Joplin Tornado Analysis

On May 22, 2011, Joplin, Missouri was hit by an EF5 tornado. A News-Leader article written by Thomas Gounley, “Five years after the devastating Joplin tornado, here's what the city looks like,” written five years after the disaster, explains the lasting effects of the tornado on the city. The article explains where the tornado touched down, how much damage it did, and what the lasting effects are on the community. The focus of the article is to give readers an inside-view of how specific families were affected. There are many personal stories of those who lost their entire home and had to live in FEMA housing, shelters, or motels until a new house could be built for them. The article gives multiple personal stories of families who have rebuilt their homes after the disaster and how volunteers and hired contractors helped rebuild, but only briefly mentions those who have not been able to rebuild. It hides the fact that many families could not afford to rebuild and were devastated by the loss of family or friends more than material losses.
Disaster capitalism occurs when help is needed after a disaster and companies use the …show more content…
Many households could not afford to pay for a new house. Their only option was to live in FEMA provided housing. This is an example of economic apartheid.
Another family spent one week in a shelter and then two months in a motel. Assuming the hotel did not allow them to live there for free, the family paid for the time spent there. A family with a different economic status would not have been able to afford living in a motel, and had to rely on FEMA or other free housing and their only hope to rebuild was to use sources such as Habitat for Humanity for