Next month, Netflix will release a full-length documentary film about the 2011 tornado that ravaged the Route 66 town of Joplin, Missouri.
Deadline, which first reported the news, said the film is titled “The Twister: Caught in the Storm.”
Here is the trailer:
More from Deadline:
The coming-of-age feature-length documentary is told from the perspective of a group of young people in Joplin as they encounter the extreme power of Mother Nature when a rare EF-5, mile-wide monster tornado hits their hometown on high school graduation day of all days. In the fierce 200 mph winds of the twister, they discover the power of their resilience as they fight for survival – each with a transformative story spurred by their experiences of that day. The catastrophic event ravaged Joplin, and yet its community overcame, rebuilt, and became an enduring symbol of hope, the doc will explain.
The tornado killed about 160 people and injured more than 1,100. It destroyed more than 4,000 houses and caused an estimated $2.8 billion in damage. It was the worst twister in the United States in about 50 years.
The twister didn’t cross Route 66 until it rampaged its way to the far east side of the city.
True story: I was monitoring a police scanner channel from Joplin a few hours after the tornado struck. I knew it was a mass-casualty event when a police officer mentioned he was going to the temporary morgue.
You can read more contemporary news accounts about the tornado from the Route 66 News archive here and here.
(An image of damage from the 2011 Joplin tornado by Red Cross: Carl Manning via Flickr)