In some cases the tornado wiped out entire families. This tornado was part of a group of twisters that struck Mississippi that day, and although it missed downtown Tupelo, it flattened residential areas around the town. Letters from Gainesville reportedly fell from the sky across state lines in South Carolina. Tornado damage “immobilized the Gainesville Fire Department and forced rescuers to dynamite buildings on the Public Square as a means of controlling the rapid spread of fire,” the website said. Many of the victims were young women and girls. According to the Digital Library of Georgia, 60 people died in just one building when the Cooper Pants Factory, a two-story garment factory, collapsed and burned after being struck. 4 below), was actually a pair of tornadoes that converged on the center of the town at the height of the business day. The tornado that hit Gainesville, which occurred a day after the Tupelo event (see No. 5 The Gainesville, Ga., Tornado, April 6, 1936ĭowntown Gainesville, Ga., following the devastating tornado that struck without warning in 1936. The death toll from this event stands at 181, with at least 116 lives lost in Oklahoma. The Weather Service said the bodies of three children were never identified, and one child who survived the tornado was never reunited with her family. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed and 1,000 people injured. The tornado was ranked as an F-5 on the Fujita Scale, and it slammed into Woodward without warning at 8:42 pm on April 9, 1947. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado had a maximum width of 1.8 miles, and a forward speed of about 50 mph. The deadliest tornado on record in the tornado-prone state of Oklahoma had a path length of 100 miles. The scene in Woodward, Okla., after a deadly tornado struck in 1947. 6 The Woodward, Okla., Tornado, April 9, 1947 history, there have been far deadlier tornadoes. Here’s a look at the Top Six all-time twisters:
While the tornado that devastated Joplin was the seventh deadliest in U.S. In the wake of Joplin, and other deadly tornadoes that struck during the 2011 season, the National Weather Service is experimenting with issuing tornado warnings that contain enhanced wording in order to help encourage people to act. In part, this was because of the prevalence of false alarms. Instead, they waited until they received additional information confirming the threat. A post-tornado survey report by a National Weather Service team found that most Joplin residents did not take shelter when they heard the tornado sirens. One of the major lessons stemming from Joplin is that more attention needs to be paid to ensuring that tornado warnings encourage people to take protective action.
Given all the advances that have been made, the high death toll in Joplin has prompted many in the meteorological and emergency management communities to rethink how they issue tornado warnings. A tornado warning was in effect for Joplin at the time the storm struck, yet it was not enough to prevent so many deaths. A national network of Doppler radars scans the skies for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and scientists’ understanding of the factors that lead to tornadoes has improved dramatically during the past two decades. The Joplin tornado's death toll was especially shocking to weather forecasters, since during the past two decades billions of dollars have been spent upgrading the nation’s weather warning systems to provide timely tornado watches and warnings. The High School itself was destroyed during the tornado, and students spent the past year taking classes in a temporary facility. Joplin is being rebuilt using state and federal funds, and the morale of the community received a boost when President Obama delivered the commencement address at Joplin High School on Monday evening. Others have estimated losses at closer to $3 billion. Additionlly, the Joplin tornado was also one of the most expensive tornadoes on record, having caused direct insured losses of $1.9 billion, according to Missouri officials. It also ranks as the seventh deadliest in U.S. to result in more than 100 fatalities since a tornado struck Flint, Mich., in 1953. The Joplin tornado was the first single tornado in the U.S. It devastated the city of 50,000, killing 161 and injuring more than 1,000. The twister’s winds were estimated to be more than 200 mph, making the tornado an EF-5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures a tornado’s intensity. The ferocious tornado that tore the city of Joplin, Mo., apart exactly one year ago today stunned the nation with its tragic death toll and staggering damage.
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