Tim Slocombe and his son Eliajah, 16, raise an American flag into the air on a tree flagpole in the aftermath of an EF-5 tornado that hit in the the center of Joplin, Mo. "It's for morale," Slocombe told his son. The storm flattened over 9,000 homes and businesses and left at least 162 dead.

As the sun rises after the tornado destroyed homes and ripped the branches off trees, St. Johns Hospital became visible from parts of Joplin where it had never been seen before, a dark scar of the storm which lingered at the building as it tore through town. At least five people at the hospital were killed as a backup generator failed, leaving ventilators and other medical equipment without power in dark rooms and nearly everyone cut by shattered glass.

Sara Thomas cries after fearing the worst fate of her friend's four children who lived in a house destroyed by the EF-5 tornado that hit Sunday afternoon in the the center of Joplin, Missouri. It was later learned that the children survived the storm by taking refuge at a neighbors home.

Neighbors and volunteers search in the rain for 86-year-old Betty Jo Fisher, who was confined to her bed when the tornado struck Sunday afternoon in the the center of Joplin, Missouri. While her caregiver survived, the Jasper County coroner coroner later confirmed that Fisher died in the storm.

Kristofer Provins looks through what remains at his destroyed apartment as the sun sets in Joplin, Missouri on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Neighbors had reported him to have been killed in the storm, but he in fact lived by taking shelter in the Wal-Mart store nearby after leaving his home.

Patti Johnson is reunited with her friend Susan Eck as she looks through what is left of her bathroom for jewelry and other heirlooms in the aftermath of a tornado that hit Sunday afternoon in the the center of Joplin, Missouri, killing at least 162 people and leaving a path of devastation, as seen on Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

A fire burns what remains of Steve Miller's rental property on 16th Street in the aftermath of the worst tornado in decades on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 in Joplin, Mo. After the storm, gas leaks and electrical fires caused homes to catch fire even after they were ripped apart by the tornado.

Tom Hatfield smokes a cigarette as he and friend Bonnie McMullen leave Hatfield's mother's home as another storm approaches after they spent their morning looking for pictures and clothing to save in the aftermath of a tornado that hit Sunday afternoon in the the center of Joplin, Missouri, killing at least 162 and leaving a path of devastation in its path as seen on Monday, May 23, 2011. Hatfield's mother survived the tornado by hiding inside of a closet.