Joplin Family Search Home Where Grandmother Died In Tornado

Emily Baucum, News On 6

JOPLIN, Missouri -- The tornado that struck Joplin left a path of destruction 6 miles long destroying St John Regional Medical Center along with churches, businesses and hundreds of homes.

To make matters worse, Joplin had storms all day long which has hindered recovery.

There is storm debris everywhere, downed power lines, trees snapped in half and, of course, what's left of so many people homes.

The screech of sirens was replaced with the roar of thunder in Joplin Monday as one off the first families returned to face the war zone.

"Oh my God, I don't know how any of them survived," said an emotional Shannon Johnson.

Johnson was sorting through of what's left of her grandmothers belongings.

"Some pictures, some China that my grandpa had bought for her," Johnson said.

Her 83-year-old grandmother was one of dozens who died in their homes.

"She didn't make it, she was here. She had a heart attack when it started and died," she said.

Despite the heartache of losing a loved one, each new discovery is worth braving the cold wind and rain.

"I would do anything for her," she said.

Giant puddles are forming on all the roads making it difficult to navigate by car.

"My mom, my grandmother and my aunt Cathy lived here," Johnson said. "They don't have anything left. My Aunt Cathy's car is over there somewhere."

Joining an automobile graveyard, a sedan and pickup sit precariously atop of an uprooted tree. Emergency workers searched hundreds of cars for bodies.

As for Johnson, she has no idea where her mother's car ended up.

"She's ok but horrified," she said.

They won't wait for the shock to subside. They worked throughout the day to find anything they can save, searching for the words to remember a grandmother loved and lost.

"I love her more than anything in the world," she said.

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