Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Monday, May 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Thirteen years.
A day the city will forever remember.
The May 22, 2011, Joplin tornado, caused 161 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries, making it the deadliest single tornado on record in the U.S. since official records began in 1950.
The damage made this the costliest tornado on record as well, with losses approaching $3 billion. It damaged 553 business structures and nearly 7,500 residential structures; over 3,000 of those residences were heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
Click here to read the NWS’ full report
Listen below to Newstalk KZRG’s five-part segment made about the anniversary of the tornado:
Part 1:
https://www.newstalkkzrg.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Tornado-Segment-1UPDATE-2024.mp3
Part 2:
https://www.newstalkkzrg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tornado-Segment-2.mp3
Part 3:
https://www.newstalkkzrg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tornado-Segment-3.mp3
Part 4:
https://www.newstalkkzrg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Tornado-Segment-4.mp3
Part 5:
https://www.newstalkkzrg.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Tornado-Segment-5-UPDATE-2024-.mp3
Below is just a few minutes of our coverage that day as it happened.
VIDEO
Below is a photo gallery from the Associated Press:
FILE – This May 24, 2011 aerial file photograph shows a neighborhood destroyed by a powerful tornado in Joplin, Mo. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday, May 30, 2011 that it will consider bringing in trailers, as it did for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, if enough homes are not available. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
** FILE ** In this May 24, 2011 file photo, the damaged Joplin High School is seen in Joplin, Mo. A year after the school and much of the rest of Joplin was destroyed by an EF-5 tornado on graduation day, the community is preparing to graduate the class of 2012 who finished their high school education in a converted big-box store at a mall across town. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Saturday, May 28, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Saturday, May 28, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Sunday, May 29, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Laura Cobb, 11, cleans debris from a bathtub while helping with clean-up at her destroyed home in Joplin, Mo. Monday, May 30, 2011. Four members of her family escaped injury by seeking refuge in the tub when an EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city May 22, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 139 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
FILE – In this May 30, 2011, file photo damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood. A federal agency was set to release a report Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011, detailing communication efforts ahead of the massive twister that hit Joplin, killing more than 160 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Debris is loaded on a truck near 25th and Jackson in Joplin, Mo, on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. A massive cleanup effort is underway in Joplin after a tornado destroyed much of the southwest Missouri city on Sunday, May 22. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Monday, May 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
This four-photo combo shows a scene taken on May 23, 2011, top, July 21, 2011, May 7, 2012, and May 10, 2013, bottom, showing progress made in Joplin, Mo. in the two years after an EF-5 tornado destroyed a large swath of the city and killed 161 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
This four-photo combo shows a scene taken on May 27, 2011, top, July 21, 2011, May 7, 2012 and May 10, 2013, bottom, showing progress made in Joplin, Mo. in the two years after an EF-5 tornado destroyed a large swath of the city and killed 161 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Cars litter the parking lot at the damaged St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., Monday, May 23, 2011. A large tornado moved through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital, hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Thursday, May 26, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Saturday, May 28, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Damage is seen in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Sunday, May 29, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Laura Cobb, 11, cleans debris from a bathtub while helping with clean-up at her destroyed home in Joplin, Mo. Monday, May 30, 2011. Four members of her family escaped injury by seeking refuge in the tub when an EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city May 22, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 139 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Damage is seen at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in a devastated Joplin, Mo. neighborhood Monday, May 30, 2011. An EF-5 tornado tore through much of the city Sunday, damaging a hospital and hundreds of homes and businesses and killing at least 156 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
In this photo taken June 14, 2011, a damaged sign for Joplin High School is seen in front of the heavily-damaged school in Joplin, Mo. The school was one three schools in the city destroyed by an EF5 tornado that wiped out much of the community last month and caused $151 million in damages to the school district’s buildings. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Debris is loaded on a truck near 25th and Jackson in Joplin, Mo, on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. A massive cleanup effort is underway in Joplin after a tornado destroyed much of the southwest Missouri city on Sunday, May 22. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)