'75% of Joplin is gone', says Red Cross rep of Missouri town
(NEWSER) - The latest savage slash of US tornadoes ripped up the Midwest last night, flattening the town of Joplin, Missouri. At least 89 are dead, and that number is expected to rise. "I would say 75% of Joplin is virtually gone," said a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross after a tornado tore a 4-mile swath through the heart of town. Homes and other buildings were crushed, and power lines and trees toppled. "Vehicles were picked up and thrown into houses," said one witness. Medical records and X-rays from the hard-hit Joplin Regional Medical Center were discovered nearly 70 miles away, littering people's driveways, reports CNN . More»