HELP! Joplin, Mo has been hit by a massive tordado.

[Watauga]

Drove to where my Mom is staying with my sister just across the state line in Arkansas. For having been run over by a tornado and buried by the debris Mom is in amazingly good condition, even the dog is alive. It was worth the 7 hours in the car just to actually see and hold my Mom. This whole ordeal has really pointed out to me that even a strong tough guy at times just needs his Mommy. Thank you God.

Yep Makes perfect sense cause moms help make the strong tough guy's!
Glad Moms OK

[Hawken50]

  Glad to here your moms ok Otter.Miracles do happen.

[Rocky]

Love, hug, hold and cherish your Mom. She deserves it.

[Tim Burns]

Lets all continue to pray for those folks in Missouri and tonight - Oklahoma got hit and the news states that this line of storms is headed for the Joplin,MO area. May God be Merciful.

[Otter]

Here is the house where Mom lived, and was found alive. Thank you God.

[Otter]

A few more photos. The flag needs no explanation however look at the pole. St. Johns hospital took a direct hit. My boyhood home was about a mile from Mom's house. This was a massive storm.

[ThunderHeart]

Have an Aunt and a Cousin  each on differant sides of the family  that live in Joplin  they were lucky  living just out of the damage path of this twister. My prayers for all who have lost loved ones in this tragic weather event !

[Otter]

In the past week I've spoken with so many people that have connections to the Joplin area! The number of lives that have been touched indirectly by the tornado vastly exceed what I'd have thought it might be. We are a resilient and fruitful people here in the Ozarks.

[crazell]

Otter somebody was watching over her.... Glad to hear she's okay...

[Rocky]

Hey Otter, where was your Mom inside the house when it hit?

[Otter]

Crazell & Rocky, Yes Mom was inside, she was about to go into the hall from the family room when something pushed her down and the grandfather clock fall alongside of her. The house then fell on top of both. It is my thought that without the protection of the clock and being pushed down when and where she was I'd have been attending a funeral. BTW that clock was the prize possession of my step father and Mom kept it in proper working condition for nearly 15 years after his death. I could not agree more that somebody was watching over her. Thank you one and all for your thoughts and prayers.

[DEADDAWG]

My feelings are it was your step father watching out for her. He put his prized clock down there next to her to keep stuff from crushing her. Very glad she's OK. In your prayers tonight you might want to say thank you to your step father.

[redhawk]

Otter,  glad to hear your Mother came through the storm with only some minor injuries. Looking at the pictures she was a very lucky woman.  Houses and material things can be replaced but Mothers can't.  I agree with others that clock was put there for a purpose. My prayers continue to go out to all the victims of the storms the last few weeks.

[trad-hunter]

Good to hear your Mom came through as well as she did. Others werent as lucky! I am a firefighter in Dade county just north east of Joplin and our department went down right after it hit for search and rescue operations. We worked for 24 hours straight searching through the wreckage and it is the worst thing I have ever seen. Even though the death toll is high, its hard to believe that it isnt much, much higher. Thank GOD for his protection there.

[Red Badger]

Trad Hunter is right, with the way that storm started the death toll could have been several hundred very easily.  It is people like him and his co workers we owe a great debt to, because without the Emergency Response Teams responding so quickly other surely would not have survived.