Disaster

1,500 Missing in Joplin

At least 117 people confirmed dead.

Roughly 1,500 people have been reported missing in Joplin, Missouri, following Sunday’s deadly tornado, a fire department official said Tuesday. The city of Joplin has about 49,000 inhabitants. While the number of missing is alarming, it is possible that some of them survived or fled ahead of the tornado, but have been unable to notify authorities. On Monday, rescuers pulled seven people out of buildings that had collapsed, but no additional survivors had been found on Tuesday. At least 122 people have been confirmed dead following the country’s deadliest tornado in 60 years. The tornado, which cut a three-quarter-mile-wide path through the town, also injured 500 people and damaged 30 percent of the town’s buildings.