Tornado Aftermath, Six Weeks Later

I've just returned from a visit to the midwest. Happy to see my parents doing well; good to catch up with family.

I was in tiny, wonderful Oswego, Kansas last week. Oswego is fifty miles away from Joplin, Missouri. You may recall all the news reports when a tornado ravaged that town six weeks ago. We drove over to Joplin one day to see the damage. It is almost unimaginable: a wide area of neighborhoods totally flattened; a huge hospital destroyed; commercial areas wiped out; miles of leafy, mature trees gone. Even now, despite massive clean up efforts, an eery pall prevails. Here are some pictures of what used to be a thriving community.