A string of severe weather that has claimed more than 300 lives is the deadliest U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Reuters reports. President Barack Obama visited Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday to survey the damage. Alabama was hit hardest by the string of storms, with at least 210 deaths and 1,700 injuries.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center has a list of the U.S.’s deadliest tornadoes, which comes with this note:
Having happened before the era of comprehensive damage surveys, some of these events may have been composed of multiple tornadoes along a damage path. Death counts for events in the 1800s and early 1900s should be treated as estimates since recordkeeping of tornado deaths was erratic back then.
See the list below:
|
|
DATE |
LOCATION(S) |
DEATHS |
1 |
18 Mar 1925 |
Tri-State (MO/IL/IN) |
695 |
2 |
06 May 1840 |
Natchez MS |
317 |
3 |
27 May 1896 |
St. Louis MO |
255 |
4 |
05 Apr 1936 |
Tupelo MS |
216 |
5 |
06 Apr 1936 |
Gainesville GA |
203 |
6 |
09 Apr 1947 |
Woodward OK |
181 |
7 |
24 Apr 1908 |
Amite LA, Purvis MS |
143 |
8 |
12 Jun 1899 |
New Richmond WI |
117 |
9 |
8 Jun 1953 |
Flint MI |
115 |
10 |
11 May 1953 |
Waco TX |
114 |
10 |
18 May 1902 |
Goliad TX |
114 |
12 |
23 Mar 1913 |
Omaha NE |
103 |
13 |
26 May 1917 |
Mattoon IL |
101 |
14 |
23 Jun 1944 |
Shinnston WV |
100 |
15 |
18 Apr 1880 |
Marshfield MO |
99 |
16 |
01 Jun 1903 |
Gainesville, Holland GA |
98 |
16 |
09 May 1927 |
Poplar Bluff MO |
98 |
18 |
10 May 1905 |
Snyder OK |
97 |
19 |
24 Apr 1908 |
Natchez MS |
91 |
20 |
09 Jun 1953 |
Worcester MA |
90 |
21 |
20 Apr 1920 |
Starkville MS, Waco AL |
88 |
22 |
28 Jun 1924 |
Lorain, Sandusky OH |
85 |
23 |
25 May 1955 |
Udall KS |
80 |
24 |
29 Sep 1927 |
St. Louis MO |
79 |
25 |
27 Mar 1890 |
Louisville KY |
76 |
Here’s a list of websites dedicated to specific tornado events, compiled by the SPC’s Roger Edwards.
