‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’: the stunning comeback of a tornado-wrecked town

Joplin, Missouri, was left unrecognizable after the 2011 disaster. Its recovery offers lessons for other communities

The tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, in May 2011 with such fury that afterward, even those who had lived here their entire lives struggled to recognize it.

The nearly mile-wide storm wiped away entire neighborhoods and killed 161 people in less than an hour. It felled trees, leveled buildings and flung power lines and vehicles all over the roads with winds of more than 200mph.