JOPLIN, MO (KCTV) -
It was a year ago when the nation's deadliest twister in six decades touched down in Joplin, MO, killing 161 people were killed.
The EF5 tornado packed winds of 200 miles per hour and it destroyed about 7,500 buildings.
In the aftermath, more than 130,000 volunteers descended on southwest Missouri from across the country, logging more than 810,000 service hours. Projects are still under way to rebuild the community.
On Tuesday in Joplin, the community will come together in the same spirit of unity it displayed in the wake of the storm.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the tornado that ripped through Joplin. And all day there are festivities planned around the community including a "Day of Unity" walk.
The walk will take place along a route that city officials say matches the path of the tornado. It will begin at the Walmart on Range Line Road and wind through the streets to Cunningham Park.
The park was across the street from the hospital and took a direct hit and was also dealt a huge blow. Dozens of century old trees were uprooted, and everything was destroyed.
Joplin Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean says the walk is going to be the biggest activity people can take part in Tuesday.
"The unity walk is going to be so important for the city of Joplin. Not only is it continuing bringing us together and bringing the world together to center right here in Joplin. It is going to mean so much for the people that have lost people in this tornado," Colbert-Kean said.
The mayor says it is going to mean so much for the people who have come to volunteer to help get the city back together.
"I think it is going to give people permission to exhale and to just breathe. And say, 'We can do this and let's move forward,'" Colbert-Kean said.
Cunningham Park now has 161 trees, one for each life lost and the new fountain has three levels. The first level has five spouts, second has 22 spouts and the third has 11 to represent the day - May 22, 2011 - the tornado moved through the city.
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