HISTORY · HISTORICAL MARKER
Recovery Efforts: After the Storm
History
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After the May 22, 2011 storm in Joplin, residents pulled each other from the rubble as Memorial Hall became a makeshift hospital and its stage became the morgue. AmeriCorps sent its first volunteers to help, and thousands of volunteers began arriving. On May 23, 2011, Governor Nixon declared a State of Emergency and deployed the National Guard. In October 2011, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Millstone Custom Homes built Seven Homes in Seven Days to jumpstart a neighborhood, and the Drury University Design/Build Program partnered with the group in Cunningham Park to create the Volunteer Tribute. On May 21, 2012, President Barack Obama spoke at Joplin High School graduation. On May 22, 2012, the first anniversary, ten thousand people walked the six-mile tornado path in the Walk of Unity and gathered in Cunningham Park, six time capsules were placed in the Victims' Memorial, and a moment of silence was honored at 5:41 p.m.
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