Remembering the loss, celebrating community resiliency one year after the tornadoes of May 2003

One year ago this week, we watched in horror as tornadoes ripped across the heartland of our country, destroying homes, businesses, and, most tragically of all, claiming 41 lives. No one can remember the May 2003 tornadoes without first feeling enormous heartache for those whose losses can never be replaced.

President George Bush and I visited the area in the days following the tornadoes and since then have been committed to providing all possible resources to help the region recover and rebuild. Anyone who has watched the region recover as I have cannot help but feel enormous respect for the people and communities that survived the deadly disaster.

Pierce City and Stockton are two small Missouri towns that saw catastrophic damages. In Stockton alone, more than 500 homes suffered some degree of damage. The tornado also claimed 40 of the town’s 120 businesses. Pierce City lost more than 80 homes and virtually its entire downtown; 42 of 45 downtown businesses were totally destroyed.

But instead of surrendering, these communities—and countless others like them— are building back after the tornadoes. Not only are they recreating their towns as they were before the disaster, they’re actually building back better, smarter, stronger. When it’s completed, the town square in Stockton will be an even more vibrant heart of the city. In Pierce City, businesses are reopening in larger facilities, many with new services. Next month, Pierce City will break ground on its new City Hall, patterned after the town’s historic train station.

Secretary Tom Ridge and all of us at the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are proud to have been a part of these recovery efforts. We all should be proud to live in a country that cares for it people and supports them in rebuilding their homes and lives after disaster strikes.

The heartache from the May 2003 tornadoes will never be forgotten. But on this one-year anniversary, let us also remember the people who saw in their crisis an opportunity to improve their communities, and who are honoring what was lost in the past by rebuilding a better future.

Submitted by Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary Department of Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness and Response