JOPLIN, Mo. — Saturday marks the 10th anniversary that an EF-5 tornado tore through the town of Joplin, destroying everything in its path.
Over 160 people were killed, and more than 1000 were injured in this catastrophic storm.
An American Red Cross volunteer, Dorinda Nicholson, was sent there the next day. She says the sight of the ruined town was unlike anything she had seen in her 20 years of working on some of the worst natural disasters in the United States.
“Everyone had a story. Everyone had to say what happened to them. They said, "I had to get in this bottom bookshelf...I had to get in the bathtub and put blankets on top of me. It was story, after story, after story,” says Nicholson.
Nicholson remembers rows and rows of cots lined up tents the Red Cross had set up across town, filled with families who had just lost everything.
She says she remembers the terror in people's eyes when some people talked about their missing pets.
Nicholson is a mental health expert and was there to counsel people grieving the loss of a family member.
The Rogers Fire Chief, Tom Jenkins, says his fire department, alongside Springdale and Fayetteville first responders, were also in Joplin the day after the tornado. Jenkins says most of their time was spent trying to find people trapped under collapsed buildings.
“Most of our firefighters were working at a Home Depot that had collapsed on itself, people had been trapped under there, unfortunately, but they worked tirelessly,” says Jenkins.
Through this catastrophic natural disaster, Jenkins says his fire department and our other local emergency responders have a better understanding of what to do if this happens again.
“For such a sad and somber event, it's important to know that we learned a lot, and Northwest Arkansas is better prepared," says Jenkins.