Widespread portions of our country have been disastrously struck this spring by an unusual number of tornadoes and by other violent weather.
So it was heartbreaking to learn that only a few weeks after deadly tornado damage in this region, a massive tornado on Sunday reportedly killed well over 100 people in Joplin, Mo. With reports of missing persons piling up fast, it was feared that the number would rise in coming days.
The total number of those killed in Joplin exceeded the death toll from a 1953 twister in Flint, Mich., that killed 116. That makes the Joplin tornado the single deadliest twister in the United States since the National Weather Service started keeping records in 1950.
The damage from the tornado in Joplin multiplied as gas leaks caused fires. Shocked survivors wandered through the area, seeking missing family and friends, picking through debris and fearing the possibility of still more tornadoes in the region.
Of course, our area and large portions of the Southeast are still recovering from a vast number of tornadoes that struck in April, killing more than 300 people. So our hearts go out to the latest victims in one concentrated area of Missouri.
We are awed, and sometimes horrified, by the power of nature.