Emergency communication system
161 people were killed and at least 990 injured when an EF5 multiple-vortex tornado hit Joplin, Missouri. Because Joplin is located in a tornado-heavy area of the country, many people considered the tornado sirens routine and ignored them. Instead, many residents waited until they received confirmation from another, non-routine, source, such as seeing the tornado, a radio or TV report, or hearing a second siren. In the aftermath, an assessment team recommended that emergency warnings take risk perception into account to convey a sense of urgency. NOAA Officials are considering ways to change the warning system to distinguish smaller tornadoes from more deadly ones.
May 1995 tornado outbreak sequence
This is the tornado outbreak responsible for the Anderson Hills Tornado which killed one person. In southern Middle Tennessee, an F4 tornado in Lawrence County, Tennessee and Giles County, Tennessee struck the town of Ethridge and killed three people. The National Weather Service weather forecast office in Nashville, Tennessee said that May 18, 1995 was the 3rd worst tornado outbreak to hit middle Tennessee. Nearly 80 tornadoes touched down during that day. In addition to the two killer tornadoes, three tornadoes touched down in and around the Bowling Green, Kentucky area destroying numerous structures including inside the city limits. Other tornadoes struck the Knoxville and northeastern Nashville areas. Nearly 30 people were injured in Sumner County, Tennessee northeast of Nashville.