldn’t recognize it or any of the nearby structures because the area looked “like a war zone.”

"On the far south side of town, it wasn't that bad," Aaron told the CBS Early Show. "I mean, it got a lot of hail, a lot of bad winds, but nothing like the rest of the town. So, when we came out of the basement and tried to get a hold of my sister, we couldn't get a call through. So we decided just to hop in the car, go see if we could find her, and I grabbed my video camera.

"I figured I'd get some video of some downed trees or something. We had no idea how bad it was. But by the time we started driving, we couldn't get very far. We had to abandon the car, and then every subsequent block we kept going, it got worse and worse, and you realized, obviously, it was a lot more than downed trees. You know, the entire city was leveled."

Cox's sister's block was in ruins -- and he ran by her house at first.

"I actually overshot it by a block," he recalled. "The house across the street from her was on fire. Really on fire, ablaze. And so, I was just trying to get past that house, and so by the time I got to the next block, the people there told me that it was 21st and Kentucky, which was one block too far. So I had to turn back around. And then I really had to concentrate to realize that the house I was looking at was my sister's house. It was unrecognizable."

When Aaron and Brooke eventually found his sister’s home, they searched frantically inside for them. They were nowhere to be found.

Aaron recorded the search with his video camera. In the video, you can hear Aaron screaming out the names of his sister, brother-in-law and their pet, moving the camera in every direction looking for any signs of life. They ran into residents, who look dazed by what just happened, and made sure they are OK. While running up and down the streets in the disaster area, McKenzie found a young child lying dead in the street. She soon called her mother, who is a nurse, in tears. McKenzie felt helpless, her own nursing training too late to save the young boy.

Eventually, Aaron and McKenzie were able to get cell phone service and made contact with his sister and brother-in-law, and McKenzie’s brother and learned they were all OK and safe.

Then, as they walked south down Main Street, in an area that was also hit hard by the tornado, 

they realized they were standing in front of the alteration shop where McKenzie’s wedding dress was stored for final minute details.

Curious to see if her dress survived the storm, the bride-to-be crawled through a broken glass 

window in the store and came out with her dress in perfect condition, still enclosed in the protective bag. She said it was the only dress that did not suffer damage or was not completely destroyed by the storm.

Realizing that their family who were affected by the storm was OK, and that even the dress, church and reception hall were not affected by the tornado, Aaron and McKenzie were urged by family and friends to not postpone their nuptials.

The couple, which met in high school in Joplin and dated throughout college, had waited too long to tie the knot to let a tornado keep them from their big day.

Plus, as the pastor who led the service said, “it is a sign from God that you two were to get married today, and that you needed to provide this happy moment for a community that needs to smile.”

Aaron and McKenzie’s story has gained widespread national media attention. Aaron and his sister were interviewed and featured with Anderson Cooper on CNN, and their wedding received attention by the CBS Early Show.

Three national television crews were on hand to film the service, as well as print and web media.

A silver Rolls Royce waited for the new couple when they left the church after the ceremony, a surprise considering the car they had planned on using was no where to be found.

After they entered the car, the TV crews and cameramen surrounded the vehicle, trying to get a glimpse of the happy couple and maybe that special kiss.

At the reception, hearts were heavy as the bridal party said a special prayer for those affected by the tornado.

Aaron, who will begin his professional broadcasting career this summer as the radio voice of the Idaho Falls Chukars of the Kansas City Royals baseball farm system, talked about whether or not it was appropriate for the wedding to take place Saturday night, but that he was urged by several loved ones, church family and friends to go ahead with the ceremony.

“We realized Joplin needed something to be happy about,” Aaron said during his speech to the reception crowd.

And then, it was announced that the wedding couple wanted to do something special for the tornado victims and their hometown.

Instead of using the dollar dance money for their honeymoon, ever dollar raised from the wedding tradition would go to help tornado relief efforts.

And the bride and groom danced for a very long time into the night.

Link to CNN video report with Anderson Cooper and Aaron Cox: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/27/video-man-films-tornado-aftermath/?iref=allsearch

Link to CBS Early Show report with Aaron Cox and Brooke McKenzie Watson: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/28/earlyshow/saturday/main20067055.shtml?tag=contentBody;cbsCarousel

FRIDAY AM BUZZ: Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Final sig page now available for use

ACM Newsroom has produced a sig page celebrating the Dallas Mavericks making it to the NBA Finals for our Texas newspapers.

Here is a link to the page for download: http://www.mediafire.com/?1u0urkrqq3a5l2q

By noon on Saturday, ACM Newsroom will also have a preview page showcasing the matchup between the Mavericks and Miami Heat for any Texas newspapers with a Sunday edition. Or, if you do not print Sunday, you could post the page as a PDF on our websites.

Tornado Aftermath coverage: ACM Newsroom will file one more report from the ground in Joplin, Mo., this evening. This report will focus on clean-up efforts.

To see how our newspapers in NE Oklahoma and SE Kansas have covered the devastation, see these links:

www.miaminewsrecord.com
www.grovesun.com
www.columbusdailyadv.com

Happy Friday, everyone.

Tornado Aftermath: Unemployment becomes concern for workers who lost jobs throughout region due to Joplin tornado

The following story has been made available for ACM newspapers & websites.

Headline: Displaced workers from Joplin tornado receive unemployment, job information
By Rick Rogers, American Consolidated Media News Service

JOPLIN, Mo. — With approximately 2,000 structures impacted by Sunday's deadly and destructive tornado that ravaged the city of Joplin, Mo., the economic hub of Southwest Missouri, the question for many workers is "do I have a job?"

The 2,000-estimate includes homes, apartments and small or large businesses in the storm's path, which ranged approximately 12 blocks wide from the north to south, and several miles west to east.

The tornado's path included major destruction to one of the region's two major hospitals, St. John's Regional Medical Center, as well as several medical offices, small businesses, restaurants, a Dillon's grocery store, and big box stores such as two Walgreens, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Home Depot, one of the town's two Walmart Supercenters, and other multi-store shopping centers.

The Missouri Labor Department and the Department of Economic Development have organized three locations throughout the city of Joplin to help jobless victims file for unemployment claims and receive re-employment services.

Those who lost their job due to the recent tornado need to go to one of the following locations to apply for these services.

• Missouri Southern State University, 3950 E. Newman Road;

• Sam's Club, I-44 and Rangeline Road;

• Missouri Career Center, 8th and Wall Ave. across from Memorial Hall

These locations will be available everyday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Again, file an unemployment claim and receive re-employment services if you lost your job due to the recent natural disaster at one of the following locations. You can also file by calling the Regional Claims Center hotline at 800-320-2519.

During a 4 p.m. press conference and community meeting Thursday at Missouri Southern State University, which has served as a hub for information and assistance for victims and the community in the wake of the tornado, officials with the Missouri Department of Labor met with residents of not only Joplin but the surrounding community concerned whether or not they are presently employed.

During her presentation to the more than 1,000 citizens that filled Taylor Auditorium, the Department of Labor's Maida Coleman asked for a show of hands of those who fear they could be without employment due to the tornado. Several hundred people in attendance raised their hand.

Coleman urged all citizens who fear they could be unemployed due to their place of employment being damaged or destroyed by the tornado to file unemployment paperwork to being the process.

At the end of Thursday's community meeting at MSSU, the citizens in attendance had a chance to visit one-on-one with officials with several state, federal and volunteer organizations from the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Revenue to get new driver's licenses or other forms of ID, and information on services such as child care, counseling and housing options.

"Anyone here who has become unemployed as a result of the tornado, whether you were self-employed or working for someone, should apply for unemployment benefits," Coleman said. "The payment of unemployment payments can be made to anyone who was unemployed or self-employed who lived, worked or was to begin a job in the disaster area. There is criteria that must be met, and that will be explained by the people we have here."

Tornado Aftermath: Husband, wife ride out Joplin tornado in basement bathroom

This report from the Joplin, Mo., tornado aftermath is now available for all ACM newspapers & websites. To download photo, click image and drag to desktop. Please credit Rick Rogers, ACM News Service.

Joplin resident Stephanie Goad stands in what used to be her top story of the split-level home she shared with her husband, Dave, and two sons, Zach and Dylan. Dave and Stephanie were home at the time of the tornado struck, and took shelter in a downstairs bathroom. They emerged to find the top level of their home destroyed, along with nearly the rest of the homes in their neighborhood at 22nd Street and New Jersey Ave.

Headline: Joplin tornado victim turns to Facebook while being trapped in home with husband
By Rick Rogers / American Consolidated Media News Service
JOPLIN, Mo. — Trapped underneath the rubble of their split-level home's top story, all Joplin residents Dave and Stephanie Goad could do was pray.

And turn to Facebook.

The Joplin couple rode the tornado out in the basement bathroom of their home on New Jersey Ave., between 20th and 22nd streets in the heart of Joplin and the EF5 tornado's destructive path Sunday.

They had just enough time to seek shelter before the storm hit. As they huddled in the bathroom and laundry area in the interior of the home, Stephanie said she could hear the hardwood floorboards on the top level being ripped to sheds. She said they could smell and taste the dirt and dust being toss around them by the tornado's 200-plus mile-per-hour winds.

After the tornado passed over their home and headed east, the Goads were trapped. They could not make a call go out on their cell phones. They began to wonder about the safety of their two sons, who were not home at the time. Their oldest son, Zachary, was working at Best Buy on the north edge of Joplin, while their youngest son Dylan was working at Twins Hills Country Club, on the western side of town.

They worried their sons could be hurt or injured, which they were not, and Dave and Stephanie wondered how long they might be trapped in their basement and if they could be found

It was in that pile of debris that Stephanie feared the worst — that their sons would be forced to bury their parents.

Still not able to get a call to go through, Stephanie turned to her Facebook account on her Blackberry.

This is the message she posted at 6:11 p.m. Sunday, "Trapped in basement... Top of house gone... God help us!"

Responses from friends on Facebook offering prayer and wondering how to help instantly started to post on her status update.

The Goads were able to get out of their basement, and when they emerged Stephanie took a photo with her Blackberry and posted it on Facebook a little after 8:30 p.m. to let everyone know they were OK.

"We came out of the basement, and I just started screaming," Stephanie said. "It is just an incredible sight. The smell of the devastation is what struck me. You could smell the mud and the wood."

Standing in what used to be her living room, Stephanie could see the twister's destructive path in every direction. Off in the distance to the west, she could see the heavily-damaged St. John's Regional Medical Center more than a mile away — before the view was obscured by homes, businesses and trees. She looked to the east and found nearly every home and structure suffered major damage. The tornado took 20th Street as a path west to east through the city, which according to estimates suffered extensive damage to more than 8,000 structures as of Wednesday. The storm's death toll rose to 126 as of Thursday.

Two houses to the north of the Goads' home was the foundation of a home — and that's all. The rest of the house was completely missing.

"If we would have been in that house, we would be dead," she said. 

"We got in our basement and just prayed, that's all we could do," said Goad, who pulled a metal shelving unit near to help keep falling debris from crushing them. "I thought my kids would lose their parents. All I said was, 'God, take everything we own but just spare my family.' It seemed like it lasted forever. It seemed like five or six minutes. They said the tornado moved slower. It is just devastating."

On Wednesday afternoon, the Goad family tried to salvage what they could and take the items to a nearby family farm. They were able to find a wedding album, a few musical instruments and even a Crock-Pot that still had the stew Stephanie was making for dinner on Sunday night before the tornado hit.

"The whole exterior of our house is gone," Stephanie said. 

Earlier this week, a team of Best Buy employees came to the Goads' home to help in the recovery effort to assist the family of one of their own. Red Cross volunteers drove by and offered food and beverages to the residents starting their clean-up effort. Stephanie said family and friends have stopped by the home throughout the day to offer support, money or just a shoulder to lean on.

She said the outpouring of love and support from friends and neighbors has been impressive. As a Red Cross volunteer, she is used to helping others, not receiving assistance, and that's "difficult for me to do."

Coming soon: Dallas Mavericks Finals preview page

For our Texas newspapers, ACM Newsroom will provide a special Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champs sig page for use.

The page will be available in PDF format by 8 a.m. Friday, May 27, on this page. It will feature a 6x4 ad space, so please coordinate with your ad departments to find a page sponsor.

ACM Newsroom will also provide an NBA Finals preview page when the Mavericks' opponent is determined.

THURSDAY AM BUZZ: On location in Grove, Okla., to assist in tornado section

ACM Newsroom is on location this morning in Grove, Okla., assisting with coverage of the deadly and destructive tornadoes that hit this region, not only in Joplin, Mo., but also in the Grand Lake region that The Grove Sun serves.

On Wednesday, ACM Newsroom was able to provide on-the-ground photo coverage of the destruction in Joplin, Mo., a town of 50,000 residents which serves as the economic engine for the four-state region. ACM has newspapers in Grove, Miami and Jay, Okla., as well as Baxter Springs and Columbus, Kan., all located within 45 miles of Joplin.

Later this afternoon, ACM Newsroom will return to Joplin to continue its coverage of this historic deadly and destructive storm, which has claimed 125 lives, injured hundreds more and caused widespread damage to thousands of homes and businesses in the heart of town.

Please check back with this website this evening for continued coverage.

If you have any questions, email us at rogers@amconmedia.com.

Tornado Aftermath: Victim considers himself fortunate compared to neighbors in destroyed apartment complex

This report was filed today from the ground in Joplin, Mo., as storm victims started to re-emerge in their neighborhoods to sift through the rumble and find anything of sentimental or monetary value after Sunday's historic EF5 tornado, that has officially claimed 126 lives and injured hundreds more.

Jay Watson (center) searches for any salvagable belongings near his building in the Somerset apartment complex. Watson was not home at the time the EF5 tornado struck Sunday, but returned to find his apartment located on the third floor to be gone — along with the entire third floor. / Rick Rogers - ACM News Service

Headline: Storm victim says he feels fortunate compared to neighbors

By Rick Rogers / American Consolidated Media News Service

JOPLIN, Mo. — The buzzing sound of chainsaws.

The rhythmic chirp of fire alarms.

The hum of generators.

These are the sounds of a disaster area.

Throughout Wednesday residents and volunteers emerged in the neighborhoods and city streets of tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., where an EF5 tornado, spanning three-fourths of a mile wide, claimed the lives of 126 people, injured hundreds more and caused widespread damage in this community of 50,000 in the southwest corner of the state.

Tornado survivors, with the help of family, friends and thousands of volunteers, took advantage of sunshine and warmer temperatures Wednesday morning and afternoon to begin the daunting task of salvaging anything of sentimental or monetary value out of the rubble where their businesses, homes or apartments once stood tall.

Now all that can be seen in the tornado’s wide path of destruction — spanning from nearly 7^th Street to 32^nd Street to the north and south and Schifferdecker Road and past Highway 249 from the west to east — are many homes reduced to their foundations, trees stripped of their limbs, leaves and bark, and cars crumbled and tossed like Hot Wheels in a sandbox.

Standing on a mountain of debris outside of his apartment building in the Somerset complex was 22-year-old Jay Watson. The apartment complex is located at the hard-hit area of 20^th Street and Connecticut Ave., in the heart of the tornado’s path.

The Missouri Southern State University student considered himself to be "one of the lucky ones." 

He was not at home in his third-floor apartment when the tornado struck. He was watching the St. Louis Cardinals game on TV at his grandfather’s house, located on the north edge of Joplin and away from the storm’s fury.

Watson considers himself fortunate because his third floor apartment is nowhere to be found. The entire third floor of the structure is gone, blown away by the tornado’s 200-plus mile-per-hour winds.

Watson said after the storm passed, he and his friends decided to go back to their apartment. When they got as close as five blocks away, they quickly realized something was wrong.

“People were running everywhere,” he said. “People were screaming for people. They were calling their names. And then you could hear the sirens. We parked the car, and started running up (to his apartment complex). It was chaos. It was lightning still. You could hear the car alarms from cars that were damaged. No one knew where to go, what to do. People were basically dazed. They walked out of their homes, and didn’t know where to go.

“We left the complex, and headed to Freeman Hospital (located west on 32nd Street blocks away from heavily damaged St. John's Regional Medical Center) to check on family. You could see people with dead bodies in the back of pick-up trucks. There was debris everywhere. Everyone was worried St. John’s (Regional Medical Center) was going to explode, and you could see the fire in the background. You could also just smell so much gas. That made you scared.”

The multi-building Somerset complex looks like a war zone. Every building is heavily damaged. Few buildings have a third floor intact, and every car in the parking lot is damaged beyond repair. Water flowed like a fountain from a pipe in one of the exposed rooms of a building. There was a faint smell of natural gas, and you could hear the chirps of several fire alarms going off in all the buildings. The complex's pool had opened recently, and Watson said he and his friends and neighbors were looking forward to warmer temperatures and spending this summer having cookouts poolside. Instead, the water was sucked out of the pool, and the area now served as a makeshift lost and found.

This was not Watson's first visit back to his apartment. The day after the tornado hit, he returned with family to pick up the pieces of his life — what pieces he could find. In the grass next to the building was his couch, a twisted ball of wood and cloth. They found what they thought was Watson’s bathtub, but upon further review it was that of apartment B8, from the building next door.

As they searched through the debris, Watson’s sister, MacKenzie, finally found something that held a special place in their hearts. She moved a piece of wood, and underneath was a Louisville Slugger baseball glove that belonged to their father, Chip, who passed away in the fall of 2008. MacKenzie will marry her college sweetheart, Aaron Cox, on Saturday in Joplin. The tornado will not keep them from tying the knot.

“Most everything is gone,” Jay said.

Watson is a born and raised Joplin resident. His late father served as publisher of The Big Nickel, a weekly shopper publication located at 20^th Street and Range Line which is now just a slab of foundation after the tornado.

Watson, who graduates from Joplin-based MSSU, wondered what the future will hold for his hometown and whether it will be the same as it rebuilds. He will be the only member of his immediate family to remain in Joplin, as his sister had already planned a move to Idaho, where her fiance works with a minor league baseball team, and his mother had previously planned a relocation to Oregon to accept a job in the medical field. His older brother, Chris, lives in Frisco, Texas.

“It may be five, 10 years to rebuild everything,” he said. “It is like Armageddon. There is just trash everywhere. There are broken houses everywhere. It is scary. It took five minutes, and it did that much damage.”

TORNADO AFTERMATH: More images as clean-up begins in Joplin, Mo.

These are more photos provided by ACM Newsroom for print and website use by company newspapers.  Click on the image to expand, and drag to your desktop to download.

Please credit Rick Rogers / American Consolidated Media News Service

This mattress was hanging from a tree limb high above the rubble of the
Somerset apartment complex, where residents and citizens were trying to clean up
 the rubble left of their homes. The tree limb had the majority of its bark ripped off.

This apartment building was reduced to pure rumble after Sunday's EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo.
Residents, volunteers and crews were out Wednesday afternoon to begin clean-up efforts throughout the city of 50,000
in Southwest Missouri.

These residents put up an American flag as they began searching through the debris for anything salvageable in Joplin after Sunday's devastating tornado.

Heavy machines were out in Joplin as crews began clean-up efforts near the intersection
of 20th Street and Connecticut Ave. Wednesday afternoon.

In a twist of irony, this Twister board game mat was found tangled in a tree at this home along New Jersey St., in Joplin, where an EF5 tornado ripped through the community of 50,000 on Sunday, causing more than 120 deaths and injuring several hundreds more. 

These baby toys were found several yards away from a demolished apartment complex
located near 20th Street in Joplin.

This sign could be found outside a home along 22nd Street in Joplin.

The badly damaged Dillon's grocery store located on 20th Street in Joplin.

Aerial photos of Joplin tornado

The following aerial photos of the tornado area in Joplin, Mo., taken by Newt Sharp of Joplin, have been released for use by ACM Newspapers. 

Click image to view larger and drag to desktop to download. Please credit Newt Sharp.

The area near the intersection of 20th Street and Connecticut Ave., in Joplin, Mo. Somerset apartment complex
is located in upper left-hand corner of photograph.  / Photo by Newt Sharp

The heavily-damaged St. John's Regional Medical Center. / Photo by Newt Sharp

The EF5 tornado destroyed the Home Depot in Joplin, located along 20th Street. / Photo by Newt Sharp

Medical Buildings near St. John's Regional Medical Center. / Photo by Newt Sharp

Massive damage to an apartment complex located near the Walmart Supercenter, located on 15th Street and Range Line Road in Joplin. / Photo by Newt Sharp

Severe damage to the Bel-Air Shopping Center, at the intersection of 20th Street and Range Line Road. / Photo by Newt Sharp.

The tornado destroyed Irving Elementary School located in downtown Joplin. It was one of three Joplin School District buildings to be destroyed.  / Photo by Newt Sharp

The tornado destroyed Joplin High School, the only public high school serving the town of 50,000. The school was home to more than 2,000 students. The storm also destroyed Franklin Tech Center. / Photo by Newt Sharp

The tornado damaged East Middle School, a new building in the district. East Middle School was located on the very eastern tip of the storm. / Photo by Newt Sharp

The path of the storm can be seen in the middle of this photo. The photographer, Newt Sharp, is looking west over Joplin. The tornado's path stretches from Schifferdecker Road to the west to past Duquesne Road to the eastern edge of the city.

TORNADO COVERAGE: Photos now available

Below are several images taken today as residents and citizens began the task of going through the debris of Sunday's historic EF5 tornado in Joplin, Mo.

These photos are available for all ACM newspapers and websites to use.

Click images to view and drag to desktop to download. Please credit Rick Rogers / ACM News Service

Several homes were adorned with American flags as a show of patriotism in the destruction zone near the intersection of 20th and Connecticut streets in the heart of Joplin. On Wednesday, the clean-up process began as the late morning and early afternoon featured sunshine and warm temperatures.

These friends meet each other outside the Somerset apartment complex, located at 20th St., and Connecticut Ave., as they try to clean up the debris of their belongings in the wake of Sunday's EF5 tornado that killed more than 120 people and caused widespread damage throughout Joplin, Mo., a town of 50,000 residents. 

One of the only things standing in the middle of the Somerset apartment complex
was this tree, which had several limbs, all its leaves and some of its bark stripped off by the 200-plus mile-per-hour winds of the EF5 tornado.

Brandon Jewett props up an American flag that he found inside the rubble of the Somerset apartment complex on Wednesday afternoon, which sustained complete destruction from Sunday's EF5 tornado in Joplin, Mo., a town of 50,000 residents. According to residents who were cleaning up the widespread debris at the complex, there were no known fatalities but several minor and major injuries. Helping Jewett where Joey Bivens and Lindsey Dooley. 

Citizens start shifting through the rubble of an apartment complex located near 20th Street in Joplin on Wednesday, taking advantage of rare good weather after Sunday's EF5 tornado caused widespread death and damage to nearly 30 percent of the town of 50,000. 

This Santa Claus hat found an usual home in this bush outside one of the heavily damaged apartment buildings in the Somerset complex, located at 20th and Connecticut in Joplin, Mo. 

Joplin resident Stephanie Goad stands in what used to be her top story of the split-level home she shared with her husband, Dave, and two sons, Zach and Dylan. Dave and Stephanie were home at the time of the tornado struck, and took shelter in a downstairs bathroom. They emerged to find the top level of their home destroyed, along with nearly the rest of the homes in their neighborhood at 22nd Street and New Jersey. 

Residents of this apartment complex located south of a major grocery store on 20th Street in Joplin were busy looking for anything to salvage from Sunday's deadly and historic tornado. There was a concern with officials nearby that the structures were not safe for citizens to be in. 

Police officers question a man Wednesday on whether he was a resident of the apartment complex he was sifting through Wednesday afternoon in the devastated region of Joplin after Sunday's EF5 tornado. The man assured the officers he lived in the apartment complex. There were several reports of looting in the damaged area on Monday and Tuesday, despite heavy law enforcement presence. 

This volunteer fires up his chainsaw at this damaged home at 2405 Montana Place in south Joplin. This home was one of the more heavily damaged houses coming in from the south toward the epicenter of the damage along 20th Street, which runs east and west through Joplin. Volunteers were seen throughout this area of Joplin, using chainsaws, cleaning debris and assisting loved ones and strangers as the cleanup process began Wednesday after Sunday's historic EF5 tornado. 

Volunteer survey the damage in the Somerset apartment complex, located on 20th Street and Connecticut Ave., which
was completed destroyed by Sunday's EF5 tornado in Joplin, a town of 50,000 citizens.