Residence in Austin, TX

The private residence «Cat Mountain» designed by Cornerstone Architects, located in Austin, Texas, USA. The architects restored the original house and added to it an impressive annex, the owner also worked independently on the design of the interior. The residence blends harmoniously with the natural environment, and sustainable design elements of the project are added respectability.

VIA «The Harmonious Residence in the U.S., state of Texas»

Luxury Mansion in Austin, Texas

Elegant mansion was presented by the James D. LaRue Architects in Austin, Texas, USA. Interior of the residence is designed as a harmonious mix of modern style for comfort and convenience. Spacious rooms with large windows and plenty of natural light, and the possible way out of the living room to the terrace with a covered sitting area and a swimming pool.

VIA «Mansion in Austin»

VIA THE FINAL RESULTS OF MISS USA 2011

New Fine Arts Center

New Fine Arts Center becomes the first public building constructed in a small Texas city for last thirty years. Local artists and active workers, parents and teachers, historians and collectors of national creativity participated in center building. All of them thought over what should be their place for public meetings

Hi-tech Audience

Project by Kell Muñoz Architects is almost 2000 sq.m., a hall 975 places and an audience completed with the hi-tech audio-visual equipment.
The project budget has been limited enough, $5.7 million dollars. This building of time declaring a multicultural modernism, traditional for district (Rio Grande Valley), mixed with the international modernism associating with Mexico.

Art Center in Texas

To allocate a new public place, the construction facade has been raised. The front composition from the bright vertical strips organized according to a color spectrum, very brightly allocates a building in a silent and harmonious landscape.

VIA «The Architecture of the National Traditions»

MISS USA 2011 - Top 4

* Miss Alabama USA 2011
Madeline Mitchell
(Photo Gallery)

* Miss California USA 2011
Alyssa Campanella
(Photo Gallery)

* Miss Tennessee USA 2011
Ashley Durham

* Miss Texas USA 2011
Ana Rodriguez

MISS USA 2011 - Top 8

* Miss Alabama USA 2011
Madeline Mitchell
(Photo Gallery)

* Miss California USA 2011
Alyssa Campanella(Photo Gallery)

* Miss Hawaii USA 2011
Angela Byrd

* Miss Maine USA 2011
Ashley Lynn Marble

* Miss Maryland USA 2011
Allyn Rose

* Miss South Carolina USA 2011
Courtney Turner

* Miss Tennessee USA 2011
Ashley Durham

* Miss Texas USA 2011
Ana Rodriguez

VIA Latest results of Miss USA 2011 - Miss California USA - Alyssa Campanella is the newly crowned Miss USA 2011

Miss California Alyssa Campanella celebrates after being crowned Miss USA 2011 during the Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 19, 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella (L) begins her walk after being crowned Miss USA 2011 by Rima Fakih (R), Miss USA 2010, during the Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada June 19, 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella takes a final walk in her evening gown during the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada June 19, 2011. Campanella was later crowned Miss USA 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella (R) answers a question with show hosts Andy Cohen (L) and Giuliana Rancic during the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada June 19, 2011. Campanella was later crowned Miss USA 2011.

Miss Alabama Madeline Mitchell (L-R), Miss Hawaii Angela Byrd, Miss California Alyssa Campanella and Miss Maryland Allyn Rose react after making the semi-final cut during the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada June 19, 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella (C) reacts as she is chosen as the last of the final four finalists during the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 19, 2011. Miss Hawaii Angela Byrd (L) and and Miss Maryland Allyn Rose stand by.
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Contestants and hosts Andy Cohen (center L) and Giuliana Rancic take the stage during the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 19, 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella competes in the swimsuit portion of the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada June 19, 2011. Campanella was later crowned Miss USA 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella takes a final walk in her evening gown during the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 19, 2011. Campanella was later crowned Miss USA 2011.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella reacts after being named Miss USA 2011 during the Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada June 19, 2011.

Andy Cohen (L) and Giuliana Rancic host the 2011 Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 19, 2011. Alyssa Campanella, a 21-year-old redhead representing California, was named Miss USA at the annual beauty pageant in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Miss California Alyssa Campanella (R) reacts next to first runner-up Miss Tennessee Ashley Elizabeth Durham after being announced Miss USA 2011 during the Miss USA pageant in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 19, 2011.

Hope Driskill, Miss Missouri, is introduced as one of the quarterfinals at the start of the Miss USA pageant, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

From left, Miss California, Miss Tennessee, Miss Texas and Miss Alabama, the four finalists wait to be asked questions during the 2011 Miss USA pageant, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

Madeline Mitchell, left, Miss Alabama, walks away as Alyssa Campanella, Miss California, right, and Miss Tennessee, Ashley Elizabeth Durham react as they are annouced as the two remaining finalists in the 2011 Miss USA pageantSunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

From left, Alyssa Campanella, Miss California, Ashley Elizabeth Durham, Miss Tennessee and Ana Christina Rodriguez, Miss Texas, have their sashes replaced during a break at the 2011 Miss USA pageant, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

Alyssa Campanella, Miss California, is introduced as one of the quarterfinals in the Miss USA pageant, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

Alyssa Campanella, Miss California, is crowned as the 2011 Miss USA by Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

Alyssa Campanella, Miss California,, right, has her make-up touched up as Ashley Elizabeth Durham, Miss Tennessee, waits her turn during a break at the 2011 Miss USA pageant, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas.

Miss USA hosts Andy Cohen, left center, and Giuliana Rancic introduce the semifinalists during the 2011 Miss USA pageant, Sunday, June 19, 2011, in Las Vegas. From left, they are Miss Maine, Miss Tennessee, Miss Texas, Miss South Carolina, Miss Alabama, Miss Hawaii, Miss California and Miss Maryland.
source :daylife
photo: AP photo, Reuters

VIA Miss California Alyssa Campanella waves after being crowned Miss USA 2011

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee approved the listing of the five Spanish Roman Catholic sites built in and around what is now the city of San Antonio, including the Alamo fort, where in 1836 some 180 Texans fighting for independence from Mexico fought to the death against Mexican General Santa Anna's army of several thousand soldiers.

The site comprises architectural and archaeological structures, farmland, residencies, churches and granaries, as well as water distribution systems, UNESCO said.

The complexes "illustrate the Spanish Crown's efforts to colonize, evangelize and defend the northern frontier of New Spain," UNESCO said.

It said the San Antonio Missions were also an example of the interweaving of Spanish and Coahuiltecan cultures, including the decorative elements of churches, which combined Catholic symbols with indigenous designs inspired by nature.

Source: AFP [July 06, 2015]

VIA «Texas Cattle Wrangler on the Loose | Art»

Every city throughout the United States has been impacted by the recent economic recession. The combined forces of the credit crisis and the foreclosure crisis led to plummeting home prices in every region of the country. The ripples were felt from San Francisco condos to homes for sale. However, some metropolitan areas were able to avoid the worst of the turmoil and are now emerging from the mess faster than the rest of the country.

The recovery is swiftest in those areas that didn’t have as much of a housing price run up to begin with, either because the economy in those areas has stayed healthy or the economy has been limited for decades and residents have adapted or left. The top recovering areas also had lower rates of sub-prime and negative amortization loans financed in the years leading up to and during the crash.

In December of 2009, Forbes Magazine released a list of the number of loans that were foreclosed upon in the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Forbes then calculated the percentage of loans that were descending into further delinquency versus those that were improving.

For example, the number of foreclosed homes in Austin was examined to see which loans continued towards the path of complete default versus those which inched their way back towards normalcy. The lower the rate of deterioration was for a given area, the higher their corresponding ranking with regard to recovery.

1. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
2. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
3. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
4. Buffalo, NY
5. Knoxville, Tennessee

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (12/09/2009)

The Pennsylvania region of Harrisburg, and the Austin area of Texas were rated the best, followed by Ogden, Utah and Buffalo, NY. The homes seem to be recovering quite well as that region came in fifth in the study.

VIA «Top 5 Recovering Real Estate Markets in the U.S.»

VIA Alyssa Campanella from California was the winner of Miss USA 2011

Emergency workers say thunderstorms are hampering efforts to find survivors as 1,500 rescuers search for missing
Family and friends of the missing post moving appeals for information on Facebook and blogs
Storm Prediction Center says more violent weather expected with further tornadoes through the middle of week
Devastation: Destroyed homes and debris cover the ground as a second storm moves in on Monday in Joplin, Missouri
Thousands of people were left without homes to go tonight after the deadliest single tornado to strike the United States in over 60 years touched down on Missouri, reducing the city of Joplin to rubble, ripping buildings apart and killing at least 116 people in a 6-mile path of destruction.
Authorities said they had rescued seven people alive on Monday, but emergency warned that the death toll could climb higher as heavy winds, strong rain and hail quarter-sized hail stones hampered the search effort.
Meteorologists issued a new tornado warning for the devastated city as forecasters warned large swathes of the country to brace for more big storms on Tuesday.
Path of destruction: No house escaped the wrath of nature in some of Minneapolis
A tornado watch was issued on Monday for Oklahoma and parts of southern Kansas due to an 'evolving tornado threat', said Russell Schneider, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center.
'We are currently forecasting a major severe weather outbreak for Tuesday over the central United States with strong tornadoes likely over Oklahoma, Kansas, extreme northern Texas, southwest Missouri,' Mr Schneider said.
The National Weather Service said the tornado packed winds of up to 198 mph.
The weather service's director, Jack Hayes, said the storm was given a preliminary label as an EF4 - the second-highest rating given to twisters. The rating is assigned to storms based on the damage they cause.
Hayes said the storm had winds of 190 to 198 miles per hour. He said survey teams from the National Weather Service are on the scene and will make a final determination on the rating Tuesday.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to help out after one of the worst disasters in the state's history.
Homeless: Ted Grabenauer sleeps on his front porch the morning after a tornado ripped off the roof of his home when it hit Joplin, Missouri
Ruins: A view of the devastation after a tornado blew the roof off the St John's Regional Medical Center, rear, where about 180 patients cowered and were eventually evacuated
Desolation: A residential neighbourhood in Joplin is seen after it was levelled by the tornado
President Barack Obama called Nixon and offered his condolences to those affected, assuring the governor that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would provide whatever assistance was needed.
'Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tornadoes and severe weather that struck Joplin, Missouri, as well as communities across the Midwest today,' the President said in a statement sent from Air Force One as he flew to Europe.
Map: Infrared image of the powerful tornado that spun through a densely populated part of Missouri
'We commend the heroic efforts by those who have responded and who are working to help their friends and neighbours at this very difficult time.'
Caring for the injured was made more difficult because the main hospital, Saint John's Regional Medical Center, had to be evacuated after suffering a direct hit - the tornado ripped off its roof and smashed all its windows.
Cries could still be heard early Monday from survivors trapped in the wreckage.
Despair: A tree stripped of bark and leaves frames St John's Regional Medical Center
Eye of the storm: The tornado tore a 6-mile path across southwestern Missouri
Relief: Maggie Kelley and her husband, Trey Adams hug their dog, Saint, after finding him amid the rubble of her home in Joplin
Mr Nixon said he feared the death toll would rise but also expected survivors to be found in the rubble.
‘I don't think we're done counting,’ he said. ‘I still believe that because of the size of the debris and the number of people involved that there are lives to be saved.’
Crews found bodies during the night in vehicles the storm had flipped over, torn apart and left looking like crushed cans.
Triage centers and shelters set up around the city quickly filled to capacity.
At Memorial Hall, a downtown entertainment venue, nurses and other emergency workers from across the region treated critically injured patients.

Efforts: Rescue workers in lime-green jackets search for bodies and survivors inside St John's hospital
Re-united: A man carries a young girl who was rescued after being trapped with her mother in their home
Devastation: Emergency personnel walk through a neighbourhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin hospital. There are are no firm details on the number of dead or injured, as the hospital is out of action
Memories: Evelyn Knoblauch looks at a picture in what is left of her daughter's house
At another makeshift unit at a Lowe's home improvement store, wooden planks served as beds.
Outside, ambulances and fire trucks waited for calls. During one stretch after midnight on Monday, emergency vehicles were scrambling nearly every two minutes.
On Monday morning, survivors picked through the rubble of what were once their homes, salvaging clothes, furniture, family photos and financial records, the air pungent with the smell of gas and smoking embers.
Others wandered through the wreckage with nowhere to go, their homes or apartments destroyed.
Kelley Fritz, 45, of Joplin, rummaged through the remains of a storage building with her husband, Jimmy.
Search: An emergency vehicle drives through a severely damaged neighbourhood in Joplin
They quickly realised they would never find the belongings they stored there, and that they had lost much of what was in their home after the tornado ripped away the roof.
Their sons, aged 20 and 17, went outside after the storm and saw that every home was destroyed.
‘My sons had deceased children in their arms when they came back,’ Mrs Fritz said. ‘My husband and I went out and saw two or three dead bodies on the ground.’

Soul destroying: Jean Logan surveys the damage to her home in Joplin after the tornado. She had taken refuge in her laundry room with her granddaughter
A total mess: Rachel Hurst picks through her belongings that were strewn about from her garage that was blown away in Minneapolis on Sunday
Mrs Fritz said she was surprised she survived. ‘You could just feel the air pull up and it was so painful. I didn't think we were going to make it, it happened so fast.’
Tornado sirens gave residents about a 20-minute warning before the tornado touched down on the city's west side.
Staff at St John's Regional Medical Center rushed patients into hallways before the storm struck the nine-storey building, blowing out hundreds of windows and leaving the facility unusable.
The hospital was among the worst-hit locations.
Emergency: Extensive damage can be seen at the St John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri. An emergency agency spokesman says fatalities had been reported but was unsure of the exact figure
The Joplin twister was one of 68 reported tornadoes across seven Midwest states over the weekend, stretched from Oklahoma to Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center.
One person was killed in Minneapolis. But the devastation in Missouri was the worst, eerily reminiscent of the tornadoes that killed more than 300 people across the South last month.
Residents said the damage was breathtaking in scope.
‘You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like,’ said Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin High School.
‘I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw.’
Emergency management officials rushed heavy equipment to Joplin to help lift debris and clear the way for search and recovery operations.
Governor Nixon declared a state of emergency, and President Barack Obama said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was working with state and local agencies.
Raised to the ground: Blocks of homes lie in total destruction after the devastating tornado
Unbelievable: Destroyed vehicles are piled on top of one another in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Centre

Desperate: Amy Langford carries items from her house that she was in with her husband Mark when the tornado hit their home in Joplin
Jeff Lehr, a reporter for the Joplin Globe, said he was upstairs in his home when the storm hit but was able to make his way to a basement closet.
The storm tore the roof off his house, but he was safe. When he emerged, he found people wandering through the streets, covered in mud.
‘I'm talking to them, asking if they knew where their family is,’ Mr Lehr said. ‘Some of them didn't know and weren't sure where they were. All the street markers were gone.’
Justin Gibson, 30, huddled with three relatives outside the tangled debris of a Home Depot. He pointed to a black pickup that had been tossed into the store's ruins and said it belonged to his roommate's brother, who was last seen in the store with his two young daughters.
Mr Gibson, who has three children of his own, said his home was levelled and ‘everything in that neighbourhood is gone. The high school, the churches, the grocery store. I can't get hold of my ex-wife to see how my kids are.
‘I don't know the extent of this yet,’ he said, ‘but I know I'll have friends and family dead.’
In Minneapolis, where a tornado killed one person and injured 29, authorities imposed an overnight curfew in a 4-square-mile area, including some of the city's poorest neighbourhoods, to prevent looting and keep streets clear for emergency crews.
Levelled: Red Cross representatives say 75% of Joplin is gone - here, vehicles and houses in the vicinity of Twenty-fourth and Main Streets are a jumble of rubble after a the tornado swept through
Condolences: President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon during his visit to Dublin, Ireland. The President extended his condolences to all impacted by the deadly tornadoes
Widespread devastation: Another tornado in Minneapolis damaged at least 100 homes, toppling hundreds of trees and injuring at least 29 people
Community spirit: Residents of Joplin help a woman who survived in her basement after a tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses
Mayor RT Rybak said one liquor store was looted right after the tornado hit late Sunday and a few burglaries took place overnight.
He said it wasn't immediately clear how many homes were affected, simply saying: 'It's a lot.'
Though the damage covered several blocks, it appeared few houses were totally demolished. Much of the damage was to roofs, front porches that had been sheared away and fences.
The tornado left part of a garage door in a tree and many large trees were left leaning against houses.
Pat Trafton said her family escaped unharmed after a tree was left leaning against her house.
Mrs Trafton, 67, said: 'It's been a crazy day.
'They say it was a monster tornado. It all just happened so fast.'
It was the first tornado to hit the city since August 2009. 'There was no doubt right away,' the meteorologist said.
North Minneapolis resident Tiffany Pabich was taking a nap just as the tornado blew through.

Bettered streets: Debris is scattered about in Minneapolis. On Sunday night a tornado warning was issued for several areas in central states
Crushed: Vehicles were picked up and dumped across the city by the tornado which left 30 people dead and dozens injured
In the north-east Kansas, powerful storms spawned funnel clouds and hail that ripped limbs off of trees and shattered windows.
About 200 homes were damaged in and around Reading with the tornado sweeping through the small town around 9:15pm Saturday night, said Kansas Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson.
A man was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to Newman Regional Hospital in Emporia, about 20 miles from where the tornado hit, hospital supervisor Deb Gould said.
Ms Gould said two other people were brought in with injuries but she had no further details.
Five people were injured in all, along with the person killed, said Ms Watson.
Reading, a town of about 250 people is 50 miles south of the Kansas capital city, Topeka.
Carnage: Rescue vehicles line up along northbound Rangeline Road in Joplin, Mo. after a fatal tornado swept through the city
Reverend Lyle Williams, who is a pastor for about 10 worshippers at the Reading First Baptist Church, said the church suffered extensive damage: 'Yeah, it's pretty bad,' he said. 'My daughter was out there and told me about it.'
'I'm not going to be able to have church today that's for sure,' he added, saying he's been a pastor at the church for 21 years.
In Jefferson County, a mobile home was destroyed with an elderly couple was trapped inside, Ms Watson told CNN. She said responders cleared the debris and rescued the couple unhurt.
Wreckage: A man stands amid the remains of a Wal-Mart store, after it was hit by the tornado, in Joplin
Power had been restored in the town by early Sunday and a shelter was being set up at a local school.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado also touched down in Topeka and northeast of the city near Lake Perry, where damage was reported at a nearby campsite, Ms Watson said.
While many states have been struck by severe storms this spring, Kansas has been having one of its lightest tornado seasons in decades, according to the National Weather Service.
A taste of spring? Trees were stripped of branches and many were left resting against houses
Flattened: Reading - a town of about 250 people, 50 miles south of capital city Topeka
Twister tragedy

Joplin Missouri 2011 Tornado May 23rd 2011 Massive Monster Killer Twister Tornado EF 5 MO 2011

I WILL PRAY ~Joplin Missouri Tornado Tribute~ (5/22/11)

source:dailymail

VIA America's deadliest tornado for 64 years: Terrifying twister cuts six-mile swathe through a Missouri town, leaving up to 116 dead

Tornado was rare 'multivortex' twister, reveals National Weather Service
Obama to visit region on Sunday as he says tornado was 'devastating and heartbreaking'

The way things used to be: This Google Street Map view shows the same place as the above picture, before the horrific tornado struck
As shell-shocked residents of tornado-hit Joplin braced themselves for another powerful storm system this evening, new aerial images emerged showing in terrifying detail the path of the twister which destroyed the Missouri city.
The shocking photos reveal for the first time the true extent of the damage caused when the mile-wide tornado that killed at least 122 people blasted much of the city off the map and slammed straight into its hospital.
Forecasters warned residents on Tuesday to prepare themselves for a looming storm system that has all the early signs of spawning more deadly tornadoes.
Devastated: Aerial photo shows 26th street, the main route through the centre of Joplin, Missouri. On the right is St Mary's elementary school
Housing: Whole residential neighbourhoods were destroyed by the powerful tornado when it went straight through the centre of the city that has has 50,000 people
Tonight the stunned residents of Joplin faced the horrifying possibility of more storms - but a tornado warning was cancelled later in the evening.
‘This is a very serious situation brewing,’ said Russell Schneider, director of the Storm Prediction Center.
About 1,500 people are still unaccounted for, it was announced Tuesday, leading to fears that the death count could rise much higher.
Tonight tornadoes touched down in Kansas and Oklahoma - including one on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, which reportedly tore a 50-mile long path through rush-hour traffic.
Blown away: The remains of this apartment block surround what was once a swimming pool. Around 2,000 homes are thought to have been destroyed
Closed for business: The Home Depot do-it-yourself store was where many dead bodies have been recovered. Many of the shop shelves are still intact though
Grocery store: The city's Walmart superstore is barely recognisable in this photo from after Sunday's tornado that killed over 100 people
Shopping mall: This line of shops was severely damaged by the storm system when it struck on Sunday evening at around 6pm
Hospital: The St John's Medical Center was at the heart of the tornado's path through the city. Hundreds of patients had to be evacuated
Fire chief Robert Daus said that 500 people had been injured by the tornado, in addition to the 1,500 people who remain unaccounted for.
But he said the high number of people still recorded as missing could be a reflection of the widespread breakdown of communication systems in the city.
Thunderstorms that are moving across southeast Kansas, central Oklahoma and north Texas this afternoon are forecast to move into the Joplin area between 10pm and 2am tonight.
Destroyed: This incredible aerial image reveals how the tornado tore off the roof of Joplin's Home Depot
Flattened: This aerial photograph shows the scale of the destruction to the Home Depot store

Flattened: Damage is seen a day after the tornado tore through Joplin killing at least 122 people in Joplin, a town of about 50,000
Decimation: Residential buildings are shown flattened in this aerial shot over Joplin
Razed to the ground: Joplin's Walmart store was completely destroyed by Sunday's devastating twister
Wasteland: The horror of Sunday's tornado is laid bare by this harrowing panoramic shot of Joplin
Horseshoe: A destroyed neighbourhood is seen in Joplin on Tuesday after a big tornado moved through much of the city

Ruins: The winding path of the devastating tornado is seen in this aerial picture of Joplin, Missouri
Savaged: The path of the powerful tornado is seen in an aerial photo over Joplin, Missouri
Destroyed: The tornado ruined thousands of houses in Joplin, Missouri
From the sky: Uprooted trees and building without roofs lie devastated in Joplin, Missouri after the tornado hit on Sunday
Flattened: Members of Missouri Task Force One search-and-rescue team work at the tornado-damaged Home Depot store in Joplin
Shock: Joplin residents are still coming to terms with the loss of their homes as rescue workers continue efforts to find survivors
Recovery: Beverly Winans, left, Debbie Spurlin and Austin Spurlin look for what they can salvage from their home after it was destroyed
Lost: Carra Reed looks at a friends home that was destroyed when the massive tornado passed through Joplin, Missouri
Missing: Rescue workers and neighbours search for victims and survivors
The President says he wants Midwesterners whose lives were disrupted by the deadly storms last weekend to know that the federal government will use all resources at its disposal to help them recover and rebuild.
Obama spoke in London, the second stop on his four-country, six-day tour of Europe.
Obama is due back in Washington Saturday night.
Little hope: Ryan Harper pauses in the shadow of a splintered tree as he searches for a missing friend after who may have been pulled away by the twister

A time for coming together: A couple drenched by the heavy rain walk arm-in-arm towards a building ravaged by the killer storm, and right, a woman whose life has been shattered overnight by the tornado breaks down in tears and has to be comforted by a friend
Frantic: Volunteers claw through the rubble in search of survivors, but grey storm clouds loom overhead threatening to disrupt the efforts
'Heartbreaking': Barack Obama, speaking in London today, vowed to visit Missouri on Sunday to console victims
President Barack Obama called Nixon after details of teh tragedy emergedand offered his condolences to those affected, assuring the governor that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would provide whatever assistance was needed.
'Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tornadoes and severe weather that struck Joplin, Missouri, as well as communities across the Midwest today,' the President said in a statement sent from Air Force One as he flew to Europe.
'We commend the heroic efforts by those who have responded and who are working to help their friends and neighbours at this very difficult time.'
New dawn: The sun rises over devastated Joplin on Tuesday as the search for survivors continues
Heartache: Two women fight back the tears as they hug in front of a house ripped apart by the tornado. In a symbolic show of strength, the U.S. flag flies from a tree behind them
Wiped off the landscape: Meghan Miller stands in the middle of a destroyed neighbourhood as she checks on her sister-in-law's home, which only days before had stood in the same spot
source: dailymail

VIA Shocking before and after images reveal how giant tornado ripped apart Joplin's city landmarks

• Moscow, Russia
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Texas, USA
• China
• Africa
• Florida, USA
• Chicago Film Studios, Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Gary, Indiana, USA

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VIA Alyssa Campanella Wins Miss USA 2011

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