Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
On May 22, a large, devastating EF5 tornado tracked through Joplin, Missouri, leaving behind catastrophic damage. It was a multiple-vortex tornado in excess of wide. Mainly the southern part of the city was affected with most structures in the area either damaged or destroyed. 162 people were killed along the path through Jasper and Newton counties in Missouri, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947, and one of the deadliest single tornadoes ever recorded. Among the most heavily damaged structures was St. John's Hospital (pictured right), which later was torn down due to the severity of the structural damage. Damages were estimated at around $2.8 billion (2011 USD).
1953 Waco tornado outbreak
Few of the buildings in downtown Waco were constructed sturdily enough to withstand the winds, and they collapsed almost immediately. Newer buildings with steel reinforcement, including the 22-story Amicable office building (now called the ALICO Building), weathered the storm. The Dr Pepper bottling plant, today the Dr Pepper Museum, also remained standing but sustained damage. Bricks from the collapsed structures piled up in the street to a depth of . Some survivors were trapped under rubble for 14 or more hours; numerous bodies remained submerged beneath piles of rubble and for many days were unaccounted for. In all, 114 deaths occurred in the Waco area, with 597 injured and over $41 million (1953 USD) in property damage. The tornado destroyed 196 businesses and factories. 217 others sustained major damage and 179 sustained lesser damages. 150 homes were wrecked, 250 sustained major damage, and 450 sustained lesser damages. The First United Methodist Church was severely damaged. Over 2,000 cars sustained at least some damage. Over half the dead—61—were in a single city block bounded by 4th and 5th streets and Austin and Franklin avenues.
Following the Waco tornado, attempts to organize disaster relief were stymied by poor organization. Local residents had not expected the tornado and had assumed that the area's geography safeguarded Waco from tornadoes. Initially, the tornado also severed communications between downtown Waco and outlying areas, so assistance was slow to arrive. The chaotic relief efforts eventually spurred greater coordination between civilians and local governments, leading to the development of civil defense. Notably, the Waco event was one of the first instances that proved the effectiveness of radar in tracking tornadogenesis; coincidentally, another such case occurred later in the same year. Posthumous study of the tornado that struck Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 9 revealed that, as at Waco, local radar detected the hook echo that signified the tornado. Researchers concluded that improved communications, coupled with the formation of radar coverage, could lead to accurate tornado warnings, thereby reducing loss of life in future storms. This task proved especially important following the devastating loss of life at Waco and Worcester, along with the June 8 catastrophe at Flint, Michigan, in the same year. The state of Texas supported the implementation of 20 radar facilities, each with a radius, that proved successful in reducing death tolls in later tornadoes. The system was known as the Texas Radar Tornado Warning Network and also included communications between weather officials, storm spotters, and local officials. Thus the Waco tornado helped catalyze development of a nationwide severe weather warning system.