Missouri to release list of tornado missing

Missouri to release list of
tornado missing

The US state of Missouri is to release a
list of people missing since a devastating
tornado struck the city of Joplin on
Sunday.
As many as 1,500 people remain
unaccounted for, but officials hope many of
those are will be found alive.
The tornado killed at least 125 people,
injured 750 and wrecked as much as a third
of the city, making it one of the most
destructive in US history.
US President Barack Obama plans to visit
Joplin on Sunday.
Search teams in the city of 49,000 have
scoured the wreckage for survivors. But by
Thursday morning, authorities began
weighing when to begin using bulldozers and
other heavy kit to clear debris - a step that
would indicate no more survivors were
expected to be found.
Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles was quoted
by the Associated Press as saying: "We've
had stories from earthquakes and tsunamis
and other disasters of people being found
two or three weeks later, and we are
hopeful we'll have a story like that to tell."
Those leading the search effort say it is
impossible to know how many people are
truly missing, since many may have simply
left the area and not been in contact with
relatives.
Mike Hare said his 16-year-old son Lantz
was among the missing. Mr Hare told AP he
had searched the neighbourhood where the
boy was last seen and had called hospitals
as far away as Dallas and Kansas City.
Lantz Hare had been driving with a friend
when the tornado struck on Sunday evening.
The tornado destroyed the car, and Mr Hare
found Lantz's backpack in the wreckage.
"We know he's hurt somewhere," Mr Hare
said on Wednesday. "We just can't sit and
keep calling. You've got to be moving."

Missouri to release list of tornado missing