If you can see such devastation without tears you are not human. It takes a stronger man to cry than to hold it in as if it isn't happening. You're a winner Mike Bettes and we appreciate you.
Thank God for real men like Mike. Real men show their emotions and when you see that kind of devastation it has to affect you, especially if you're human.
@@tx_7134 I don't like to see the wanton loss of either, but indeed material things don't matter much compared to lost lives or the hurt of those who lived through it.
Off camera he said he broke up because he turned around and realized there were bodies just 20 feet from him while other people were walking up the street looking for family members.
According to Keith Stammer, Emergency Management Director for Joplin, what you didn't see is that Mike Bettes got choked up especially because he looked over and saw some deceased individuals near him in the rubble. 🙏💔
I see you too watched his presentation. I got a kick out of them subsistuting stray animals from all over the state as homeless joplin animals at the adoption fair. Wasn't a stray animal to be had for 100 miles. If I'm not mistaken Mike Bettes adopted a dog from that fair and named her Joplyn.
Mike Bettes brought a touch of humanity to a profession where keeping one’s emotions in check is supposedly required. His was such a raw and spontaneous reaction to a tragedy that had just occurred, and I get choked up every time I see this clip. Even if this is the career you choose, it must be really, really hard to witness that type of hell on earth without being scarred with PTSD. Thanks for allowing us to see a normal emotional reaction to death and destruction, Mike.
I put myself in to eyewall of Category 4 Hurricane Laura and when the sun rose the next morning the devastation around me brought tears and I hated myself for being there as a tourist, before that I chased two relatively benign Cat 1 storms but Hurricane Laura was my very last.
@@xswg63cc sometimes it’s for the purpose of perspective, or self discovery, and for the sake of finding our empathy that we find ourselves drawn to places and scenes of devastation. There is something so marvelous and humbling about seeing Mother Nature do her thing. I hope you don’t still carry that guilt with you. Unpopular opinion here, but it’s just my truth: So I’ve had people come to my city just to tour the site of a mass-casualty incident that killed nearly 30 innocent people, and at first it did feel strange. But now it doesn’t. Because when those people go back home and carry on with their lives I stay here and in a weird way I find some comfort in knowing from now on their ears will perk up anytime they hear someone say the name of my city. They’ll think “hey I know that place!” Or, “No way, I’ve actually been there!” I know a piece of this place will always live with those tourists and I hope they felt the weight of what happened to us when they came to visit. More than that though, I hope they saw the way we came together for each other immediately after and didn’t skip a beat before turning to ask “how do I help?” We humans look for connection in odd ways sometimes, but we’ll take whatever we can get.
this man has seen everything. if this made him shocked, that means the destruction was bigger than anyone could imagine. if i remember correctly, Mike was almost gonna die on May 31 2013 after his crew got hit by the infamous El Reno tornado
Phil1816: Yes, Mike’s car got rolled by the El Reno 2013 tornado that killed Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young. I remember Mike Bettes saying that his car was rolled a number of times off the road and into a field and he really believed he was going to die. I don’t think he’s been in another tornado storm chase since. After that, I’ve only seen him cover a few stories about hurricanes.
The Weather Channel guys a fricking epic, entertaining, adventurous educational, and they provide science, and warnings that save lives. Joplin, El Rena, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria... Big props to them. Inspires me to want to be a storm chaser to help save lives.
@@PaulHosey Same here. I remember when this tornado hit and reading/seeing all of the stories and photos from the scene, seeing just how absolutely awful it was. Truly awful. It got me emotional then and it still gets me emotional now. This guy in Illinois still remembers and stands with you, Joplin
I used to work at Enterprise as an area driver in the Northwest Arkansas area and Joplin used to be part of our corporate region. I remember going up there to pick up a car at our office on Range Line Road and even though they had rebuilt by that time, you could still see the path that tornado took. It was bizarre.
Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. The whole thing, but the moment you can tell he noticed a body. Just awful for those poor people of Joplin. Minutes is all it took. Rough...
The reason he broke into tears was because see seen bodies laying in the street if you pause just around when he cries you will see a woman standing looking at him and then you will see a women laying on something dead. That’s what brought him to tears.
I was about 8 or 9 at the time and didnt get to see this level of destruction my family was lucky enough to not get hit but at thr time my dad was on call with newton county ambulance service so we had no idea if he was even alive and that wss pretty scary nit knowing if i was ever going to see my dad again
During the tornado a fire station here was hit i think it was station 3 or 4 but it had been in a bad state of disrepair for a long time my father said that there was a crack so big in the wall you could almost put your hand through it and well with the winds and the rain that just made it collapse on the trucks and ths firefighters, once everyone at the station was accounted for they walked up to ths street corner and started helping where and when they could my town was so lucky to have such a response from all over the country
@@luckynascarcat24 1974 was a year of utter Hell for tornadoes. Xenia, Ohio was torn to shreds the same way Joplin, Missouri was torn up thirty-six years later in 2011.
@@patrickevans3457 2021 was luckily a very calm year for tornadoes outside of the EF4 quad state. But, Im close with 2 chasers (one who you probably know very well) and he has predicted a record year for EF4/EF5's. Considering his prior record and what he has shown, I fear that he may be right. But, I also pray that he isn't.
The local ones possibly. Most large network/MSM and publication journalists are soulless monsters. Pure narcissists and shadenfreudes that sold their souls long ago for access and ratings. Very devoid of empathy or lock it deep down where it’s of no use to anyone
I believe he said off-camera that the reason he began crying during the broadcast was because he noticed dead bodies on the ground right by where he was.
@@flargnutactually if you pause at when he cries there’s a woman standing out there looking at him and when you look to the left you will see a unfocused body in the video so sad. 0:48
I witnessed a mother giving birth during the Tornado. The baby flew out and she was holding the baby by the umbilici cord while it was suspended in the air screaming. As she held on to the umbilici cord, it was swinging in circles like a Mexican pinata.What a sight!
As a reporter you're supposed to not be biased, save those tears for after the camera stops rolling, or put robots on the scene, this is why I hate the news media cause they're always biased.
Just get a life. How about you being put in front of millions and here that hundreds could have died and the only thing around you is carnage and people that lost their homes and memories and have to deal with the trauma likely the rest of their lives? TELL ME WHAT TYPE OF HARTLESS HUMAN BEING YOU ARE
If you can see such devastation without tears you are not human. It takes a stronger man to cry than to hold it in as if it isn't happening. You're a winner Mike Bettes and we appreciate you.
im not human
Thank God for real men like Mike. Real men show their emotions and when you see that kind of devastation it has to affect you, especially if you're human.
Stuff can be replaced a human life can't, cry for souls not for materials.
@@tx_7134 I don't like to see the wanton loss of either, but indeed material things don't matter much compared to lost lives or the hurt of those who lived through it.
Oh god am i a bad person?
This man's been through a lot
like being lifted by a tornado.
wow I remember I was 1 year old when this happened
@@regularYTI still don’t get how he survived that
Off camera he said he broke up because he turned around and realized there were bodies just 20 feet from him while other people were walking up the street looking for family members.
If you look at 0:48 you will unfortunately see on to the left next to that woman looking at him.
According to Keith Stammer, Emergency Management Director for Joplin, what you didn't see is that Mike Bettes got choked up especially because he looked over and saw some deceased individuals near him in the rubble. 🙏💔
He saw deceased individuals while filming this part live and talking about Tuscaloosa?
Yes
Wow, that’s awful. I never heard that
I see you too watched his presentation. I got a kick out of them subsistuting stray animals from all over the state as homeless joplin animals at the adoption fair. Wasn't a stray animal to be had for 100 miles. If I'm not mistaken Mike Bettes adopted a dog from that fair and named her Joplyn.
Mike Bettes brought a touch of humanity to a profession where keeping one’s emotions in check is supposedly required. His was such a raw and spontaneous reaction to a tragedy that had just occurred, and I get choked up every time I see this clip. Even if this is the career you choose, it must be really, really hard to witness that type of hell on earth without being scarred with PTSD. Thanks for allowing us to see a normal emotional reaction to death and destruction, Mike.
I put myself in to eyewall of Category 4 Hurricane Laura and when the sun rose the next morning the devastation around me brought tears and I hated myself for being there as a tourist, before that I chased two relatively benign Cat 1 storms but Hurricane Laura was my very last.
@@xswg63cc sometimes it’s for the purpose of perspective, or self discovery, and for the sake of finding our empathy that we find ourselves drawn to places and scenes of devastation. There is something so marvelous and humbling about seeing Mother Nature do her thing. I hope you don’t still carry that guilt with you.
Unpopular opinion here, but it’s just my truth:
So I’ve had people come to my city just to tour the site of a mass-casualty incident that killed nearly 30 innocent people, and at first it did feel strange.
But now it doesn’t. Because when those people go back home and carry on with their lives I stay here and in a weird way I find some comfort in knowing from now on their ears will perk up anytime they hear someone say the name of my city. They’ll think “hey I know that place!” Or, “No way, I’ve actually been there!”
I know a piece of this place will always live with those tourists and I hope they felt the weight of what happened to us when they came to visit. More than that though, I hope they saw the way we came together for each other immediately after and didn’t skip a beat before turning to ask “how do I help?”
We humans look for connection in odd ways sometimes, but we’ll take whatever we can get.
this man has seen everything. if this made him shocked, that means the destruction was bigger than anyone could imagine. if i remember correctly, Mike was almost gonna die on May 31 2013 after his crew got hit by the infamous El Reno tornado
Yes but that was later on
Phil1816: Yes, Mike’s car got rolled by the El Reno 2013 tornado that killed Tim and Paul Samaras and Carl Young. I remember Mike Bettes saying that his car was rolled a number of times off the road and into a field and he really believed he was going to die. I don’t think he’s been in another tornado storm chase since. After that, I’ve only seen him cover a few stories about hurricanes.
The Weather Channel guys a fricking epic, entertaining, adventurous educational, and they provide science, and warnings that save lives. Joplin, El Rena, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria... Big props to them. Inspires me to want to be a storm chaser to help save lives.
Let it out, man. There is no shame in crying after a tornado. :(
especially a tornado like this. it’d be worse not to cry.
I still get emotional seeing this.
Same, was there and will never be able to forget that day.
@@RealTroyE23I wasn't there and tears fall when I read about it or see videos like this.
@@PaulHosey Same here. I remember when this tornado hit and reading/seeing all of the stories and photos from the scene, seeing just how absolutely awful it was. Truly awful. It got me emotional then and it still gets me emotional now. This guy in Illinois still remembers and stands with you, Joplin
I remember driving through Joplin after this happened, felt bad for all those people. So much damage was done, and lives lost.
My dad was a truck driver at the time and made time out of a few days to see if he could help with anything.
This is raw reality.
This tears my heart apart.
I used to work at Enterprise as an area driver in the Northwest Arkansas area and Joplin used to be part of our corporate region. I remember going up there to pick up a car at our office on Range Line Road and even though they had rebuilt by that time, you could still see the path that tornado took. It was bizarre.
What's terrifies me are the Fungal infections people died of weeks after due to their deep wounds getting blasted with soil and organic matter. RIP
Yes, that is the stuff horror movies are made of, but in real life!
I sat glued to my computer, watching this stream (when it didn't cut out.) I cried with Mike Bettes.
I remember seeing this live
We appreciate the weather channel
13 years ago today... I still remember how destructive it caused. Also yesterday we got a large tornado impacted Greenfield, IA.
Good man.
Heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. The whole thing, but the moment you can tell he noticed a body. Just awful for those poor people of Joplin. Minutes is all it took. Rough...
I know. Just a half hour to destroy everything and people's lives. And what, a decade to rebuild? And the emotional scars are probably permanent 😢
He seems like a good man
God bless Joplin happy to see that they have had made huge progress since the storm
omg this was heartbreaking to see and hearing him crying
The reason he broke into tears was because see seen bodies laying in the street if you pause just around when he cries you will see a woman standing looking at him and then you will see a women laying on something dead. That’s what brought him to tears.
I was about 8 or 9 at the time and didnt get to see this level of destruction my family was lucky enough to not get hit but at thr time my dad was on call with newton county ambulance service so we had no idea if he was even alive and that wss pretty scary nit knowing if i was ever going to see my dad again
During the tornado a fire station here was hit i think it was station 3 or 4 but it had been in a bad state of disrepair for a long time my father said that there was a crack so big in the wall you could almost put your hand through it and well with the winds and the rain that just made it collapse on the trucks and ths firefighters, once everyone at the station was accounted for they walked up to ths street corner and started helping where and when they could my town was so lucky to have such a response from all over the country
Very sad. :(
It's a disturbing image seeing the hospital in the background amongst the damage here.😢
Very concerning about 2021 tornado that could end up being like 2011 or worse. The setup this year what I am seeing is similar to 2011.
1953 and 2008 were very bad seasons too
@@luckynascarcat24 1974 was a year of utter Hell for tornadoes. Xenia, Ohio was torn to shreds the same way Joplin, Missouri was torn up thirty-six years later in 2011.
What about 2021 was like 2011?
@@patrickevans3457 well we just saw Mayfield Tornado. This was more like 2011 type destruction. Probably an EF5 tornado.
@@patrickevans3457 2021 was luckily a very calm year for tornadoes outside of the EF4 quad state. But, Im close with 2 chasers (one who you probably know very well) and he has predicted a record year for EF4/EF5's. Considering his prior record and what he has shown, I fear that he may be right. But, I also pray that he isn't.
Definitely need to see more crying in instances like these. It’s not natural to report on tragedies with a stoic demeanor.
So glad I live in Seattle
LOL. But y'all have the earthquakes!
Fr
Good lord...
i know I'm late but he's been through WAY too much.
I Remembered That Tornado Because i Was Chasing That!
People seem to think that reporters should be void of emotion, but they are human.
The local ones possibly. Most large network/MSM and publication journalists are soulless monsters. Pure narcissists and shadenfreudes that sold their souls long ago for access and ratings. Very devoid of empathy or lock it deep down where it’s of no use to anyone
May 22, 2011 was also WWE PPV Sunday Over the Limit in Seattle, Washington.
Whats wwe?
@@backload123 professional wrestling I believe?
Joplin Tuscaloosa Moore El Reno
Didn't he see dead bodies as well while being there?
I believe he said off-camera that the reason he began crying during the broadcast was because he noticed dead bodies on the ground right by where he was.
@@flargnutactually if you pause at when he cries there’s a woman standing out there looking at him and when you look to the left you will see a unfocused body in the video so sad. 0:48
I think the moment he had started crying, was when he realized he was standing next to a body…
first
I witnessed a mother giving birth during the Tornado. The baby flew out and she was holding the baby by the umbilici cord while it was suspended in the air screaming. As she held on to the umbilici cord, it was swinging in circles like a Mexican pinata.What a sight!
wtf
Ay Caramba!
As a reporter you're supposed to not be biased, save those tears for after the camera stops rolling, or put robots on the scene, this is why I hate the news media cause they're always biased.
you must be a robot if you wouldn't get emotional being there foh
@@haroldsmith5150 You're supposed to keep it together for the camera, most reporters kept it together during 9/11, I don't remember one crying on air
@@HurricanePatrick Watch a different channel then, like Fox News.
He saw a dead body what was he supposed to do not feel?
Just get a life. How about you being put in front of millions and here that hundreds could have died and the only thing around you is carnage and people that lost their homes and memories and have to deal with the trauma likely the rest of their lives? TELL ME WHAT TYPE OF HARTLESS HUMAN BEING YOU ARE
It’s all about him. “Me, me, me, I, I, I...”
shimmyhinnah Get your head out of your ass.