( CNN ) -- For most of us , it 's hard to relate to the images of destruction we see on the television screen . It 's nearly impossible to imaging losing it all . But for the residents of Joplin , it 's all too familiar . Monday 's massive EF5 tornado that tore through 17 miles of Moore , Oklahoma , brought back dark memories for those who survived the similarly powerful twister in Joplin almost two years earlier . Seeing footage of Moore , Oklahoma , takes Jennifer Parr right back to May 22 , 2011 , the day an EF5 tornado ravaged Joplin and killed more than 150 people . `` I can still feel the shock , the awe , the sadness , '' she said . `` I can still remember the smell too . It smelled like freshly cut wood . '' CNN iReport followed up with Parr and other Joplin tornado survivors to find out how they moved on after the tragedy . They offered the following advice to the people of Moore : . 'Let others help you ' Processing emotions has been difficult since Parr lost her entire home in the tornado . Two years later , the 32-year-old continues to work with a therapist . Talking out her struggles has helped her `` move forward and not stay stuck in the past , '' she said . `` There are some days it is still hard to comprehend what I went through . '' Shock and adrenaline carried her through the first days after the tornado . But after that , she said she did n't know what to do . Parr empathizes with what the people of Moore are going through this week , remembering her own difficult experience . `` Right now it feels impossible to start picking up the pieces , not knowing where to even start , '' she recalled . Leaning on friends and family in the area helped as she started to piece her life back together . Her advice to Moore residents is simple : `` Let others help you , even when you think you do n't need the help . '' 'With patience we always get it right ' Fernando Martinez hails from a Navy family and spent most of his life moving around . But when his grandparents retired , Joplin became home . The day of the tornado , Martinez , his parents , grandparents and niece were all home together . Everyone survived , but the tornado tore their lives apart . His mother was drained `` emotionally '' from the experience , so she and his father uprooted and moved to California . The rest of the family stayed in Joplin . `` I could never leave this town , and I have tried , '' said the 25-year-old . `` I just keep coming back . '' It was Martinez 's close-knit family and his friends that helped him get through the months of wrangling with insurance companies and repairing the damage to the house . `` I think that when you experience something so traumatic and difficult to understand , you become stronger willed and it hardens your emotions a bit , making you a bit braver , '' he said . Moving on though requires living on , Martinez said . `` Life sucks sometimes , and we are sometimes given the worst hands when playing , but with patience , we always get it right and we always win . '' 'It helps prevent panic ' Ben Callihan may have returned to his day-to-day life quickly after repairing the $ 2,000 worth of damage to his Joplin home , but the storm affected him psychologically . He and his roommate called their mothers as the twister barreled through their neighborhood . `` The calls lost connection , and when the tornado was next to us it sounded like a clothes dryer , with footballs being kicked at my house every couple of seconds , '' he recalled . These days , the 32-year-old lifelong Joplin resident is a lot more wary about inclement weather . `` Twice in the last month during tornado sirens I have sped to the temporary FEMA shelters in another town , '' he said , even though he knows that he should hunker down in the nearest available shelter , as FEMA recommends . Callihan , who survived by hiding in his bathtub , has found it comforting to make his way to a shelter even when the weather is less dangerous than a tornado . `` It helps prevent panic , '' he explained . He encouraged tornado survivors to take advantage of free counseling and therapy that may be provided in Moore .
Two years ago , a massive tornado swept through Joplin , Missouri , killing 150 people . The damage was so bad that the city of Joplin had to declare bankruptcy and file for Chapter 9 protection in order to pay its debts. CNN iReport asked Joplin residents for their advice for the people in Moore .