Lived and worked there for several years. Home of some people I care about. Updates are at the top of the piece.

This link may not stay valid since the NWS changes its URL’s for text with every text issued. EF1 tornado confirmed by National Weather Service

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BINGHAMTON, NY HAS CONFIRMED A TORNADO NEAR ELMIRA IN CHEMUNG COUNTY NEW YORK ON JULY 26 2012.

TORNADO TRACKED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIVER FROM WEST TO EAST. STARTING POINT WAS IN HARRIS HILL MANOR JUST WEST OF ELMIRA. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED ONCE THE SURVEY TEAM IS BACK IN THE OFFICE.

NOAA photo of tornado damage to St. John's Mercy Hospital in Joplin

The heart of Joplin Missouri was, in many respects, St. John’s Mercy Hospital. The city’s residents were born there, healed there and often spent their final days there. On May 22, 2011, an F5 tornado tore its way through downtown Joplin and left the hospital in ruins. That ended an era but yesterday a new era was begun with the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Mercy Hospital Joplin.

NOAA photo of damage to St. John's Mercy Hospital in Joplin after the tornado.

The entire St. John’s campus will be leveled as the work begins on a new hospital on donated land at the intersection of I44 and Main Street. A farewell service was held in Joplin on Sunday for the old hospital and a groundbreaking ceremony for the new one.

St. John’s Mercy sits over abandoned lead mines that date to the mid 1800′s. Engineers were uncertain if a controlled demolition would be safe so the site will be cleared using conventional methods. During the six weeks of demolition, as much of the existing structure as possible will be salvaged. The buildings will be stripped of wiring and pipes that will go to the scrap yard. The concrete and asphalt will be ground up and used for fill on the site.

Science will also be served during the demolition. Some parts of the building will be sent to various labs for study of the effects of the tornado on the building and its components.

The hospital has donated about 12 acres of the old site to the Joplin schools. An elementary school will be built there to replace two schools destroyed by the tornado.

At the new site, an innovative project is rescuing about 400 trees from the bulldozers. The site was scoured by certified arborists for the best saplings. They were tagged and have been transplanted to a local nursery where they will be cared for. In 2014, in preparation for the opening of the new Mercy Hospital Joplin, they will be replanted as part of the final landscaping. The trees selected are the ones best suited for Joplin’s climate and soil.

The FEMA blog describes the recovery efforts in Joplin.

• 1.2 million cubic yards of debris removed
• 3,600 building permits issued
• 167 temporary classrooms and 67 temporary safe rooms
• 337 families in temporary housing
• 50 percent of the homes destroyed are being rebuilt
• 90 percent of the businesses damaged have reopened

The National Weather Service has released a report titled Joplin, Missouri, Tornado – May 22, 2011.

The tornado was rated EF-5 on the Enhanced-Fujita Scale, with its maximum winds estimated at more than 200 mph. The path of the entire tornado was 22.1 miles long and was up to 1 mile in width. The EF-4/EF-5 damage path was roughly 6 miles long from near Schifferdecker Avenue along the western portions of Joplin to near Interstate 44 east of Joplin, and generally ½ to ¾ of a mile wide along the path. NOAA map.

A crane lifts community storm shelters into place at Duquesne Elementary School at Duenweg, Mo., July 15. Each shelter weighs more than 77,000 pounds and has a capacity to hold 34 people. U.S. Army photo/Tom Black

Tornadoes don’t get any stronger than the one that struck Joplin May 22.

A rare EF-5 storm, with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour, it churned for six miles through Joplin’s heart; killing 159 people, injuring 1,000 more, and destroying as much as a third of the city.

It was the deadliest tornado since modern record keeping began in 1950, according to the National Weather Service.

Seven weeks after the disaster, the devastation is still clear. But so is the progress of recovery. More than two-thirds of the estimated 1.87 million cubic yards of debris have been cleared – an amount larger than New York’s Central Park – and rebuilding has begun.

Under the National Response Framework, the guidelines that govern the federal government’s response to a disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency assigns different missions to the federal agencies best equipped to carry them out. After the Joplin tornado, FEMA assigned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers three missions: remove tornado debris from streets and home lots, build temporary replacements for critical public facilities like fire stations and schools, and build the sites for temporary housing communities to shelter more than 600 families whose homes were destroyed. Corps’ urban search and rescue staff also helped in the first days after the storm.

It came at a time when the Corps was also responding to a deadly spate of tornadoes in Alabama and flood fighting on America’s two largest river systems – with hurricane season still to come. Yet more than 300 Corps staff from around the country have traveled to Joplin to help with the recovery mission.

The Corps’ Kansas City District quickly set up a field office in Joplin, led by the district’s commander, Col. Anthony Hofmann. An Army Reserve officer and Texas businessman, Col. Daniel Patton, then volunteered to command the ongoing recovery operation.

In its first eight weeks, the Corps awarded more than $160 million in contracts – more than $150 million of it to local small businesses – for debris removal and construction work, built two temporary fire stations and started construction on two temporary housing sites and facilities for all eight public schools the tornado destroyed. All temporary school facilities are on schedule to open before school starts in Aug. 17. Families are expected to begin moving into the temporary communities by the end of July.

Heather Wright, a park ranger at the Corps’ Stanislaus River Parks in California, said she came to Joplin with only helping in mind.

“It’s so hard to do anything really impactful as an individual. But to join forces with others in the Corps, it helps me see that something really significant is being accomplished for people who are so desperately in need,” she said. “I wanted to serve the core need of the people here – to get help get them back on their feet.”

Lynn Jefferies, quality assurance representative, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, talks with a contractor while supervising debris clearing from a home that was destroyed after an EF-5 tornado struck Joplin, Mo., May 22. The debris removal mission includes clearing the right of way (10 feet from the curb) and right of entry homes, which the property owner or the city has given the Corps the right to go onto the property to clear debris. The Corps is responsible for clearing more than 1,400 properties. U.S. Army photo/Andrew Stamer

Debris removal is ongoing. As of July 19, more than 1.2 million of the estimated 1.87 million cubic yards of debris from homes and vegetation has been cleared. The Corps also continues to oversee the construction of temporary schools and mobile home sites. The mission is expected to continue into the fall.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is our hero,” said Dr. Debra Fort, principal, Irving Elementary School, which was destroyed by the tornado.

The Corps began its temporary public facilities mission to replace Irving and other schools, by using existing school campuses throughout the area – some in use and others that were vacant, such as the Washington campus that Irving schoolchildren will begin to attend classes at this fall.

These facilities consist of modular units, tent structures and storm shelters. Inside the modular facilities are classrooms, kitchens, labs and restrooms. This also includes all electrical and cables needed for today’s educational environment. Concrete is in place for gymnasium floors for those schools that don’t currently have such facilities.

“Irving Elementary is a family and one of our greatest concerns was that we would be split in different directions. We were relieved to learn we could remain as a family at Washington Education Center by bringing in modulars,” Fort said, who lives a few miles north of Joplin in Webb City, Mo., and has been the principal at Irving for 13 years.

“We are amazed at how quickly the modulars have been put in place. My teachers love them,” Fort said. “There is an excitement among the Irving families as we look toward the future. The Corps has given us hope and provided a reassurance to us that we can continue to educate our students at a high level.”

Fort has even quelled concerns of other principals whose schools were affected by letting them tour her campus and see for themselves the quality and workmanship that have gone into the facilities. Irving is 65 percent complete, and progress is made every day on all eight schools.

“The long-term mission of FEMA, the city of Joplin and the Corps is to leave the city in a condition that they can build upon after the Corps is gone,” Patton said. “We want to help create a vision for the citizens of Joplin that their community is going to be better and stronger in the end.”

DVIDS
Story by Chris Gray
(U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public affairs specialists Sara Goodeyon and Andrew Stamer also contributed to this report.)

Homes in the Bismarck - Mandan area are surrounded by water as the Missouri River continues to rise. On June 3, about 2000 North Dakota National Guard Airmen and Soldiers are working to prevent harm to people and property across the state. Photo by Spc. Jess Raasch, 116th Public Affairs Detachment

By Army Sgt. Darron Salzer
National Guard Bureau

In the aftermath of severe storms that have brought devastating tornadoes to areas of Missouri and Massachusetts and major flooding across the Midwest and other parts of the U.S., the number of Citizen-Soldiers who are answering the call for help has risen to about 5,000.

Guard members are performing domestic operations for flood relief support in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont and Wyoming.

Operations in these states include transportation and aviation support, levee patrols and security, assisting local and federal civilian emergency management agencies, evacuation support, search and rescue operations and sandbag operations.

In areas of Montana, Vermont and Wyoming, heavy rains mixed with the melting of larger-than-usual snow packs, has created a recipe for rising waters to occur and the evacuation of citizens in Washington County, Vermont.

North and South Dakota have about 3,000 Guard members who are still battling flood waters after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened oversaturated up-river dams earlier this week along the Missouri River.

Louisiana and Mississippi Guard members remain vigilant in their battle against the waters of the Mississippi River after severe storms swelled the river earlier this year. Operations continue in both states, where about 1,200 Guard members are currently operating.

Tornados have been another part of these heavy storms recently, and parts of Massachusetts and Missouri have both seen unbelievable damage.

About 450 Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen were on duty the morning after tornadoes tore across the Massachusetts area on June 1, and currently about 675 are on state active duty.

Officials have confirmed three deaths from the storms and said a fourth death, an elderly man who died of apparent cardiac arrest, may not have been tornado-related, said a Reuters report

Dozens were also injured and damage hit 19 Massachusetts communities and tens of thousands of residents were without power after the severe weather, according to civilian media reports.

The Missouri National Guard has about 275 Missouri Guard members performing various domestic operations in the Joplin area after a major twister leveled large portions of that city May 22, which resulted in the deaths of about 140 Citizens and devastated the local hospital.

Operations in both Missouri and Massachusetts include search and rescue, debris removal and cleanup, health and wellness checks, assisting local and federal emergency responders and damage assessment, said Guard officials.

Fighting floods:

Illinois Guard assists with South Dakota flooding

Illinois National Guard report

SPRINGFIELD, IL (6/3/11) – The Illinois National Guard sent one CH-47 Chinook helicopter with five crew members from Company B, 2nd Battalion 238th Aviation based in Peoria to help the South Dakota National Guard battle flood waters today.

“Our Soldiers and Airmen are always prepared and willing to help our neighbors,” said Army Maj. Gen. William L. Enyart, adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard. “Rising floodwater is something that we completely understand here in Illinois.”

Approximately 1,000 South Dakota National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been helping to hold back the flood waters in the upper plains state for nearly a week.

The Illinois National Guard Aircraft and crew will sling load one-ton sandbags to secure the levy along the Missouri River near Sioux City, Iowa.

Soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion 238th Aviation were among the 550 Illinois National Guard Soldiers and Airmen who helped to battle the floods in southern Illinois in April and May of this year.

National Guard helps South Dakota city prep for flooding

By Army Spc. Manda Walters
South Dakota National Guard

PIERRE, S.D. (6/3/11) – Pierre city workers from the fire, water, and electrical departments gathered at Steamboat Memorial Park’s Well House 1 on Thursday morning to test a generator that will be activated should flood waters surpass a levee that South Dakota National Guard Soldiers are reinforcing just 35 feet away.

Rex Newling, a City of Pierre electrician, other city workers, and SDNG service members have spent many hours preparing the city, their friends and neighbors for the impending rising flood waters.

“I wish the high water would get here, then the anticipation would be over with,” said Newling, “but if normal power goes out, this generator will keep the well going.”

The well is one of several which provide water to the city’s potable water reservoirs.

Army Sgt. Michael H. Ordal, a heavy equipment operator with Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 147th Field Artillery said he is doing his best to keep the city and residents from experiencing a power outage.

Ordal and fellow service members are reinforcing the existing levee at Steamboat Park with the help of a crane, 4,000-pound sand bags, and guidance from the Army Corps of Engineers.

“The Army Corps of Engineers places fill and cut line markers to aid in the construction of levees,” said Ordal.  These markers are used to designate how much dirt is needed to hold back the projected water levels, he said.

The levee, measuring more than 12 feet across, approximately 5 feet in height and stretching the length of the park, is expected to keep water away from area structures. A fill line marker near the levee and well house shows that its current height will be more than adequate if projected water levels are accurate, Ordal said.

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to release water from the Oahe Reservoir beginning at 8 a.m. today. If the levee is successful, there will be no need for the generator to pump water from Well House 1 to one of the city’s water reservoirs because the power will remain on.

North Dakota Guard helps neighborhoods with levee systems

North Dakota Guard report

BISMARCK, N.D. (6/3/11) – North Dakota National Guard members that are part of Civil Military Assistance Teams are hard at work building levee systems throughout the Bismarck-Mandan and Morton and Burleigh county areas.

Army 1st Lt. Matthew Voeller, with Battery A of the 1st Battalion,  188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, is the officer-in-charge of a CMAT constructing a levee system north of Memorial Bridge on the Mandan side of the Missouri River.

The objective of the CMAT here is to keep back overland flooding by building a levee system that spans the entire neighborhood to the north. The south part of the levee links in with HESCO barriers placed by contractors that will buttress the bridge.

“The majority of residents already had some type of existing structure,” Voeller said. “However many were inadequate and needed strengthening.”

Those dikes that were not up to standard were re-enforced by Guard members with the guidance of the U.S. Army Engineer Corps and the civil engineers from Morton County.

Voeller said that while some people did a very good job of building their structures to protect their homes, his team needs to ensure that they meet the height and width requirements necessary to hold back the anticipated floodwaters, as well as keep the integrity of the system throughout the length of the area.

This will protect the residents’ homes and keep the water from coming overland and flowing further south. Voeller said this particular mission is close to completion and that the locals have been extremely supportive and expressed their gratitude for the help of the National Guard.

Mike Aubol, Morton County civil engineer, is working along with the National Guard and going through the whole development doing what he hopes will be a final inspection. Aubol will be giving recommendations to the crew as to what needs to be improved upon and taking measurements to ensure the levee is constructed to the correct level.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Bill Kilmer is a platoon sergeant in the North Dakota National Guard but says that he’s had many different jobs while working flood duty so far.

“I’ve done traffic control points, filled sandbags and now building this levee system,” Kilmer said.

Kilmer has served on flood duty previously in Valley City in 2009. He says quite a few of his crew has a decent amount of experience on flood duty.

“They’ve been doing a good job, and staying motivated,” Kilmer said.

CMATs have also had a lot of support from the residents that they are helping protect.

“The people have been great, very appreciative and bringing us water and snacks,” Kilmer said. “They’re very grateful to have the security from the structures that we’ve been putting up.”

North Dakota Air Guard patrols evacuated areas

North Dakota Guard report

MINOT, N.D. (6/3/11) – Members of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 219th Security Forces Squadron began a new mission Thursday as they continued with flood operations here.

About 50 Guard members began providing presence patrols in the city’s nine evacuated zones.

The Guard members’ presence will help deter possible theft or vandalism while the homeowners are away. The Guard members also are tracking residents who did not evacuate after the mayor issued the order to do so.

“A lot of people are excited we’re here,” said Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandan Ressler, a member of the 219th SFS. “There’s a sigh of relief that the Guard is here to help with things.”

Ressler is serving his third consecutive year on flood duty. Today, he was watching for suspicious personnel in Minot’s evacuated areas and recording license plate numbers and locations to report to the authorities.

“It’s a definite hometown mission,” said the Minot native. “It feels really good to help out my home. Our main purpose here is to prevent looting. We’re trying to protect the people who have followed orders and left.”

As they checked in with folks, they visited with Mike Neva, a homeowner in one of the evacuated areas who had returned home for some last-minute waterproofing. He said with the work the North Dakota National Guard has done, he feels 95 percent confident that his home will be saved. He won’t, however, build a house with an 8-foot-deep basement again, he says.

“I’m glad you guys are doing this,” Neva said. “I feel secure with them being here. They’re here for our protection and people sometimes don’t give them the credit they’re due.”

Simply being visible in the community goes a long way toward preventing looting, said Air Force Master Sgt. Nathan Anderson, with the 219th SFS.

“I think it’s good that we’re out here deterring events,” he said. “The public likes to see us out here and know that we’re around. For the situation they’re in, the public seems pretty upbeat. They’re just doing what they have to do.”

All together, about 600 North Dakota National Guardsmen are serving on flood duty in the Minot area, with nearly 1,400 more serving in Bismarck and Mandan, N.D.

Residents, Soldiers, Airmen come together to provide Missouri River flood relief

By Air Force Capt. Michael Frye
114th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

PIERRE, S.D. (6/3/11) – Deloren Krieger isn’t taking any chances. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, he was already picking up more sandbags. As the waters began to encroach on the local golf course near his home, this Pierre resident continued to build the berm that surrounds his residence.

Krieger said although there is some distance that separates his home from the river, he feels that with the golf course so close, his home may be in danger.

“I don’t have that big of a house,” said Krieger. “But even a 1,000-square-foot house with a 5-foot berm surrounding it takes a lot of sandbags.”

Sandbagging efforts continue as many volunteers have answered the call for protecting homes like Krieger’s, even though their own homes aren’t in harm’s way.

Local residents like Donna Brown-Glow and her husband share their time between Wood and Fort Pierre. Although Brown-Glow’s homes aren’t in danger, she feels it’s important to help those in need.

“South Dakota is a great state,” said Brown-Glow. “We are all neighbors throughout South Dakota, and I want to help my neighbors out.”

She also said she is grateful for the Airmen and Soldiers who are in the communities helping with the sandbagging efforts in this historic flooding event.

“I’m an Army brat and have a great respect for the military,” Brown-Glow added. “I am very pleased to see them here. They are who we depend on.”

Lindsey Rogers, a Fort Pierre resident, shared Brown-Glow’s same sentiment. She said the Fort Pierre Pool, where she has been the manager the past two years, has already been closed indefinitely. Since her summer plans changed, she has taken that turn of events to help support the Soldiers and Airmen who have been called to support the flood fighting efforts along the Missouri River.

Rogers has been spending her time at the Expo Center sandbagging with volunteers and South Dakota National Guard members.

“We are spending a lot of our time laughing and telling funny stories to keep our minds off sand,” said Rogers with a smile.

Rogers has also brought her management skills to the fight. As food donations come in from the community, she’s making sure that food reaches the Guard members and volunteers who have come out to work.  She said her personal goal is to aid the Soldiers and Airmen as much as possible, as without their support, helping the community would be more difficult.

“It’s unbelievable,” adds Rogers. “You hear of these Guardsmen going overseas and supporting our country, but when small communities like Pierre and Fort Pierre are in trouble, being able to see these guys come in and give up their summers to help us like this, you can’t be thankful enough that they are here.”

Pierre resident Mark Barnett has felt the need to step up to the sandbagging challenge, as well. His home isn’t in the flood zone, but he has picked up loads of sandbags throughout the past five days.

When asked where the sandbags were going while picking up his third load on Wednesday, he simply answered, “Friends.”

Barnett echoed the common theme amongst Pierre and Fort Pierre residents, “We’re glad to see the National Guard here. We need their help.”

Northern Alabama tornado tracks from April 27 2011

On April 27, Alabama was the center of a massive outbreak of tornadoes that affected nearly half the nation. 52 tornadoes are believed to have crossed the state, resulting in 238 deaths.

About 7,300 buildings were destroyed. Another 15,000 plus were damaged. Two fire stations and four schools were destroyed.

The State of Alabama Emergency Management Agency has an excellent website for additional information.