10 | SUNRAYS APRIL 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Many of us may never have experienced a tor-
nado, let alone an EF-5 tornado. Jimand Diane
Seifert, N52, experienced such a storm onMay
22, 2011. This is their story.
BEFORE
Sunday, May 22, 2011 was a warm spring day following a win-
ter of cold, snowy blizzards. Diane weeded her flower gardens
for more than three hours. Jim read a book while swinging on
their porch swing and listened to recorded music on his iPod.
They went inside just before 5:30 p.m. The evening news was
interrupted by a local weather forecaster reading a National
Weather Service bulletin: tornadoes were forming north of Joplin.
Without warning, power went out at 5:45 p.m. They could see
blue skies to the north, but it was alarmingly still and quiet.
Soon, they heard a tornado siren, and so began the tornado
drill routine.
Diane moved quickly to gather necessities and join Jim in their
safety shelter located in the garage, under the house. Jimgrabbed
a flashlight, their red emergency folder, and entered the garage,
pulling the cover over the entrance to the shelter crawl space.
DURING
The garage’s side storm door was flapping open and shut. Jim
grabbed the door handle and tried to close the door, unsuccess-
fully. He asked Diane to hold the flashlight and then realized she
was not with him. Jimsubsequently remembers that the contents
in the folder were suddenly sucked straight up through a one-to
two-inch gap between the top of the door and the door frame.
It dawned on him that something was terribly wrong. Jim let
loose of the storm door, turned 180 degrees, and headed toward
the cover of the crawl space. He never made it.
He remembers taking a few steps and then having the sensa-
tion of his entire body being lifted straight up into the air. He
remembers hail beating down and hearing thunderous lightning
bolt strikes. He remembers thinking, “I want to live.” Jim was
then knocked unconscious.
The EF-5 tornado touched down officially at 5:41 p.m. on
the western side of Joplin and plowed a six-mile path of
destruction in only 20 minutes toward Diane and Jim on
the east side of Joplin. Winds were estimated at or above
200 mph; 8,000 buildings—churches, schools, businesses,
firehouses, a hospital, homes—were destroyed. More than
160 people were killed; more than 900 were injured. Diane
and Jim were at the end of a long swath of destruction
that was three-quarters of a mile wide. Few of the 50,000
Joplin residents were unaffected that day.
AFTER
When Jim regained consciousness, he could see only one of the
two cars that had been in the garage, and nothing but rubble
where the house had stood. His glasses and watch had been
sucked away. After worrying that Diane, too, was gone, Jim
heard her walking toward him. She was unhurt. Neighbors
helped one another.
First responders took almost three hours to reach them, due to
downed power lines and blocked roads. It was completely dark,
and there was no power available. Diane dragged out a home closet
door and first responders carried Jim to a pick-up truck and then
transported them to a Triage Center at the Joplin Home Depot.
Jim suffered from a collapsed lung, broken ribs, broken collar
bone, and significant wounds to his head and arm. Quality pro-
fessional medical care was given to him at a hospital where he
was stabilized for three days, while awaiting surgery. After an
additional week for surgery and ICU recovery at a second hospital,
Jimwas transferred to a long-term care facility for rehabilitation.
Thirty days following the tornado strike, Diane took Jim from
the hospital to their temporary home in a duplex.
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012—after a year of physical andmental
progress, selling their property, saying their thanks and good-
byes, and settling insurance claims—Diane and Jim moved
into their new home in Sun City Texas. They are so thankful
for surviving the Joplin tornado and for the prayers and help
from family, professionals, friends, classmates and volunteers.
CA NEWS
A 20-Minute Life Changer –
Are you prepared?
Submitted by the Emergency Management Committee
What You Can Do
To prepare for any natural disaster, especially tor-
nadoes, here are some guidelines to follow. For a
complete list, visit the EMC website.
• Prepare a Grab’n’Go bag.
• Know where you can “shelter-in place” within
your home.
• Have a working flashlight.
• Have bottled water for at least three (3) days.
• Have snacks or protein bars on-hand.
• Most importantly, don’t forget about medicines
and important papers/records.
Sun City residents Jim and Diane Seifert survived the EF-5
tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri in May 2011.
