2011 joplin missouri tornado peer review

We met each week with representatives from various organizations, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Missouri Housing Development Commission, the U.S. Getting neighborhoods rebuilt takes a long time. I served as the co-chair of the housing and neighborhoods sector for several years. There were two co-chairs for each sector: economic development, infrastructure and environment, schools and community facilities, and housing and neighborhoods. The City of Joplin reached out to business leaders about serving on a newly formed committee, the Citizens Advisory Recovery Team (CART). Even though the contributions were generated by a disaster, I felt I was seeing the essence of humanity.

Every time a load came in, we’d alert our members once their needs were met, we’d open to the public. In the end, we received more than seven semitrailer loads of donated items. Charles County (Mo.) Association of REALTORS®, and other associations. Help came from the Greater Springfield Board of REALTORS®, the Bagnell Dam Association of REALTORS®, the Jefferson City Area Board of REALTORS®, the St. We also received totes members could use to salvage their belongings, tarps for damaged roofs, tools, buckets, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, cleaning supplies, clothes, bedding, towels, and more. We received more than 9,000 pairs of new socks from a member of the Kansas City Association of REALTORS® and 5,000 pairs of shoes from the Columbia Board of REALTORS®. Our REALTOR® family across the state and nation pitched in to help with recovery, and we became a distribution center for donated goods.

Ten years later, many of those same neighborhoods have been rebuilt. Our office became ground zero, where members could use phones, computers, printers-whatever they needed. We checked with members every week for the next four months. Then, we began to help members with everything from meal delivery to laundry to running folks to and from doctor’s appointments. We started to track who needed what and who was available to help. It would take several weeks to determine that all 14 were alive, though some were injured. After almost two weeks, we had an accurate picture: 43 members had lost their homes, more than 80 had lost their vehicles, five had lost their offices, one had lost his life, four had lost immediate family, and 14 were still missing. Downed power lines posed extreme danger, and we had to be cautious about where we parked our cars to ensure emergency vehicles could get around. Many utilities were still on, and the smell of natural gas was everywhere. In the early days, the hazards multiplied. We also had a list of immediate needs: tourniquets, bandages, and transportation to loved ones’ homes, hospitals, and damaged sites to retrieve any personal belongings that could be saved. We knew the DRs would have already been checking on their agents’ whereabouts and safety, and this could significantly accelerate our own effort.Īfter 24 hours, we had our first statistics: More than 30 of our 491 members were missing, more than 20 had lost their homes, two offices had been totaled, and several dozen members had lost their vehicles. We found a landline that worked and started calling the designated REALTORS® of every office. Our MLS director and I met at the association office and pulled a list of all our REALTOR® and affiliate members from the board safe. Two of my staff members’ homes were destroyed, and it would be a day and a half before I found out they survived. After confirming that my family was safe but that our daughter had lost her roof, it was time to reach out to our work families. My husband and I raced around the city in the pouring rain, searching for family members. Immediately after the EF-5 tornado hit Joplin, we had no phone service, power, or water. When you’re an association executive who’s concerned about the lives and livelihoods of your members, there’s no time to waste after a disaster. Her experience provides an object lesson in how associations can help their members and their communities in the aftermath of disaster. Kim Cox, GRI, CEO of the Ozark Gateway Association of REALTORS®, recalls how REALTORS® managed through the chaos.

(population 50,000), killing 161 people and destroying more than 8,000 homes and buildings. On Sunday, May 22, 2011, at 5:41 p.m., a powerful tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo. Neighborhoods were in ruins following the 2011 tornado.

2011 joplin missouri tornado peer review