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Moment of Silence Marks Joplin Tornado Anniversary

KWGS News Photo

JOPLIN Mo. (AP) — Much of Joplin has fallen silent to mark the precise moment the city was hit by a tornado one year ago.

A moment of silence at 5:41 p.m. coincided with the minute the monstrous tornado first hit the city last May 22. The storm killed 161 people, wiped out neighborhoods, destroyed a hospital and forever changed the look of the southwest Missouri city.

The moment Tuesday followed a 4-mile "Walk of Unity" in which politicians, residents and volunteers marched through some of the city's hardest-hit neighborhoods.

The procession ended with the moment of silence at Cunningham Park, which is across the street from what's left of St. John's Regional Medical Center.