Joplin, Tuscaloosa become sister cities of destruction

Today's Tuscaloosa News, observing the one-year anniversary of the tornado that wreaked so much destruction on that city, has an absorbing article on the Joplin Tornado. From the article:

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr got his first look at the widespread damage about 9:30 p.m. through night-vision goggles.

He knew the devastation was extensive — in the coming days he would learn that approximately 30 percent of Joplin was destroyed or affected — but the scene he took in from a helicopter over the tornado’s path was numbing.

“I’m flesh and blood like everyone else,” Rohr said. “I was overwhelmed. But I could only allow myself to be overwhelmed for about 15 seconds.”

It is a long story and one well worth reading.