New York Times: Volunteers, outside help continue to come to Joplin

The continuing presence of outside help after the Joplin Tornado is chronicled in a feature in today's New York Times Sunday Magazine:

Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, said that the influx of people, money and attention after a major disaster typically fades during the “most vexing and most difficult” phase of recovery, as the drama of disaster gives way to the bureaucracy of rebuilding. “It’s fatigue syndrome,” he said.


Mr. Redlener, who dispatched a three-person team to Joplin last month to study, among other things, why some communities are more resilient post-disaster than others, credited Joplin’s leaders for keeping volunteers, donors and the news media engaged. The members of Mr. Redlener’s team, echoing sentiments expressed by many others here who have visited devastated communities, said the speed of progress has been impressive.

As the new year begins, the signs of recovery are everywhere in Joplin, from the sounds of swinging hammers, to the matchstick profiles of emerging houses, to the unmistakable sense of optimism that infuses conversations about “good coming out of bad.” A place like this feels more manageable when strung up in Christmas lights.