Missouri National Guard Mobilized in Joplin After Deadly Tornado
courtesy of the National Guard Bureau The Missouri National Guard, on the ground in Joplin. (It does kind of look like WW II, no?)
The news in Joplin, Missouri, is even worse than initially feared. Not only are there at least 89 people dead, but a broad swatch of the town has been destroyed. The hospital was badly damaged. The high school is gone. The high school principal told the AP that the scene looked like pictures of bombed-out cities during World War II. Yikes.
Not surprisingly, the Missouri National Guard has been mobilized. Its press team tells us that approximately 140 troops have been sent to Joplin today, focusing on search and rescue, emergency clearance, security and communications support.
More than 1,600 National Guard members are currently on the ground in seven states responding to severe weather, with the majority in Louisiana and Mississippi.
We also heard from Farmers Insurance, which set up a mobile care command center and customer care vehicle in Joplin -- to assist everyone there, not just Farmers' customers.
The company tells us that the 46-foot bus, parked at 605 Rangeline Road (the northwest corner of 7th and Rangeline) is
equipped with state-of-the-art satellite communications equipment, including satellite-linked cell phones and laptops, water, cold and hot drinks, and emergency supplies. All persons in need of immediate assistance are welcome to avail themselves of the provisions being offered and vehicles' telecommunications equipment to contact family and friends and to advise worried loved-ones of their location and status.
It's nice to know everyone's acting so quickly to help. But when even the high school principal is suggesting the place resembles London after the Blitz, we can't help but feel extremely worried for all the people on the ground, dealing with the loss of their homes and (even worse) so much lost life.
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