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Post by skywalker on Jun 10, 2011 21:45:18 GMT -6
Deadly Fungus Attacks Joplin Tornado SurvivorsAs if things in Joplin, Missouri aren't bad enough following the deadly tornado that went rampaging through the city on May 22, a new killer has invaded the area. A deadly fungus has infected some of the survivors and aid workers. The fungus, called zygomycosis, attacks living tissue and causes the death of infected cells. The fungus is believed to have been contracted by some victims of the tornado as they were lying pinned beneath the debris. Local health officials have not given an official number of people infected but it is estimated that as many as nine people have died from the infection. news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110609/us_ac/8612835_deadly_fungus_strikes_joplin_tornado_survivors_volunteers
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Post by lois on Jun 11, 2011 23:52:00 GMT -6
OMG.. what next. No I had not heard the story. That is terrble. How long were they buried to attract such a fungus?
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Post by skywalker on Jun 12, 2011 8:30:32 GMT -6
According to what I read the fungus is very rare but easy to contract if somebody comes into contact with it. Some of the rescue workers reportedly got it just by scraping it with their fingernails.
The fungus gets into the body through an open wound or cut and it infects the cells and then kills them. Some people have had to have arms or legs amputated in order to stop the infection from spreading through their body and killing them.
I just spent the past several days in Joplin delivering loads of bottled water to the people there. It is amazing the amount of devastation that the tornado caused. It cut a path right through the middle of the city. What is equally amazing is how the people are all working together to rebuild everything. Some businesses that had their buildings destroyed have set up tents and temporary buildings so they can still sell products to their customers. A lot of them are even giving 10 0r 15% discounts to victims of the tornado.
If a giant tornado can't keep these people down than a little fungus isn't going to defeat them either. They will find some way to survive.
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Post by casper on Jun 12, 2011 9:18:49 GMT -6
I drove through joplin about a week ago. Th etruckstop that I always stop at was badly damaged. I think the roof got ripped clean off of it! I'm glad I wasn't there when it happened. I didn't see any deadly fungus though. How long does it take to kill people?
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Post by skywalker on Jun 21, 2011 20:14:03 GMT -6
Yeah, I saw that truckstop also. It looked like it was right in the path of the twister. It's lucky to still be there.
As far as the fungus goes whether or not it kills people depends on where it gets inside of people. Some died in just a few days because it got into their brains and started killing brain cells. Others it took longer. Some people lived but had to have arms or legs amputated to save their lives. All because of a stupid little fungus. they seems to be getting a handle on it now though since they know what they are up against.
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Post by skywalker on Jun 21, 2011 20:36:13 GMT -6
Train gets hit by TornadoCheck this out. It's kind of cool.
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Post by lois on Jun 21, 2011 21:15:31 GMT -6
OMG.........did anyone get hurt?
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Post by auntym on Jun 21, 2011 21:32:22 GMT -6
OUCH! ....
Train gets hit by TornadoCheck this out. It's kind of cool.
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Post by skywalker on Jun 21, 2011 22:34:51 GMT -6
I don't know for sure if anybody got hurt but I would guess no. It was a freight train so there should only have been a few people on the train and it looked like they didn't get hit too hard. I hope they survived anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2011 0:15:55 GMT -6
skywalker, thank you for taking water/supplies to joplin ! I know what you mean by seeing the devastation first hand and it is life changing. years ago when oklahoma city and wichita kansas was struck by devastating tornadoes, we took a convoy of hope truck to wichita while a friend drove another to oklahoma city and it sank deep in my heart seeing the people that it helped. The truck stop that you mentioned, is that the one on I-44? If so, ive been there many times. I drove an 18 wheeler there before also. Theres a saying,"never grow weary in well doing". From what I heard, nobody was killed in the train vs. tornado but Im not sure about injuries, but that mustve been quite a wild ride !!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2011 0:19:44 GMT -6
lois, my friend in joplin was there at the time the tornado struck, but Ive only spoken to him once since the disaster and didnt want to ask too many questions. I figure when hes ready to talk about it, ill be all ears but thanks for asking !!! Im just glad hes o.k. Unfortunately, it wasnt that way for many others though.
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Post by skywalker on Jun 22, 2011 7:06:37 GMT -6
skywalker, thank you for taking water/supplies to joplin ! I know what you mean by seeing the devastation first hand and it is life changing. years ago when oklahoma city and wichita kansas was struck by devastating tornadoes, we took a convoy of hope truck to wichita while a friend drove another to oklahoma city and it sank deep in my heart seeing the people that it helped. The truck stop that you mentioned, is that the one on I-44? If so, ive been there many times. I drove an 18 wheeler there before also. Theres a saying,"never grow weary in well doing". From what I heard, nobody was killed in the train vs. tornado but Im not sure about injuries, but that mustve been quite a wild ride !!! I'm just doing my job, dude. Whenever there is a disaster somewhere in the country I usually end up there sooner or later. The company I work for is under contract with FEMA to haul relief supplies when they need extra help. I've seen some pretty wild things too. The truckstop that got hit was the Flying J on I-44. It wasn't totally destroyed but was damaged pretty badly. They already have it reopened and are repairing the damage.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2011 9:29:10 GMT -6
I hope things will settle down for awhile now..earthquakes, tornado's and flooding (North Dakota is having the worst flooding of decades). Ever had one of those creepy they're not telling us everything feeligns? I've been watching space weather a lot and twice now in 2 months scientists have met in Washington with concerns about the sun. This time it's: GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT BIG SOLAR STORM: In Sept. 1859, on the eve of a below-average solar cycle, the sun unleashed one of the most powerful storms in centuries. This week, researchers and policy makers met in Washington DC to ask themselves, What if it happens again? Get the full story from Science@NASA spaceweather.com/Take care driving out there guys..there are some loose cannons on the roads lately
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Post by skywalker on Jun 22, 2011 10:14:48 GMT -6
I'm not sure that these scientists know what's going on with the Sun. Some say it is heading towards a period of peak activity while others predict a long period of dormancy. Are they just guessing or what? I'm not worried about it. As long as it doesn't go out we should be fine. There has been a lot of really wicked weather this year though. Record floods and record tornados and record this and record that. Kind of makes you wonder what could be causing it. Maybe all of those rumors about HAARP affecting the weather aren't just rumors after all.
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