NWS: Many in Joplin ignored 1st tornado warnings (AP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Many Joplin, Mo., residents either ignored or were slow to react to the first warning sirens about a massive and deadly tornado this spring, partially because of years of false alarms, the government said Tuesday.

In assessing the communications and warning systems used in the storm that killed 162 people, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said many people waited for additional information.

"The majority of surveyed Joplin residents did not immediately go to shelter upon hearing the initial warning," the report stated, adding that they "did not take protective action until processing additional credible confirmation of the threat and its magnitude from a non-routine, extraordinary risk trigger."

While officials believe residents didn't respond quickly enough to sirens and warning systems, Richard Wagenmaker, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Detroit and leader of the assessment team, said it was unclear if the slow public response cost lives.

"It's really hard to tell how many people that perished in the tornado did not take shelter," Wagenmaker said during a conference call. "It was a very large tornado, so there were certainly a number of people who did all the right things, took shelter in the best available place, but still found themselves in situations that weren't survivable. So it's really hard to make that assessment."

Another key finding was that after the intensity of the storm was clear, the resulting warnings "lacked enhanced wording to accurately portray that immediate action was necessary to save lives with this tornado."

The National Weather Service was overall well-prepared and "performed in an exemplary manner" during the storm, NOAA said, adding that combined efforts from the weather service, emergency management and the public "saved many lives."

But the report said "the vast majority of Joplin residents" didn't respond to the first siren because of an apparent widespread disregard for tornado sirens.

"Relationships between false alarms, public complacency, and warning credibility are highly complex," the report stated.

Keith Stammer, Jasper County emergency manager, said Joplin is a "weather-ready community" and supported the NOAA assessment. He said the city has applied for federal funding 10,000 weather radios for Joplin households and for 4,000 in-place shelters for Joplin residents.

A team from the NWS examined warning and forecast services before the EF-5 tornado cut through the southwest Missouri city of about 50,000 residents and reduced much of the city's southern half to ruins.

Cleanup, recovery and rebuilding continues in Joplin. Four schools were destroyed and six other district buildings were damaged. Entire neighborhoods were leveled, as was much of the city's main commercial district.

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Sheriff: Theme park policy ignored in vet's death (AP)

BATAVIA, N.Y. – A double-amputee Iraq War veteran who was hurled off a towering roller coaster to his death never should have been allowed on the ride, but park operators will face no criminal charges despite violating park policy, authorities said Wednesday.

Signs at the Ride of Steel roller coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park & Resort clearly state riders "must have two legs," Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said.

Sgt. James Hackemer died Friday when he was thrown from the last and second-highest of three hills on the coaster. He fell about 150 feet and landed on a grassy area at the park, which is between Rochester and Buffalo.

"He didn't have the physical attributes to hold him in," Maha said.

Investigators found no criminal activity, including intent. Yet the ride operators, who were not identified, "clearly knew" Hackemer shouldn't have been riding but offered no explanation for why they let him on.

"Darien Lake violated their own policies and procedures by letting him get on the ride," Maha said.

A promotional photograph taken automatically shows Hackemer's college-age nephew, Ashton Luffred, looking straight ahead in the moments after the accident, his face without expression and his hands on the safety bar in front of him. Authorities aren't releasing the photo.

Maha said Luffred was in a state of shock after the accident but told police Hackemer didn't say anything to indicate he was worried about falling off the ride.

Maha said park operators clearly violated policy by letting Hackemer on the ride but won't face criminal charges.

Civil liability could be determined later if a lawsuit is filed, he said. Hackemer's relatives have said they do not hold the theme park responsible.

Maha said the state labor department is still investigating the mechanics and safety of the ride but have indicated to him that the coaster was operating correctly.

Hackemer was missing all of his left leg and most of his right leg and was not wearing prosthetic limbs when he was thrown from the ride. The 29-year-old father of two had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2008 and was on a family outing when the accident happened.

A funeral service for Hackemer is planned for Thursday in his hometown of Gowanda. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The car pulled into the loading station with the lap bar and seatbelt still in place, Maha said.

The ride is still closed pending the state labor department probe.

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