A 25-year-old firefighter was charged with misdemeanor theft In Joplin, Mo., for allegedly looting a Home Depot store after a tornado destroyed the building, according to an article in the Joplin Globe. 

Matthew Page was one of three firefighters dismissed June 9 by the town of Baxter Springs, Kan., for alleged misconduct during the emergency response to the tornado. But Joplin authorities said they only had enough evidence to charge one of the suspects.

Lowe's will break ground today on a new Sanford, N.C., store to replace the one destroyed by a tornado more than a month ago, according to press reports.

The 103,000- sq.-ft. store is expected to be completed by September. 

Lowe’s store manager Michael Hollowell received a congratulatory call from the President of the United States the day after he and his team herded about 70 customers away from the vulnerable front-end of his Sanford, N.C., store, moments before it was ripped apart by a tornado.

Responding to what he described as one of the most destructive spring-weather spells in history, Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said the retailer is helping communities recover.

The Home Depot Foundation is donating $250,000 to the American Red Cross for immediate relief needs in response to last week's tornadoes and storms that caused serious damage throughout the Southeast. 

An article in the Wausau Daily Herald describes the challenges faced by some Wisconsin hardware stores after a destructive tornado.

Alexander’s Hardware in Theodore, Ala., was destroyed by a tornado on March 9, one of four twisters that moved through the westernmost area of the Florida Panhandle.

The National Weather Service determined that the worst of four tornados hit the hardware store with 120 mph winds, tearing off the roof, caving in the walls and turning merchandise into flying projectiles. Owner Margaret Alexander and five employees were in the store at the time. No one was injured.