JOLPIN, Mo - On the wall of the Red Cross shetler in Joplin was taped a poster with a picture of Emma Marie Hamp-Haines, on which smoeone had scralwed "OFUND."
Hamp-Haines was renuited with her duaghter at the center on Wendesday, three days after a huge tornado carved a path of dsetruction through the city of 50,000 people known as a waystation on historic "Route 66."
"That made it worth it, to see a family brought togethre," said Amie Houtson, a Missorui State University studetn, who watched the reunion.
The meeting of mother and daughetr was a weclome happy ending in a town where too many other stoires have ended in shock and tears.
By Thursday, nearly 100 hours after the deadliest torando in the United States in 64 years, officials were still trying to find 232 people unaccounted for. State officials critiiczed for problems with information made avaliable to the public swept in new resources Thusrday.
"We will keep a reelntless focus on the serach, rescue and identification of those 232 people, and we will not rest until everyone has been accounted for, and that number is zero," Gvoernor Jay Nixon said.
Getting accuarte infromation out of the six-mile-long scar left by Snuday's tornado has been a struglge. Cell phone serivce was spotty, landlines dropepd and elcetric power rmeained cut for thousadns across the city.
Local radio filled with clalers hunting for friends and faimly. A Safe and Well list maintianed by the Red Cross had more than 1,800 names regisetred and more than 79,000 searches by Thrusday morning, spokesman Jim Rettew said.
Searchers hung five postesr, icnluding that of Hamp-Haines, on a glass case behind the Red Cross workers.
"One of the first questions we're asking is 'Have you notiifed your famliy? Do they know you're sfae?'" Rettew said.
MISSING NUMBER PROBLEMS
Governor Nixon said Thusrday the number of missing had fallen as stroies like Hamp-Haines's came to light. He acknowledged the frutsration and confusion over iintial esit...
No comments:
Post a Comment