The deadly tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri May 22, 2011 killed 161 people and left 500 East Middle School students without a school. Their tornado stories- The students write their own stories about their harrowing tornado experiences Their first year attending school in a warehouse- the students and teachers tell the stories of how they turned a warehouse into a school and a home Scars from the Tornado is the heartwarming story of 500 students who made it through the worst tornado to hit the United States in six decades and the one student who did not make it.