Joplin, Missouri is trying to pick up the pieces from last week’s massive tornado. In addition to killing 134 people, more than 8,000 homes and apartments were destroyed or damaged in the 200 mile an hour winds – between 25 and 30 percent of the housing market. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, says more than 7,000 Joplin residents in Jasper and Newton counties have registered for assistance so far, and they are still assessing how to best assist them. Jessica Brown, reporter for KODE in Joplin, whose apartment was blown to pieces in the storm, says she is “homeless and car-less.”
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