Missouri

A stop sign is wrapped around a post with tornado damage and debris in the background in Stockton, Mo., Monday, May 5, 2003. Stockton is in southwest Missouri.

An American flag flies from a tree branch Monday, May 5, 2003, after being broken off by a tornado that swept through Carriage Hills Estates in Gladstone, Mo., on Sunday. The flag was blown off a house owned by Doug Akbari, but he did not know who set the flag up in the broken branch.

Michael Reeder, right, and Ron Bertalotto gather items that once adorned their business Monday, May 5, 2003, in downtown Pierce City, Mo. The pair had planned to open an antique shop in the center building in the background before it was destroyed by a tornado Sunday night.

A funnel cloud forms over Carl Junction, Mo., as seen from nearby Webb City, Mo., Sunday evening, May 4, 2003. The tornado destroyed numerous homes, businesses and other structures in Carl Junction on Sunday.

Stosh Boose carries items from his home after the roof was blown off by a tornado on Sunday, May 4, 2003, in Liberty, Mo. A disaster was declared in the Kansas City suburb after a series of storms left one person dead in Kansas City, Kan.

Motorists take shelter under the James River Bridge between Springfield, Mo., and Republic, Mo., as debris falls from the sky following a series of tornadoes in southwest Missouri on Sunday, May 4, 2003.

Christy Richardson of Gailsburg, Mo., right, looks up at the sky as she embraces Jindy Hight of Carl Junction, Mo., after the two survived a tornado Sunday evening, May 4, 2003. A series of tornadoes pummeled Kansas and Missouri on Sunday, killing as many as 38 people.

A speed limit sign on the west side of Carl Junction, Mo., rests on its side after a tornado tore through the city Sunday evening, May 4, 2003. A series of tornadoes pummeled Kansas and Missouri on Sunday, killing as many as 38 people as storms left a swath of destruction a quarter-mile wide in some places.

A police car heads north on the west side of Carl Junction, Mo., on JJ Highway, Sunday evening, May 4, 2003, after a tornado ripped through the city, tearing down utility poles, lines, trees and destroying numerous homes, businesses, schools and other structures.

An unidentified man looks up from his front porch at a large storm cloud forming over Carl Junction, Mo., as seen from Gold Stream Drive in Webb City, Mo., near 14th Street, Sunday evening, May 4, 2003. A series of tornadoes pummeled Kansas and Missouri on Sunday, killing as many as 38 people as storms left a swath of destruction a quarter-mile wide in some places.

Sara Hames, left, gets a hug from a friend, Kristin Byler, after Hames' home was destroyed by a tornado Sunday, May 4, 2003, in Carl Junction, Mo. Hames and her husband, Bob, took cover in a closet and were not injured.

Dan and Jennifer Wells return to the site of their Northmoor, Mo., home, May 7, 2003, to have their photo taken by a friend after they had exchanged wedding vows at another location in Kansas City. The Wells' plans to wed were nearly wrecked when the home they were restoring was destroyed by a tornado. Jennifer's dress had been stored in a workshop near the house that had its doors blown off, and it survived the storm.

Pastor Randall Moody delivers his sermon from the parking lot of Wilson's Creek Baptist Church in Battlefield, Mo., during an evening service May 7, 2003. A tornado destroyed the church three days earlier, with 30 parishoners inside. No one was injured although a woman living directly across the street died in the storm. Parishoners are already making plans to rebuild.

A house east of Carl Junction, Mo., is adorned by a piece of particle board with a message, May 6, 2003, after the home's roof was torn off by a tornado that hit the area Sunday. The deaths of at least 40 people have been attributed to the violent weather.

Caleb Mantonya removes some of the rubble covering his 1969 Charger that was parked in the garage along with a company van, left, at Lake Front Heating and Cooling in Stockton, Mo., May 6, 2003. Crews labored to restore services and remove heaps of rubble in towns smashed by tornadoes that roared through Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Volunteers carry an old cast iron stove out of a damaged antiques store in downtown Pierce City, Mo., May 6, 2003.

Employees of the Empire Electric Co. began the task of restoring electrical power in Stockton, Mo., May 6, 2003. Crews cleared away most of the toppled trees that had blocked roads in Stockton, where the weekend's storm killed three people and wrecked the business district.