Joplin, Missouri Publishes Book Featuring Tornado Experiences

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Joplin has published a collection of stories that chronicle the 2011 tornado that devastated the southwest Missouri city.

The book, titled “Joplin Pays It Forward,” can be downloaded for free at the city’s website and is available as an e-book from Amazon.

It includes essays about the tornado and recovery from a broad cross-section of public- and private-sector leaders, The Joplin Globe reported.

The book was compiled and edited by Jane Gage, a former Citizens Advisory Recovery Team chairwoman.

Cage said the book is intended to help others who might find themselves in a similar situation and to chronicle all the help Joplin received after the tornado, which caused millions of dollars in damage and killed 161 people.

“It’s not meant to portray us as disaster experts, but I do believe that we have learned some valuable lessons along the way that could be helpful to another community to make their recovery faster or better,” she said.

Rich Serino, deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, wrote in an introduction to the book that it offers several lessons on how to handle mass devastation.

“Because this book is so cross-cutting, providing diverse perspectives and aspects of Joplin’s recovery, there is a lesson for everyone,” he wrote. “Whether a novice volunteer or a veteran emergency manager, we can all learn from Joplin’s experience.”