I SURVIVED: Horrors of Joplin’s 2011 tornado recalled

In 2011, Renee White left her home in Joplin to attend her child’s soccer game on a Sunday night. Her life changed when an EF5 tornado struck the area.
White spoke of her experience at the Iola Public Library as part of its “I Survived” book series on Monday night. Lauren Tarshis wrote the “I Survived” series, which are fictional perspectives of historical events. 
From the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco to the 2011 tsunami in Japan, “I Survived” covers a wide variety of disasters. Some books cover war including the Battle of Gettysburg, 1941’s Pearl Harbor attack and The American Revolution. Tarshis’s book covering the Joplin tornado was published in 2015.
“It’s not about the bad stuff in the world, but it’s about the concept of resilience,” White said of the book series. “It’s about how disasters and tragedies can make us stronger.”
After the tornado struck Joplin on May 22, 2011, White volunteered with the Community Organizations Active in Disaster group to coordinate the recovery process.
The tornado killed 162 people with 1,500 houses affected totaling an estimated $2.8 billion in damage. Joplin was down to one hospital and its schools were about to finish the academic year. Uncertainty came ahead with the destruction that took place.
“There was no communication or phone services,” White said. “Radio reception was poor and televisions were off. There wasn’t a real understanding of what was happening.”
White was forced to drive to Girard for any information. According to White, hospital patients had to be carried and evacuated to as far as 130 miles north to Freeman, Mo.
The tornado sent all kinds of possessions from photo albums to paper bills to east. Debris sailed as far as 75 miles away to Springfield, Mo.
Joplin went through two weeks of funerals for those who were lost to the tornado. White said it was common to stop and take part in the procession for anyone who saw a funeral taking place.
White was overwhelmed by the volunteer help combined with FEMA taking the charge. Residents who lost their houses were placed in trailers for up to 18 months.
White made a trip to Moore, Okla. and New Orleans La., to see how both areas recovered from a tornado and Hurricane Katrina, respectively. She didn’t want to compare Joplin to New Orleans. A hurricane, she said, is a “different animal.”
What she learned through those trips was trying to be as normal as possible despite the circumstances.
“Kids need school and structure immediately,” White said, “As soon as you guys have a disaster, do everything in your power to give kids routine.”
During the summer of 2011, Joplin rented the football stadium of Missouri Southern State University for a fun kids activity and concert. She applauded the superintendent for making the commitment to resume school in the fall and came through on his word in order to keep structure.
Nine of the 17 schools in Joplin were damaged and other places served as a space for students. They used former department stores in malls, a factory near a dog food plant and even other trailers as classrooms during the school year.
Several politicians and visitors came to Joplin which include then-President Barack Obama and then-Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. Sports teams also volunteered their time, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues.
“Governor Nixon was really good to use as many government dollars that he felt he could, but he also rallied people who had other benefits to us.” 
White saw a sign of unity during the time it took to recover from the tornado. Churches with different ideologies shared the same chapel or structure for their services or mass. Jewish and Muslims in the area also worked together on building despite their religious diets. 
There were even dentists who took a paycut to help others become economically stable. She saw recovering alcoholics use this tornado disaster to stay sober in helping out the community through construction.
When the one-year anniversary of the tornado came, the Joplin city manager wanted to move forward with a parade, but White wanted to remember the 162 lives that were lost. White ended up taking a five mile march reading every victim who died in the tornado.
“People will only want to look forward, I will never forget those 162 people,” White said. “I will never forget the volunteers who made an impact and the brought little acts of kindness.”
While she was grateful for all the donation help, she pointed out that not all of them were good acts. In the future, she wants others to ask what is needed instead of forcing used items, which could be useless.
Through the journey of recovering from the tornado, White said Joplin became a powerful community as a result. She saw who devoted their time and even own dime to the cause and was thankful for everything.
“What I come away from is the goodness of people,” White said. When not seeing the iconic places you think of when driving by, your stomach hurts because it will never be there again. Same for the people who are no longer with us. It was scary what we went through, but we’re a stronger town because of it.”