The Worst They've Ever Seen: Volunteers Reflect on Joplin Tornado

The storm that changed everything for Joplin, MO happened a month ago.

The multi-vortex tornado swept through the town on a Sunday and left very little standing in its path. It's the deadliest tornado since modern record keeping began; just this week the death toll climbed to 155. The storm itself didn't last very long. But, Joplin's story of reconstruction and healing is far from over.

In the month since the tornado struck, volunteers have donated time, effort and money to help the community rebuild. Chesterfield-based Service International was among one of many organizations to respond almost immediately to the storm. The charity, which responds to natural disasters and is affiliated with , sent volunteers to Joplin the day after the storm and has helped every day since then. Their last day in Joplin is Saturday.

According to their website, the volunteers have worked to clear 62 sites and an estimated 176 acres of debris. Nearly 2,000 volunteers have traveled to Joplin with Service International. Chesterfield Patch talked with two of them about what they saw and how they've helped.

'It really looked like a war zone, like a bomb went off.'
Service International volunteers have been to disaster sites across the country for years. They've helped with clean up from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. They've responded to many tornadoes, including the Good Friday storms in Maryland Heights and Bridgeton.

But Joplin was different.

"In my experience, it's the worst I've ever seen," Clarkson Valley resident Russ Egbert said. Egbert has volunteered with Service International for more than six years, and said many of the people who traveled to Joplin shared that thought. "That was the sentiment of the veterans…it really looked like a war zone, like a bomb went off." 

The tornado hit a wide section of Joplin that included many homes and a bustling commercial district. It's been rated an EF5—the highest rating a tornado can receive, with estimated winds at 200 mph. 

Typically when a tornado strikes, damage seems to be random. One home may be flattened while the neighbor's house needs a new roof and another home down the street is completely OK.

In Joplin, the tornado touched down and stayed down. About 30 percent of Joplin was leveled. 

"You take an entire area of about five of six miles, like say a busy section of Lindbergh (Boulevard)," O'Fallon resident and Service International volunteer Ray Zepp said. "And you go down there and you don't even recognize the buildings. You couldn't tell if it was a Walgreen's or a Quick Trip. If it was a gas station or a motel."

The only recognizable building, Egbert and Zepp said, was Home Depot. It was destroyed, but bits of the company's characteristic orange popped out among the debris.

"It was like a mower when through it, chewing everything up," Egbert said.

Cars were stacked on top of each other and looked like mangled pieces of tin foil, Egbert said. Every tree for miles was broken or shattered, and the parts that remained had no bark, Zepp said. It had just been sucked right off.

"You saw it, and your mind still did not comprehend what you saw," Zepp said. "It wasn't normal. I was in total disbelief."

The 'angels in orange'
In the face of so much devastation, there's nothing to do but help. After coordinating with local officials and emergency personnel, Service International volunteers began to approach survivors. They offered them a hand as they began cleaning up. 

"When we first get down there, people are in shock, tremendous shock," Zepp said. Both Zepp and Egbert arrived in Joplin the day after the tornado struck. They worked to organize a headquarters for the many volunteers Service International would eventually send and began offering support to survivors. 

"We approach survivors, but we don't push ourselves on them. We lead them by the hand. They've lost everything they have and do not even know where to start," Zepp said.

Once they begin helping a few people, others start approaching. From there it starts to snowball, and the volunteers begin to hear stories of survival and pain.

There was the family that ran to the basement, only to watch their whole house crumble in the path of the tornado. It even sucked the basement stairs out of the home, Zepp said. "I've never heard of that," he said. They all survived.

Another lucky family had only just finished building a storm shelter. The concrete shelter cost them several thousand dollars, but it worked.

"It looked like a little bitty tank buried in the ground. They got in there with their dogs, and it probably saved their life," Zepp said.

Though they were alive, many survivors faced tough prospects without easy answers. Zepp recalled that a man in his early 20s approached the group. His home was gone. His place of employment was destroyed. And his wife was pregnant, due to deliver in just about a month. "He was saying, 'What do I do?' and really, what do you do?" Zepp said.

An elderly woman whose home was destroyed, stands out in Egbert's mind. Among the debris in her yard, Service International volunteers found a fishing reel.

"She just fell down and cried," Egbert said. The reel had belonged to her husband, who died several years ago. "He loved to fish, and the equipment was strewn all over the yard. She ultimately survived, but you know, there's her memories strewn all over Joplin. We helped her clean up and put that back together."

She called them the angels in orange, referencing their orange Service International T-shirts.

'The worst brings out the best in people.'
In the month since the tornado hit, things have gotten better. Egbert and Zepp have traveled to and from Joplin several times now, helping for several days at a time before returning to their homes.

"A lot of people probably couldn't tell, but it is looking cleaner, more organized," Egbert said. A lot of debris has been picked up. The houses that were damaged have now been demolished down to their foundations.

"It's a clean slate, where they can reassess and start over," Egbert said. "Quite a bit of rebuilding and a lot of repair is starting."

Businesses are starting to recover, too. The Home Depot has been selling products under the roof of sturdy tents. A Walgreen's that was destroyed has new walls and beams up. A Caterpillar dealership that was hit hard—its heavy machinery and construction vehicles were strewn about like a child's toys after the tornado, Zepp said—has begun to restock its supply.

"This is a close-knit town. It's very wholesome, you know, it's part of the Bible Belt," Zepp said. "Instead of saying, 'Oh, poor me,' they're saying, 'We'll move on…it's not a bump in the road. It's a huge pothole. It's gigantic. But we'll survive, we'll pull ourselves together.' "

Zepp said that survivor's spirit really stands out in the people of Joplin. They're all grateful for the help, and some even look for ways to return the favor. Restaurants that weren't damaged by the tornado regularly brought food out to volunteers—sometimes enough for several lunches a day, Zepp said.

There's been a large show of support for Joplin. It wasn't uncommon to see small groups of 10 or 12 people who simply jumped in their church van and drove to Joplin to find out how they could help, Zepp said. He met volunteers from New York, California, Texas and even Canada. Everyone dug in and helped where they could. 

"People want to help. That's in the nature of most people. The worst brings out the best in people," Zepp said. Both Zepp and Egbert said they felt called to help, which is part of the reason they volunteer with Service International. 

"A big part of that is being a Christian," Egbert said. "You're there to lend a hand to your fellow man, and do anything you can to instill hope for them." That calling is what has kept him going, despite long weeks spent amid so much devastation.

"That's what we're called to do. That's energizing," he said. "That keeps us going because what little we think we're doing is making a big difference."

There's a lot of room to continue to make a difference in Joplin. Both Egbert and Zepp said that more help is needed. Donations are still being welcomed and many organizations have set up separate funds for Joplin relief. Service International is also accepting monetary donations via the "Make a donation" button on their website. 

 Zepp said at this point, monetary donations can make a big impact.

"If they need anything, they need financial help. So many of them have lost jobs, and of course the economy is not the best in the world," he said. "I just keep thinking of that young man. His baby is going to be born any time now. What's he going to do?"

Correction: This article has been changed to indicate Service International's last day in Joplin is Saturday. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated their last day. This article was last changed at 12:20 on June 22.