Wednesday, May 25, 2011

New York Times story: Neighbors reunited after Joplin tornado

The New York Times' coverage of Joplin in today's edition, includes this brief story of two neighbors being reunited after the tornado:

The Joplin tornado damaged nearly a third of the city. But workers were particularly concerned about a busy strip of big-box stores and densely populated apartment complexes that included Hampshire Terrace, where Becky Carithers returned Tuesday morning to the wreckage of her apartment. The site was now a bare slab of concrete and wood, and she found that the winds had stripped her of nearly all her possessions.


Ms. Carithers screamed in astonishment and joy when a man emerged from a car down the street. Her neighbor was alive. She cried aloud to him — “You lived!” — then repeated it more softly to her companion. Then she wept.

“I’m so glad he’s O.K.,” she said. She fell into her companion’s arms, her chest heaving against him.

“Oh, my God,” she said.

The sobs deepened and continued for a long time before she spoke again, her voice heavy with revelation: “We lived. We lived.”

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