Did anyone die in the Joplin tornado?
Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 was one of the largest tornado outbreaks on record which affected the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States. Most of the tornadoes developed in a corridor from Lake Superior southwest to central Texas; isolated tornadoes occurred in other areas. An especially destructive tornado destroyed one-third of Joplin, Missouri, resulting in 158 deaths and over 1,000 injuries. The Joplin tornado is the deadliest in the U.S. since April 9, 1947, when an intense tornado killed 181 in the Woodward, Oklahoma area. Tornado-related deaths also occurred in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Overall, the tornado outbreak resulted in 184 deaths, 6 of those non-tornadic, making it second only to the 2011 Super Outbreak as the deadliest since 1974, and the second costliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history behind that same April 2011 outbreak, with insured damage estimated at $4–7 billion.
Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896
Other killer tornadoes on that day touched down in Ogle County, Illinois (two different tornadoes) and Macomb & Tuscola Counties in Michigan. Several homes and farms in the Mount Clemens area were wiped out and others were moved from their foundations. The recently completed Colonial Hotel was leveled. Thirty homes were leveled in total, and two people were killed.
The third deadliest tornado in United States history struck St. Louis city and its metropolitan area on both sides of the Mississippi River in Missouri and Illinois on May 27. Preceded by a hurricane that nearly destroyed the city with electrical and water damage, that tornado alone at least killed 255, injuring thousands and destroying 50 million property value. This tornado in addition killed 27 other people elsewhere in Illinois and seven elsewhere in Missouri including three at a school in Audrain County. Twenty-four of the 27 other fatalities were recorded by a single tornado with 13 of them near New Baden. In that town about half of the homes were completely destroyed with damage figures at around $50,000. The towns of Belleville and Mascoutah were also hit. Three people were killed by the other killer tornado that tracked between Nashville and Mount Vernon. Fatalities were also reported the following day in Pennsylvania and New Jersey near Trenton between Philadelphia and New York City.
Joplin, Missouri
St. John's Regional Medical Center was damaged, and demolished in 2012. The Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team temporarily replaced the demolished St. John's Regional Medical Center with a mobile hospital until the permanent hospital was rebuilt. The local high school, Joplin High School, was totally destroyed, as well. A total of 161 people died from tornado-related injuries as of the end of July 2011. Communications were lost and power was knocked out to many areas. An official statement from the National Weather Service has categorized the tornado as an EF5. On Sunday, May 29, President Barack Obama, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate visited and toured Joplin to see what the damage looked like and attended a memorial service for the deceased. Later that day, the city held a moment of silence at 5:41 pm, to mark the time the tornado struck. The area was declared a federal disaster area.
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.
1953 Worcester tornado
However, the Worcester tornado's greatest effect on the nation was its being the principal catalyst for the Storm Prediction Center's reorganization on June 17, 1953, and subsequent implementation of a nationwide radar/storm spotter system. The results proved successful: since June 9, 1953, no single U.S. tornado had killed over 100 people until the Joplin, Missouri tornado of May 22, 2011.
Chip Gubera
In 2011, Gubera's home town of Joplin, Missouri, was destroyed by a massive tornado. He documented the event with a feature documentary called "Joplin, Missouri - A Tornado Story". The film was narrated by Cost to Cost AM radio host George Noory. The film picked up a number of honors including winning Best Feature Documentary at the 2012 St. Louis Filmmaker's Showcase and being nominated for a 2013 Mid-America Emmy.
2011 Joplin tornado
East of Joplin, a Risk Management Plan facility released of anhydrous ammonia; it was contained within two days.
Webster County, Missouri
On April 18, 1880, an intense tornado measuring F4 on the Fujita scale struck Marshfield. Its damage path was wide and long. The tornado killed 99 people and injured 100, and it is said that 10% of Marshfield's residents were killed and all but 15 of its buildings were destroyed. The composition “Marshfield Cyclone” by the African-American musician John W. (Blind) Boone gave wide publicity to the cyclone, which is still listed as one of the top ten natural disasters in the history of the nation.
1908 Dixie tornado outbreak
The 1908 Dixie tornado outbreak was a destructive tornado outbreak that affected portions of the Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Southern United States from April 23–25, 1908. The outbreak produced at least 29 tornadoes in 13 states, with a total of at least 324 tornado-related deaths. Of these deaths, 83% were caused by three tornadoes which have been posthumously rated violent F4s on the modern Fujita scale. These three tornadoes, each of them probably a tornado family, left a cumulative path length of at least and injured at least 1,358 people, yet caused only 84 of their deaths in cities: most of the deaths were in rural areas, often African American, and consequently may have been undercounted. One of the three deadliest tornadoes in the outbreak occurred on the same day, April 24, as that of the other two; reportedly attained a maximum width of at least or larger; and killed a minimum of 143 people along its path, at least 73 (51%) of them in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The 73 deaths made the tornado the third deadliest in Mississippi history, following the 1936 Tupelo F5, with 216 deaths, and the 1840 Natchez tornado (317 deaths).
Tornadoes of 1998
The 1998 tornado season saw record numbers of tornadoes and also the most fatalities since 1974 (surpassed in 2011). A number of tornado events resulted in large loss of life. In February, a series of tornadoes caused 42 fatalities in Florida. In March, a tornado killed 12 in Georgia. In April an F5 tornado killed 32 in the Birmingham, Alabama area (no stranger to killer tornadoes). By year's end, 130 people had been killed in the United States.
June 1974 Great Plains tornado outbreak
The June 1974 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a significant tornado outbreak that affected portions of the southern Great Plains and the Upper Midwest on June 8, 1974. The outbreak produced 36 tornadoes, at least 19 of them significant or intense, and is the second-deadliest June tornado event in Oklahoma history, with 16 deaths reported in the state, second only to the 35 people killed by an F4 tornado on June 12, 1942, in Oklahoma City. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a powerful F4 that struck the town of Drumright in Oklahoma, killing 14 people, 12 of whom were killed at Drumright. Another deadly and destructive F4 tornado struck the town of Emporia in Kansas, killing six more people. The outbreak also produced two F3 tornadoes in the Tulsa metropolitan area that killed two people and, combined with flooding, produced the costliest natural disaster in that city's history up to that time—a disaster worth $30,000,000 (1974 US$). Additionally, the outbreak produced non-tornadic winds in the city which reached () for several minutes. In addition to confirmed tornadoes, a possible tornado occurred at 8:15 p.m. CST south of Cullison in Kansas, producing intermittent damage, but is not officially listed as a tornado.
1975 Omaha tornado outbreak
Three people were killed and 133 reported injured. One of the fatalities was thrown by the tornado from her home to a backyard four or five houses away. Debris was found miles away. Over 4,000 buildings were damaged and 287 were destroyed. In terms of damage, it was the costliest tornado in American history to that date, with damages costing at least $250 million to $300 million (around $1.7 billion in 2015 dollars), and insurance costs estimated at up to $1.1 billion (in 1975). It was the third-costliest tornado, behind the Oklahoma City-area F5 tornado on May 3, 1999, and the Wichita Falls, Texas, tornadoes on April 10, 1979, until the Joplin, Missouri EF5 tornado on May 22, 2011. It is now currently the seventh-costliest tornado on record.
Fred G. Hughes Stadium
The field was used as the first temporary morgue on May 22, 2011 after the 2011 Joplin tornado destroyed much of the community.
Tornadoes of 1997
The 1997 Benton, Arkansas tornado outbreak was a major tornado outbreak that struck portions of the central and southern United States mostly on March 1, 1997, with initial activity on February 28. Affecting areas mostly from Arkansas to Kentucky, the two-day outbreak produced 39 tornadoes and killed at least 27 people including 25 in Arkansas alone with one death in each Mississippi and Tennessee.[2] This was Arkansas' deadliest tornado outbreak since May 15, 1968, where 34 were killed in Jonesboro.[3] Over 400 others were injured during this event which was about 45% of the yearly average of tornado-related injuries in the United States.
2011 Joplin tornado
The catastrophe and risk modeling firm Eqecat, Inc. has estimated the damage at one billion to three billion USD, but noted that the true damage is not yet known, since the firm does not have access to data on uninsured losses. More than 19,000 insurance claims had been filed by mid-June. The impact on the insurance industry is not so much the number of claims, but the cumulative effect of such a large number of total losses. More than 2500 local people employed in insurance have been involved in some capacity. It is assumed that State Farm will assume the largest share of these losses, having market share of 27% for homeowners insurance and 21% for automobile insurance.
Early-May 1965 tornado outbreak sequence
Two tornadoes touched down in Fridley, just over an hour apart. In all, six people were killed in the Fridley tornadoes and over 180 were injured. Over 450 homes were destroyed in Fridley, and neighboring Mounds View also sustained heavy damage. A man who called WCCO radio after the first Fridley tornado claimed on air that he had been in his car when the tornado hit and that the tornado blew out his car windows. Although he is widely believed to have been killed by the second Fridley twister later that night (which did kill a 26-year-old man with a similar name), the caller was actually a teacher at Fridley Junior High School who survived. The tornado also damaged the sign adorning the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights. In all, both Fridley tornadoes damaged 1,100 homes and destroyed about 425; total losses reached $14.5 million, $5 million of which was to the Fridley school system. Photographs for the earlier Deephaven and second Fridley tornado were published in the "Minneapolis Tribune" (now Star Tribune) newspaper. Early radar images showed the supercells as they moved through the area.
Albert Grossman
On October 4, 1970, two-and-a-half months after Grossman was dealt a blow by the dissolution of his contracts with Dylan, his most famous remaining client, Janis Joplin, died suddenly from a heroin overdose. Grossman refused to speak about her death to journalists or colleagues in the music business, leaving his employee Myra Friedman to handle the phone calls that flooded their office. According to Joplin biographer Ellis Amburn, Grossman's "feelings about the loss of his most valuable client are not known." What is known is that in 1974, by which time his only living clients were the members of The Band, he kept busy with Joplin's legacy. The San Francisco Associated Indemnity Corporation challenged him on his collection of $200,000 from his life insurance policy, which led to a bizarre civil trial in the spring of that year, covered by the "New York Post", in which the insurer tried to prove that the singer's death was a suicide, not an accidental overdose as had been determined by Dr. Thomas Noguchi. Grossman testified that he had never known the extent of Joplin's substance abuse when she was alive, and that he secured the accidental death policy "with air crashes in mind." He won the case and collected $112,000. In 1974 he also assisted Howard Alk with the creation of the feature-length documentary "Janis", locating and using black and white film footage in which the singer says she is satisfied with Grossman as her manager.
Tri-State Tornado
The Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925 was the deadliest tornado in United States history. It was also the most exceptional tornado during a major outbreak of at least 12 known significant tornadoes, spanning a large portion of the Midwestern and Southern United States. This one tornado alone inflicted 695 fatalities, more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the Great Natchez, Mississippi Tornado of May 7, 1840. The track left by the tornado was the longest ever recorded in the world as it crossed from southeastern Missouri, through southern Illinois, then into southwestern Indiana. Although not officially rated by NOAA, it is recognized by most experts (such as Tom Grazulis and Ted Fujita) as an F5 tornado, the maximum damage rating issued on the Fujita scale.
Tornadoes of 1998
The 1998 Gainesville–Stoneville tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck portions of the southeastern United States on March 20, 1998. Particularly hard hit was the Gainesville, Georgia region where at least 12 people were killed in an early morning F3 tornado. The entire outbreak killed 14 people and produced 12 tornadoes across three states with the town of Stoneville, North Carolina being also hard hit by the storms.
Hogan's Fountain Pavilion
On April 3, 1974 Louisville experienced unprecedented tornadic activity the likes of which have not been seen since, dubbed "The Super Outbreak". According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an article titled, The Super Outbreak: Outbreak of the Century, the authors reported "massive devastation, 335 dead . . . more than 6000 injured" in the storms. On a local level Tom Wills, Chief Meteorologist for WAVE 3, remembers the tornado, "… we heard reports that Cherokee Park was really devastated. So we sent out this reporter to go and check it out. We hear him back on the two-way radio …" "It's Gone!!" When asked what's gone? The reporter replied "The PARK! IT'S GONE!!!"
Tupelo, Mississippi
The Mississippi State Geologist estimated a final death toll of 233 persons, but 100 whites were still reported as hospitalized at the time. Because the white newspapers did not publish news about blacks until the 1940s and 1950s, historians have had difficulty learning the fates of blacks injured in the tornado. Based on this, historians now estimate the death toll was higher than in official records. Fire broke out at the segregated Lee County Training School, which was destroyed. Its bricks were salvaged for other uses.
Tornado outbreak of November 14–16, 2011
Widespread tornado activity was initially not expected on November 16th. However, a series of supercell thunderstorms developed across the South and produced multiple tornadoes. Tornadoes began touching down across Alabama that afternoon and moved eastward. One long track tornado touched down in Auburn, Alabama and tracked across the Georgia state line into the Hamilton area. This tornado caused EF2 damage in Auburn, Opelika, and Hamilton. A killer tornado later touched down near Rock Hill, South Carolina, and caused severe damage and 3 fatalities. Another destructive EF2 tornado touched down east of Linwood, North Carolina, where numerous homes and businesses were destroyed, 2 people were killed, and numerous people were trapped in destroyed structures and required rescue. A total of 12 tornadoes touched down this day.
Tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2009
The tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2009 was a tornado outbreak that affected large portions of the Southern United States on April 9–11, 2009. At least 5 people were killed by tornadoes including three in Mena, Arkansas and two in Murfreesboro, Tennessee just south of Nashville. A total of 85 tornadoes were confirmed over the two days. Three people were killed in Texas due to wildfires caused by strong winds stemming from the same storm system.
1881 Minnesota tornado outbreak
The 1881 Minnesota tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck southern Minnesota on July 15–16, 1881. At least six tornadoes touched down between 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm CST, killing 24 people and injuring at least 123. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak, an F4 that killed 20 people in and near New Ulm, was likely a tornado family that may have caused F5 damage to rural farmsteads. Six people died in New Ulm, where people from nearby settlements had congregated to avoid Native American attacks.
March 1913 tornado outbreak sequence
March 23, Easter Sunday, was the most violent tornado outbreak to affect the northern Great Plains on so early a date in the year—a record that still stands as of 2012. That day, four F4 tornadoes affected portions of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, killing at least 168 people. The deadliest tornado of the day was a potent F4 tornado that grew to in width as it passed through northern Omaha, Nebraska, killing at least 94 people in the city proper and three in rural areas. Damage in Omaha reached at least F4, possibly even F5, intensity, though confirmation of F5 damage could not be determined from available evidence. The tornado is the 13th deadliest ever to affect the United States and the deadliest to hit the U.S. state of Nebraska as of 2014. No other violent tornado would affect Omaha for another 62 years. Outside the Great Plains, the outbreak of March 23 also produced two other F4 tornadoes, one each in Missouri and Indiana, including a devastating path more than through southern Terre Haute, Indiana, killing 21 people and injuring 250.
1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak
After producing the Tupelo tornado, the storm system moved through Alabama overnight and reached Gainesville, Georgia, at around 8:30 a.m. This early morning tornado was a double tornado event: one tornado moved in from the Atlanta highway, while the other moved in from the Dawsonville highway. The two merged on Grove Street and destroyed everything in sight throughout the downtown area, causing wreckage to pile high in some places. The worst tornado-caused death toll in a single building in U.S. history was at the Cooper Pants Factory. The multiple-story building was then filled with young workers, who had just arrived to work. The structure collapsed and caught fire, killing about 70 people. At the Pacolet Mill, 550 workers moved to the northeast side of the building and survived. Many people sought refuge in Newman's department store; its collapse killed 20 persons. In addition to the complete destruction that occurred throughout downtown Gainesville, residential areas throughout the city were devastated as well, where 750 homes were destroyed, and 254 others were badly damaged.
2011 Joplin tornado
According to the local branch of the American Red Cross, about 25% of Joplin was destroyed, but the city's emergency manager stated that the number was between 10 and 20%, with roughly 2,000 buildings destroyed. According to the National Weather Service, emergency managers reported damage to 75% of Joplin. In total, nearly 7,000 houses were destroyed (most of which were flattened or blown away) and over 850 others were damaged. Communications were lost in the community and power was knocked out to many areas. With communications down, temporary cell towers had to be constructed. By May 24, three towers owned by AT&T and Sprint had been restored.
Jay Nixon
Nixon drew praise for his handling of natural disasters, including the state's response to the EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011. The Associated Press in 2011 called him "a ubiquitous commander of disasters."
Joplin, Missouri
Each June, Joplin hosts the Boomtown Run, a half marathon, 5K, and children's run. The event attracts runners from across the country, and features USTA certified courses which start and end in the historic downtown area. Celebrity runners featured at the prerace banquet have included Bart Yasso, Sarah Reinerston, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, and Jeff Galloway. In 2011, due to the devastating EF5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, just three weeks before the run, the event was transformed in the Boomtown Run Day of Service. About 270 individuals registered for the race after the tornado struck, knowing their proceeds would benefit tornado recovery. On June 11, about 270 registered runners and volunteers turned out to help clean debris and sort donations, contributing more than 1,200 hours of service. On August 7, 2012, the Village of Silver Creek and the City of Joplin voted to have Silver Creek annexed into Joplin City limits.
Harrisburg, Illinois
Spawned by a weather system that had originated in Kansas, an EF-4 tornado slammed into Harrisburg early on the morning of February 29, 2012. The tornado touched down just north of Carrier Mills at 4:51 a.m., destroyed a church and damaged houses along Town Park Road, and then traveled ENE through the Harrisburg Coal Field just north of Ledford, and then went through Liberty, where it damaged Harrisburg Middle School. The tornado then reached the south-western edge of the city at 4:56 a.m., specifically Dorrisville, which suffered significant property damage, and then churned eastward to Gaskins City which was nearly leveled; 7 people were confirmed dead in that area, most killed in an apartment complex that was crushed by another residence, and 110 were injured overall. On June 3, another victim died in the hospital from their injuries, raising the death toll to 8. Harrisburg Medical Center was also significantly damaged in Gaskins City. Peak winds were estimated to have been about 180 mph, and the width of the tornado path was 275 yards, traveling 26.5 miles. In Harrisburg, more than 200 houses, and about 25 businesses were destroyed or damaged heavily. At least 10 houses and other buildings were leveled completely, and several structures were displaced from their foundations. Early estimates indicated nearly 40% of the city was damaged or destroyed. The following night, a mandatory curfew was enforced in the effected areas, from 6 p.m. through 6 a.m. Counting the damage and death toll, it was reported to be the worst storm since the Joplin, Missouri tornado. Harrisburg Unit 3 schools were closed until March 5, 2012, and later they offered trauma counseling to students after reopening.
1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak
Another tornado formed near the St. Joseph County–Elkhart County border. It tracked east-northeasterly, striking Wakarusa, Indiana, where it killed a child. The tornado moved toward Dunlap, and the Midway trailer park. "Elkhart Truth" reporter Paul Huffman captured a series of photographs as the twin-funneled, F4 tornado obliterated the trailer park, just south of Dunlap. This initial tornado killed 14 people. One half-hour later, a second F4 tornado directly struck Dunlap to the north and devastated the Sunnyside Housing addition and the unoccupied Sunnyside Mennonite Church. The death toll from the Sunnyside Housing Addition was 28 people, with another six killed at a truck stop at the intersection of Highways 15 and 20. The Palm Sunday Tornado Memorial Park now exists near this location, at the corner of County Road 45 and Cole Street in Dunlap. Most of the 36 people killed in the tornado had no warning because the high winds from the first tornado had knocked out telephone and power grids. For the first time in the U.S. Weather Bureau's history, all nine counties in the northern Indiana office's jurisdiction were under a tornado warning. This is called a "blanket tornado warning." Both tornadoes were officially rated as F4 according to the National Weather Service records. However, both the Midway and Dunlap tornadoes were previously rated F5.
Joplin High School
On May 22, 2011, a tornado that killed 161 people in Joplin extensively damaged the high school and Franklin Tech. The high school's graduation ceremonies had just taken place about three miles away on the Missouri Southern State University campus shortly before the tornado struck.
According to principal Kerry Sachetta, "You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like. I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw." In the weeks after the tornado, it was determined that the campus was irreparable and would need to be completely rebuilt. 
Planning for a temporary school began four days after the May 22 tornado. School officials announced in June 2011 that juniors and seniors in the 2011-12 class (and possibly later) would attend classes in a section of Northpark Mall. Classes began in the renovated former Shopko location as scheduled on August 17, 2011.
Tornado records
Similar to fatalities, damage (and observations) of a tornado are a coincidence of what character of tornado interacts with certain characteristics of built up areas. That is, destructive tornadoes are in a sense "accidents" of a large tornado striking a large population. In addition to population and changes thereof, comparing damage historically is subject to changes in wealth and inflation. The 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado on May 27, incurred the most damages adjusted for wealth and inflation, at an estimated $2.9 billion (1997 USD). In raw numbers, the Joplin tornado of May 22, 2011 is considered the costliest tornado in recent history, with damage totals near $2.8 billion (2011 USD). Until 2011, the "Bridge Creek-Moore tornado" of May 3, 1999 was the most damaging.
2013 Moore tornado
On the morning of May 21, the medical examiner's office incorrectly stated that 91 bodies of tornado victims had been received. This number was up from the earlier report of 51 bodies that were incorrectly stated as having been received. Upon the office's discovery that some victims were mistakenly counted twice due to communication errors made by Moore rescue response units that the bodies were admitted to area funeral homes (nearly all of the deceased were actually transported to the examiner's office in Oklahoma City), the actual number was revised downward and later confirmed at 24 tornado victims and two indirect victims. The first two deaths occurred in a house east of Briarwood Elementary School; one occurred near Santa Fe Avenue; seven occurred following a wall collapse at Plaza Towers Elementary; nine occurred within the neighborhoods mainly south of Plaza Towers Elementary; one occurred just east of Interstate 35; and one occurred in a home between Eastern Avenue and Bryant Avenue. A 90-year-old woman who suffered a fractured skull during the tornado later suffered a pair of strokes and died on August 5. On May 6, 2018, nearly five years after the tornado, a 14-year-old survivor who suffered posttraumatic stress disorder after losing seven of his friends at Plaza Towers Elementary School committed suicide. The 2013 Moore tornado was the deadliest tornado recorded in the U.S. since the Joplin, Missouri tornado that killed 158 people in May 2011.
Mercy Hospital Joplin
Mere hours after one of the deadliest recorded tornadoes in U.S. history hit Joplin, the Missouri Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) started working to create a plan to help the survivors. The following Wednesday, DMAT deployed their 8,000 square foot field hospital to temporarily replace the destroyed hospital. Six days after the tornado, on May 29, 2011 St. John's medical staff gave medical treatment to their community in the BLU-MED field hospital. This temporary hospital is now the home of the Kansas City University-Joplin School of Osteopathic Medicine.
2011 Joplin tornado
Due to the severe damage caused by the tornado, the travelling Piccadilly Circus was unable to perform as scheduled. As a result, the circus employees brought their two adult elephants to help drag damaged automobiles and other heavy debris out of the roadway to make a path for first responders.
2011 Joplin tornado
As of May 2013, the official death toll from National Weather Service was listed at 158 while the City of Joplin listed the death toll at 161 (158 direct). The list was up to 162, until one man's injuries were found to be unrelated to the event. In one indirect fatality, a policeman was struck by lightning and killed while assisting with recovery and cleanup efforts the day after the storm. Shortly after the tornado, authorities had listed 1,300 people as missing, but the number quickly dwindled as they were accounted for. Many people were reported to have been trapped in destroyed houses. Seventeen people were rescued from the rubble the day after the tornado struck.
The Missouri Emergency Management Agency reported more than 990 injured. Of 146 sets of remains recovered from the rubble, 134 victims had been positively identified by June 1. Due to the horrific injuries suffered by some victims, some different sets of remains were from a single person. On June 2 it was announced that four more victims had died.
List of tornado-related deaths at schools
More tornadoes with deaths in schools have occurred in the Southeastern United States—23 events or over half the national total—than any other region. Four of the top ten death toll events occurred in the Southeast. Relatively few school fatality tornado events have occurred in the area with the highest frequency of strong tornadoes, the Great Plains (Tornado Alley); only a single event occurred after warnings began being issued. This is probably chiefly due to three reasons: the low population density, greater tornado awareness (and better visibility affording more warning), and the time of year and of day that most tornadoes strike the Great Plains.
The state with the most tornado deaths throughout history is Illinois, with 90. The largest school death toll from a tornado was 69 during the Tri-State Tornado, which also struck Illinois and significantly raised that state's death toll. The greatest death toll at a single school also occurred during the Tri-State tornado, when it killed 33 at a school in De Soto, also in Illinois. This tornado also injured hundreds more at schools, and killed many students returning home from schools. Additionally, three of the top ten events by death toll, and four if separate schools of the same tornado are counted (33 in De Soto and 25 in Murphysboro again from the Tri-State Tornado), have occurred in Illinois.
2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado
In total, this tornado killed 72 people, all in Alabama. This made it the deadliest single tornado ever to strike the state of Alabama as well as (at the time) the deadliest in the United States since the 1955 Udall, Kansas tornado that killed 80 people. This death toll would go on to be exceeded by the Joplin EF5 tornado less than a month later. Damage from the tornado amounted to $1.29 billion, making this one of the costliest tornadoes in U.S. history. This tornado also had the longest track of any tornado in the outbreak, with its path extending across Northern Alabama and into Tennessee.
Tornadoes of 2004
Vigorous tornado activity continued on the 24th, mainly across Mississippi and Alabama. However, an F2 tornado tore though the northwest side of Slidell, Louisiana, damaging 152 homes in a single subdivision and injuring 4 people. Numerous tornadoes touched down in Mississippi, with the strongest being an F3 that passed near Noxapater. The Noxapater tornado downed hundreds of trees, tossed vehicles, and destroyed chicken houses. A house was completely destroyed, resulting in a fatality and two injuries. In Alabama, a large F2 tracked across Autauga, Chilton, and Coosa counties. The tornado struck the Cooper community, resulting in major structural damage. Another F2 touched down and struck the Talladega Superspeedway, where two concession stands within the infield area of the race track had their roofs blown off. The Bush Garage area received building damage and the garage doors were bowed out. Debris was scattered between the garage area and Victory Lane. One digital leader board was completely destroyed and another one sustained major damage. The Talladega tornado continued east through Eastaboga and Bynum. In Eastaboga, two homes suffered major roof damage, two porches were destroyed and many trees were blown down. In Bynum, two mobile homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees. One of the trees smashed a mobile home, killing a 75-year-old woman. The tornado caused roof and structural damage in southern Anniston before dissipating. No tornadoes occurred on the 25th. Overall, the outbreak produced 104 tornadoes and killed four people.
2011 Joplin tornado
In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers published a study disputing the tornado's initial EF5 rating, based on surveying damage on over 150 structures within a six mile segment of the storm's path. According to the report, over 83 percent of the damage was caused by wind speeds of 135 miles per hour or less, the maximum wind speed of an EF2 tornado. An additional 13 percent was caused by EF3 wind speeds, and 3 percent was consistent with EF4 winds. The study found no damage consistent with wind speeds over 200 miles per hour, the minimum threshold of an EF5 tornado. Researchers concluded that the inability to find EF5 damage was due to the absence of construction standards that were able to determine the necessary wind speeds. Bill Colbourne, a member of the engineering team that surveyed the damage, declared that "a relatively large number of buildings could have survived in Joplin if they had been built to sustain hurricane winds."
Never Shout Never
The band's hometown, Joplin, Missouri, was heavily damaged by a tornado on May 22, 2011. Following the destruction, Ingle began a relief fund with United Way to raise $1.2 million for his hometown. To raise awareness about the devastation of Joplin, Ingle took video footage of the destruction and posted it on YouTube on June 1, 2011. The video, which features the song "Time Travel", encouraged viewers to donate to the relief of the town via his United Way fund. The official music video for "Time Travel" was directed by Joey Boukadakis.
Hurricane Hilda
The majority of deaths associated with Hilda in Louisiana were a result of tornadoes spawned by the hurricane in its outer peripheral rainbands and squall lines, which began tracking across the region on October 3. Eight tornadoes occurred in Louisiana due to the hurricane, of which two were waterspouts. Despite tracking for only near Larose, Louisiana, a tornado killed 22 people and injured 165 others, destroying 35 homes in the process. Automobiles in the path of the twister were also damaged. Debris picked up by the tornado was found away in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. No other tornado in the state resulted in deaths, though multiple twisters in the New Orleans metropolitan area caused extensive damage to several automobiles and buildings and injured five. The same tornadoes also knocked down power lines, knocking out power in localized areas. KLEB was knocked off the air as a result of these outages.
Tornadoes of 1969
An outbreak of at least three tornadoes impacted Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. A devastating F4 tornado traveled through Mississippi, killing 32 people and injuring 241. The worst damage was in Hazelhurst where 11 people died, 140 were injured, and 175 homes were damaged or destroyed. The community of Sardis was also destroyed, with 8 people killed. One school bus was carried and rolled a quarter mile while another was overturned, injuring 14 students The tornado killed another 2 people south of Harrisville, and 10 people in 4 farm homes. In Rankin County the tornado leveled homes and tossed pickup trucks, but did not cause any deaths. An F2 tornado west of Dover, Tennessee destroyed 5 homes and 10 tobacco barns, injuring 3 people. An F1 tornado also touched down in Caldwell County, Kentucky.
Janis Joplin
Peggy Caserta and Seth Morgan had both failed to meet Joplin the Friday immediately prior to her death, October 2, and Joplin had been expecting both of them to keep her company that night. According to Caserta, Joplin was saddened that neither of her friends visited her at the Landmark as they had promised. During the 24 hours Joplin lived after this disappointment, Caserta did not phone her to explain why she had failed to show up. Caserta admitted to waiting until late Saturday night to dial the Landmark switchboard, only to learn that Joplin had instructed the desk clerk not to accept any incoming phone calls for her after midnight. Morgan did speak to Joplin via telephone within 24 hours of her death, but it is not known whether he admitted to her that he had broken his promise.
Erica Tremblay
In 2012, she released "Heartland: A Portrait of Survival." The film documents the effects of the 2011 Joplin tornado which destroyed a quarter of the city and caused about $2.8 billion worth of damage. Tremblay, who was living in Los Angeles at the time but had previously lived in Joplin, had relatives still living in her hometown. She traveled to the town with a film crew and documented the aftermath for a four-week period. The film, which features several stories like the Joplin Found Photos project, was shown at the Omaha Film Festival, and at St. Louis International Film Festival.
Tornadoes in the United States
Nebraska is fifth overall for sheer numbers of tornadoes, while Indiana has had 88 violent tornado reports from the 1950–2006 period, more than any state except Oklahoma. Iowa reported 3,900 almost as many as Texas. The deadliest tornado in US history, the Tri-State Tornado, struck Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in March 1925. St. Louis, Missouri and neighboring East St. Louis, Illinois have been hit more than once by violent tornadoes, the most notorious of which was the St. Louis Tornado of May 1896. The New Richmond Tornado of May 1899 and the Flint, Michigan tornado of June 1953 also rank amongst the deadliest tornadoes in US history. The region was badly hit by the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak in April 1965 and by the Super Outbreak of April 1974. According to NCDC figures for the 1950 to 2006 period, Nebraska reported 2,440 tornadoes followed by Iowa (2,185), Illinois (2,086), Missouri (1,922), South Dakota (1,487), Minnesota (1,477), Indiana (1,327), North Dakota (1,216), Wisconsin (1,185), Michigan (981), and Ohio (916).
Waffle House Index
The term was coined by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in May 2011, following the 2011 Joplin tornado, during which the two Waffle House restaurants in Joplin remained open.
1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak
36 people died in this tornado, and over 8,000 homes were badly damaged or destroyed. The tornado caused $1 billion in damage, making it the second-costliest tornado in U.S. history, and the most costly in history from 1999 to 2011, at which point it was surpassed by the 2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado and again by the 2011 Joplin tornado. It was also the deadliest tornado to hit the U.S. since the April 10, 1979 F4 tornado that hit Wichita Falls, Texas, which killed 42 people.
Missouri Southern State University
The school is about 30 blocks northeast of the worst of the devastation of the 2011 Joplin tornado which destroyed much of southern Joplin on May 22, 2011—one day after the school's graduation. Joplin High School had just completed its school graduation on the campus shortly before the tornado. The Leggett and Platt Athletic Center was used as an emergency shelter for victims. Billingsly Student Center was the headquarters for volunteer efforts run by Americorps St. Louis and was the coordination area for identifying victims and survivors. On May 29, 2011, Barack Obama, who was inspecting the damage, spoke at the Taylor Performing Arts Center.
Tornado outbreak of April 27–28, 2002
3 tornadoes were reported later in the day in Missouri. An F2 tornado produced damage in Willow Springs, Missouri, and a large F3 tornado struck the Marble Hill, Missouri area in Bollinger County, Missouri shortly before midnight. This storm caused the first fatality of the outbreak, and produced $4 million in property damage.
1998 Gainesville–Stoneville tornado outbreak
The immediate Gainesville area is no stranger to deadly tornadoes. It was the site of the fifth deadliest tornado in United States history on April 6, 1936, during the Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak, where two tornadoes merged into a very large F4 killing 203 including 70 at the Coopers Plant Factory. The tornado occurred only 12 hours after an F5 struck Tupelo, Mississippi, killing at least 216 (with others being unaccounted for), making it the fourth deadliest tornado on record including storms before 1950. Another tornado hit Gainesville in 1903 killing at least 100.
Joplin, Missouri
On May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado touched down near the western edge of the city among large, newer homes, about 5:21 pm CDT (22:34 UTC) and tracked eastward across the city and across Interstate 44 into rural portions of Lawrence County. Its track was reported to have been about in width and long. About 2,400 houses, 1,000 cars, and businesses were flattened or blown away in Joplin, particularly in the section between 13th and 32nd Streets across the southern part of the city. The tornado narrowly missed the downtown area.
Tornado preparedness
There were no building codes requiring tornado shelters nor specifically designed to prevent tornado damage until the 2011 Joplin tornado prompted a local ordinance requiring hurricane ties or similar fasteners. The state of Oklahoma adopted the minimum U.S. standard that year for the first time, but did not add high-wind protections like those in Florida designed to protect against hurricanes. Other states in Tornado Alley have no statewide building codes. The chance of any given location in Tornado Alley getting hit by an F-2 tornado (strong enough to do major structural damage and exceeding the 90 mph guideline for straightline winds) is about 1 every 4,000-5,000 years; in other areas the annual probability is one in several million. The most stringent building codes only require earthquake strengthening for a 1 in every 500-1,000 year probability.
Mathieu Asselin
In 2011 Asselin photographed Occupy Wall Street protestors in Zuccotti Park, using a small open-air studio. The same year he made portraits of people who had lived through the 2011 Joplin tornado in Joplin, Missouri.
2011 Joplin tornado
The tornado then continued on an east to east-southeast trajectory towards Interstate 44 where it weakened; nonetheless, vehicles were blown off the highway and mangled near the U.S. Route 71 (Exit 11) interchange. The damage at and around the interchange was rated EF2 to EF3. The weakening tornado continued to track into the rural areas of southeastern Jasper County and northeastern Newton County where damage was generally minor to moderate, with trees, mobile homes, outbuildings, and frame homes damaged mainly at EF0 to EF1 strength. The tornado lifted east of Diamond at 6:12 pm CDT (23:12 UTC) according to aerial surveys. The tornado's total track length was at least long. Overall, 6,954 homes were destroyed, 359 homes had major damage and 516 had minor damage, 158 people were killed, and 1,150 others were injured along the path. A separate EF2 tornado touched down near Wentworth from the same supercell about east-southeast of Joplin.
1932 Deep South tornado outbreak
Outside Alabama, six people were killed near Pulaski, Tennessee, in Giles County (just north of the Alabama state line). 13 people in the state died from this and six other strong tornadoes. In Georgia, a large tornado near the Tennessee-Georgia state line left a mile-wide damage path, and killed 15 people from Beaverdale (Whitfield County) to Conasauga (Polk County). Two other tornadoes in Georgia killed a combined 16 people and were on the ground almost simultaneously. On March 22, tornadoes continued after midnight EST (11:00 p.m. CST/0400 UTC) as four more strong tornadoes struck Georgia and South Carolina until 3:00 a.m. EST (2:00 a.m. CST/0700 UTC). One of them passed near the University of Georgia in Athens and killed 12 people.
At least 25 cities and communities in Alabama reported one fatality or more during the day, including Demopolis, Union Grove, Linden, Plantersville, Sycamore, Northport, Huntsville, Marion, Stanton, Scottsboro, Paint Rock, Columbiana, Faunsdale, Bethel Church, Jemison, Falkville, Sylacauga, Bridgeport, Lineville, Gantts Quarry, Cullman, and Corinth. Eleven counties were particularly hard hit, with 7,000 homes and businesses destroyed statewide. Seven tornadoes each caused at least 100 injuries in Alabama and Tennessee, with a total of 1,750 injuries in Alabama alone. Seventy-eight percent, or 262, of all 334 fatalities in the outbreak were caused by F4 tornadoes; of these fatalities, 91% were in Alabama alone. In all, the 36 recorded tornadoes caused at least $4.34 million (1932 USD) in damages for the entire outbreak.
The March 21 outbreak is also nicknamed the "Super Outbreak" by the National Weather Service office in Birmingham. While Alabama was the hardest-hit state with 86 fatalities, 75 of which were tornado-related, during the 1974 event, there were nearly three times as many fatalities in the state on March 21, 1932. Also, many tornadoes in rural areas this day likely caused more injuries and probably higher fatalities than reported, as newspapers paid little attention to the deaths of Black sharecroppers, whose families and identities were often unknown. Such a racial aspect was common during natural disasters in the South before desegregation in the late 20th century. The 1932 outbreak was also known for its violence: it set a 24-hour record for violent touchdowns in a single state until the 1974 Super Outbreak produced 11 F4 or F5 tornadoes in Kentucky.
Tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998
The April 6–9, 1998 tornado outbreak was a large tornado outbreak that started on April 6 across the Great Plains and ended on April 9 across the Carolinas and Georgia. A total of 62 tornadoes touched down from the Middle Atlantic States to the Midwestern United States and Texas. The outbreak is infamous for producing a deadly F5 that tore through the suburbs of Birmingham, killing 32 people. The Birmingham tornado was one of only two F5 tornadoes that year. The other hit in Lawrence County, Tennessee, on April 16, as part of the same outbreak as the 1998 Nashville tornadoes. This tornado outbreak was responsible for 41 deaths: 7 in Georgia and 34 in Alabama.
2011 Joplin tornado
Officials said they rescued 944 pets and reunited 292 with owners.
Tupelo, Mississippi
The spring of 1936 brought Tupelo one of its worst-ever natural disasters, part of the Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak of April 5–6 in that year. The storm leveled 48 city blocks and over 200 homes, killing 216 people and injuring more than 700 persons. It struck at night, destroying large residential areas on the city's north side. Among the survivors was Elvis Presley, then a baby. Obliterating the Gum Pond neighborhood, the tornado dropped most of the victims' bodies in the pond. The storm has since been rated F5 on the modern Fujita scale. The Tupelo Tornado is recognized as one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
Tornadoes of 2012
A significant and deadly tornado outbreak began in the Great Plains on February 28, as supercell thunderstorms developed and multiple tornadoes touched down across the region. An EF2 tornado struck the small town of Harveyville, Kansas during the late evening hours, killing one person and injuring 12 others. The town's only church was completely destroyed, several homes received moderate to severe damage, and every building in the small community received a form of damage. As the storms moved into Missouri later that night and into the early morning hours of February 29, numerous strong tornadoes touched down. An EF2 devastated a mobile home park and killed one person near Buffalo, while an EF3 caused another fatality and destroyed homes near Asherville. By 3:00 am CST on February 29, Branson, Missouri was reporting injuries and severe damage to the town from an EF2 tornado, with homes destroyed and several hotels, businesses, and theaters sustaining severe damage. Three other deaths occurred in southern Missouri.
Tornadoes of 1998
The Late-May 1998 Tornado Outbreak and Derecho was a historic tornado outbreak and derecho that began on the afternoon of May 30 extending throughout May 31, 1998, across a large portion of the northern half of the United States and southern Ontario from southeastern Montana east and southeastward to the Atlantic Ocean. The initial tornado outbreak, including the devastating Spencer tornado, hit southeast South Dakota on the evening of the May 30. The Spencer tornado was the most destructive and second deadliest tornado in South Dakota history. Thirteen people were killed; seven by tornadoes and six by the derecho, and damage was estimated to be at least $500 million. Over two million people lost electrical power, some for up to 10 days.
2014 Philippine Basketball Marathon
Similarly, the Missouri match was a fundraiser for the recovery process following the aftermath of the 2011 Joplin tornado. More than $100,000 was raised which was distributed by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.
Tornadoes of 2011
Another severe weather event developed on February 27 and continued into February 28 across the Midwest and South. While a large portion of the damage was due to damaging straight-line winds, at least 35 tornadoes were reported across several states. The most destructive tornado was in Franklin County, Tennessee on the afternoon of February 28 where one person was killed by an EF2 tornado. It was the first killer tornado of 2011. Another strong tornado, rated EF3, resulted in houses destroyed near Eminence, Kentucky. Concentrated tornado activity also occurred in parts of Missouri and Illinois with 22 tornadoes in the region, some as strong as EF2, related to a series of squall lines with many embedded tornadoes. None of those tornadoes resulted in any fatalities. Overall damages from this system amounted to $12,800,000.
Tornado outbreak sequence of May 7–15, 2008
The deadliest tornado and most notable tornado of the outbreak took place from a single supercell that tracked through Ottawa County, Oklahoma, Newton County, Missouri, and Barry County, Missouri, in the late afternoon of May 10. Twenty-one people were killed in the tornado – fatalities took place in Picher, Oklahoma (where six people were killed), and Newton and Barry counties in Missouri (where 15 people were killed). One other person was killed in Jasper County, Missouri from an EF1 tornado. Eight of the victims died inside their cars, troubling experts who say the inside of a vehicle is one of the worst places to be during a tornado. This was the second deadliest tornado of the year behind the EF3 tornado that affected areas northeast of Nashville, Tennessee, on February 5, 2008 and killed 22.
Tornadoes of 1977
Violent F5 tornado struck the Smithfield area in northern Birmingham, Alabama, sweeping away many homes and killing 22 people. Outbreak extended from Mississippi to North Carolina, with several strong tornadoes documented. The storm system also caused the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, which happened on the same day, in the same area. Not only an F5 tornado occurred, but an F3 tornado struck the Lindale, Georgia area, where 12 trailers were completely swept away off their foundations killing 1 person. Many people don't know that Ted Fujita flew over the damage and toyed with rating the tornado an F6.
2011 Joplin tornado
The now heavily rain-wrapped tornado continued at EF5 intensity as it crossed Range Line Road. In that corridor between about 13th and 32nd Streets, the tornado continued producing catastrophic damage as it was at its widest at this point, being nearly wide. As the tornado hit the Pizza Hut at 1901 South Range Line Road, store manager Christopher Lucas herded four employees and 15 customers into a walk-in freezer. With difficulty closing the door, he wrapped a bungee cable holding the door shut around his arm until he was sucked out and killed by the tornado. The tornado completely destroyed Walmart Supercenter No. 59, a Home Depot, and numerous other businesses and restaurants in this area, many of which were flattened. Numerous metal roof trusses were torn from the Home Depot building and were found broken and mangled in nearby fields. Cars that originated at the Home Depot parking lot were found hundreds of yards away. Asphalt was scoured from parking lots at Walmart and a nearby pizza restaurant, and large tractor-trailers were thrown up to 200 yards away. An Academy Sports + Outdoors store along Range Line sustained major structural damage, and a chair was found impaled legs-first through an exterior stucco wall at that location. A nearby three-story apartment complex was also devastated, and two cell phone towers were found collapsed onto the remains of the apartments. Numerous cars were thrown and piled on top of each other, 100-pound manhole covers were removed from roads and thrown, ground scouring occurred, and a Pepsi distribution plant was completely leveled in this area as well. Additional calculations of the manhole covers in Joplin by Parka Sarkar revealed that winds had to have exceeded 200 mph for the manhole covers to be removed. Many fatalities occurred in this area, and damage was rated as EF5.
Extreme damage continued in the area of Duquesne Road in southeast Joplin. Many houses and industrial and commercial buildings were flattened in this area as well. The industrial park near the corner of 20th and Duquesne was especially hard hit with nearly every building flattened. Several large metal warehouse structures were swept cleanly from their foundations, and several heavy industrial vehicles were thrown up to 400 yards away in this area. One of the many warehouses affected was a Cummins warehouse, a concrete block and steel building which was destroyed. The last area of EF5 damage occurred in the industrial park, and a nearby Fastrip gas station and convenience store was completely destroyed. Many homes were destroyed further to the east at EF3 to EF4 strength in a nearby subdivision, and East Middle School sustained major damage.
Tri-State Tornado
The tornado was first sighted as a highly visible and relatively small condensation funnel in the rugged forested hills of Moore Township, Shannon County, Missouri at about 1:00 p.m. The first fatality occurred around 1:01 p.m., north-northwest of Ellington by which time the tornado had grown large. Several homes and other structures were destroyed north of town. The tornado sped to the northeast, causing $500,000 worth of property damage and the near annihilation of Annapolis, where much of the town was leveled, and two people were killed. The tornado then struck the mining town of Leadanna, where mining machinery and several structures were destroyed, and two other people were killed. In Bollinger County, 32 children were injured when two schools were damaged and multiple homes were completely destroyed. Deep ground scouring was observed near the town of Sedgewickville as well. The tornado carried sheets of iron as far as away. Crossing into Perry County, the tornado reportedly displayed a double funnel as it struck the town of Biehle, destroying many homes in and around the town, and killing four people. Numerous other homes were completely leveled near Frohna as well. The town of Cornwall was also hit by the tornado. At least 11 people (possibly more) died altogether in Missouri.
April 1977 Birmingham tornado
In addition to this tornado, several other tornadoes were reported from the same system in the Midwest, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina. One tornado in Floyd County, Georgia, killed one person, and another fatality was reported east of Birmingham in St. Clair County. The severe weather that day also contributed to the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, which crashed near New Hope, Georgia, killing 70 people.
2011 Joplin tornado
Six people were killed when St. John's was struck by the tornado. Five of those deaths were patients on ventilators who died after the building lost power and a backup generator did not work. The sixth fatality was a hospital visitor.
Tornado outbreak of April 20, 2004
The only killer tornado of the outbreak touched down in Putnam County, Illinois north of Florid before moving east and striking Granville. Witnesses reported a multiple-vortex tornado just prior to its arrival in Granville. The town was bisected by the half-mile-wide tornado with 12 buildings destroyed, 45 with major damage, and 26 with minor damage (mainly residential). The Granville State National Bank lost its roof, and Hopkins Elementary School lost the roof over the old gymnasium with damage in nearly all the classrooms. Significant damage also occurred to Granville Drugs, the only drug store in town. In a strange twist of irony, the town had finally recovered from a major fire 4 years earlier that decimated much of the business district. In Granville, 5 people were injured by the tornado, including an elderly woman who suffered a heart attack during the tornado and was eventually evacuated via Life Flight to a Peoria hospital. Injuries were low due to the 32 minutes of lead time before the tornado struck Granville. Damage in Granville was estimated to be at least $8 million, with the school suffering at least $3.5 million in damage. Damage in town was rated high-end F2.
Mercy (healthcare organization)
On May 22, 2011, one of Mercy's larger hospitals, St. John's Regional Medical Center (now rebuilt and called Mercy Hospital Joplin) was seriously damaged by a tornado from the May 2011 tornado outbreak. At least four people were killed inside the hospital and its grounds, and surviving patients were evacuated from the health facility, which sustained major structural damage. One of the hospital's towers took a direct hit by the storm and was rotated four inches on its foundation.
Tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998
The tornado was at the time the seventh deadliest in Alabama history, killing one more person than in a tornado that hit Alabama on March 21, 1932; a young boy died nine days after this event from head injuries. His father was paralyzed from the waist down, and his mother suffered severe injuries. Another mother and her two children, despite taking shelter in their underground basement, were killed when hundreds of pounds of debris was blown onto them. Overall, 32 people were killed by the tornado and hundreds more were injured.
November 2004 tornado outbreak
Vigorous tornado activity continued on the 24th, mainly across Mississippi and Alabama. However, an F2 tornado tore though the northwest side of Slidell, Louisiana, damaging 152 homes in a single subdivision and injuring 4 people. Numerous tornadoes touched down in Mississippi, with the strongest being an F3 that passed near Noxapater. The Noxapater tornado downed hundreds of trees, tossed vehicles, and destroyed chicken houses. A house was completely destroyed, resulting in a fatality and two injuries. In Alabama, a large F2 tracked across Autauga, Chilton, and Coosa counties. The tornado struck the Cooper community, resulting in major structural damage. Another F2 touched down and struck the Talladega Superspeedway, where two concession stands within the infield area of the race track had their roofs blown off. The Bush Garage area received building damage and the garage doors were bowed out. Debris was scattered between the garage area and Victory Lane. One digital leader board was completely destroyed and another one sustained major damage. The Talladega tornado continued east through Eastaboga and Bynum. In Eastaboga, two homes suffered major roof damage, two porches were destroyed and many trees were blown down. In Bynum, two mobile homes were heavily damaged by fallen trees. One of the trees smashed a mobile home, killing a 75-year-old woman. The tornado caused roof and structural damage in southern Anniston before dissipating. No tornadoes occurred on the 25th. Overall, the outbreak produced 98 tornadoes and killed four people.
Late-May 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho
The Late-May 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho was a historic tornado outbreak and derecho that began on the afternoon of May 30 and extended throughout May 31, 1998, across a large portion of the northern half of the United States and southern Ontario from southeastern Montana east and southeastward to the Atlantic Ocean. The initial tornado outbreak, including the devastating Spencer tornado, hit southeast South Dakota on the evening of May 30. The Spencer tornado was the most destructive and the second-deadliest tornado in South Dakota history. Eleven people were killed; 7 by tornadoes and 6 by the derecho. Over two million people lost electrical power, some for up to 10 days.
2011 Joplin tornado
President Barack Obama toured the community on May 29, flying into Joplin Regional Airport and speaking at a memorial at the Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State University about two miles (3 km) north of the worst of the devastation. Obama had been on a state visit to Europe at the time of the storm. Members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church were also scheduled to protest the same day in Joplin, but they did not show up. There was a massive counter protest that was organized in response to the Westboro protest, in which thousands of protesters showed up holding signs saying, "God Loves Joplin" and "We Support You Joplin."
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa"), as defined by the Köppen climate classification system, with cool, dry winters and hot, humid summers; the severe weather season from April through June is the wettest time of year. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. On average, 51 days of + highs, 3.5 days of + highs, 14 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 1.9 nights of sub- occur per year. It has an average annual precipitation of , including an average of snow. Extremes in temperature range from on February 13, 1905 up to on July 14, 1954; the last or below and the last + reading occurred on February 3 and August 2, 2011, respectively. The city is located in Tornado Alley. Several storms have hit the city, including an F3 tornado in 1971, a tornado in 1973, an EF1 tornado on May 8, 2009, a blizzard on February 1, 2011, and an EF5 tornado on May 22, 2011.
Tornadoes of 1982
Along the southern edge of the storm, an early season tornado outbreak took place across the Gulf Coast. The first tornado was an F3 that killed one person and injured 17 others in Newton County, Mississippi, becoming the first killer January tornado since 1978. Sixty structures were damaged or destroyed by the tornado, leaving $2 million in losses. Four F2 tornadoes touched down across Alabama during the course of the outbreak. In Clanton, Alabama, two of these tornadoes struck the town an hour apart, forcing rescuers to seek shelter before the arrival of the second. Overall, 11 tornadoes touched down, leaving one person dead, 34 injured and $4.3 million in losses.
In the Contiguous United States, only one tornado touched down during the month of February, marking a record low value that would not be matched until 2010. However, two additional tornadoes took place in Honolulu, Hawaii, both of which were rated F2. Nearly 24 homes sustained damage from one of these tornadoes.
Tornado outbreak of December 23–25, 2015
On the evening of December 23, a significant tornado outbreak affected the Midwest and South, producing tornadoes mainly across Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. One of the first tornadoes of the event was an EF1 tornado that touched down in Greenwood, Indiana, where several homes sustained damage. Another tornado caused damage to homes in the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville. In Illinois, a tornado destroyed multiple outbuildings and downed trees near the town of Sciota. The outbreak also spawned the only known tornado to touch down in Michigan during the month of December, an EF1 that struck the Detroit suburb of Canton, causing considerable damage to vehicles, an industrial park, and a gas station. Further south, a strong EF2 tornado occurred near Marianna, Arkansas, completely destroying mobile homes, tearing roofs off of frame homes, and damaging cabins in the area. A large EF3 tornado eventually touched down south of Clarksdale, Mississippi, killing two people and severely damaging or destroying about 15 homes in that area. The tornado continued to the northeast, later snapping trees and destroying homes near Marks and Como before dissipating. The same parent supercell produced another tornado further east of Como, a violent EF4 that struck the town of Holly Springs, where two people were killed and a motor sports park and many homes were destroyed. Multiple additional people were killed further along the path near Ashland as well, where multiple homes were destroyed and pavement was scoured from roads. The Holly Springs tornado eventually crossed into Tennessee, causing major damage near Middleton, then destroying additional homes in the Selmer area, killing nine people in all before dissipating. Another destructive EF3 tornado struck the small community of Lutts, Tennessee after dark, destroying multiple homes and a church, and completely leveling the town's post office. Significant tornado activity continued through parts of Mississippi and Tennessee overnight, including an EF2 that killed an elderly couple in their small, unanchored home near Linden, Tennessee. In total, the outbreak produced a total of 13 tornado-related deaths and numerous injuries. Additional scattered tornado activity occurred on the 24th and 25th, including a high-end EF2 that caused heavy damage in the southwestern part of Birmingham, Alabama on Christmas.
January 2008 tornado outbreak
A strong low-pressure area over the central Great Lakes and its associated cold front combined with intense wind shear to provide a favorable environment for supercell development. Despite only moderate instability (which meant only a slight risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center, and only modest probabilities for severe weather at first), supercells developed throughout the day over much of the central US and continued throughout the evening and overnight hours, continuing into the morning of January 8. The hardest-hit area was in the Ozarks, around Springfield, Missouri, where nearly continuous supercells developed throughout the evening, resulting in numerous tornado touchdowns. In addition to the tornadoes, hail larger than baseballs and damaging straight-line downburst winds as strong as 100 mph (160 km/h) were reported. At least three people were killed in Missouri as a result of the tornadoes. Two of these deaths occurred near Marshfield and there were also six injuries.
1974 Super Outbreak
Seven F5s were observed—one each in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, three in Alabama and the final one which crossed through parts of Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. 31 were killed in Brandenburg, Kentucky, and 28 died in Guin, Alabama. One tornado also occurred in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, killing nine and injuring 30 others there, all of them at the former Windsor Curling Club. During the peak of the outbreak, a staggering sixteen tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously. At one point forecasters in Indiana, frustrated because they could not keep up with all of the simultaneous tornado activity, put the entire state of Indiana under a blanket tornado warning. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an entire state was under a tornado warning.
2011 Joplin tornado
The $2.8 billion in damage is the largest amount for a tornado since 1950.
Brandenburg, Kentucky
Brandenburg was devastated by an F5 tornado during the Super Outbreak of April 3, 1974. Thirty-one residents lost their lives in this city. There was no early warning from tornado sirens or NOAA Weather Wire Service about the storm. About an hour after the storm, the same supercell spawned an F4 tornado that formed in the southwest part of Louisville in Jefferson County near Kosmosdale. Three people lost their lives in this storm, but it also left two hundred and seven injuries. The Brandenburg tornado remains as the only F5/EF5 tornado in Kentucky state history since official record keeping began in 1950, although later that day another F5 that hit Cincinnati, Ohio crossed the Ohio River from Indiana into Kentucky then into Ohio.
2011 Joplin tornado
Engineers have criticized the tilt up construction of the Home Depot in which all but two of its walls collapsed in a domino effect after the tornado lifted the roof, killing seven people in the front of the store (although 28 people in the back of the store survived when those walls collapsed outwards). Home Depot officials said they disagreed with the study published by "The Kansas City Star" and said they would use the tilt up practice when they rebuild the Joplin store. On June 1, The Home Depot said it would have a new temporary building built and operational within two weeks. In the meantime, it opened for business in the parking lot of its demolished building. On June 20, The Home Depot opened a temporary building constructed by the company's disaster recovery team.
1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak
The 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Great Plains States on May 25–26, 1955. It produced at least 46 tornadoes across seven states including two F5 tornadoes in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and Udall, Kansas that caused most of the casualties. The outbreak killed 102 from three tornadoes while injuring hundreds more. Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire.The Blackwell tornado formed in Noble County at around 9:00 PM CDT before crossing through the eastern portions of the Kay County town of Blackwell as an F5 wedge tornado. Then about wide (Grazulis 1991), It claimed the lives of 20 people in Blackwell and injured over 200 before crossing into and dissipating over Cowley County, Kansas. Along with destroying nearly 200 homes, the tornado also demolished the town's main employers including the Acme Foundry and the Hazel Atlas Glass plant. 400 homes were destroyed or swept away, and 500 other homes were damaged. 60 businesses were also destroyed and the local hospital also sustained major damage. Most of the western half of the town was spared the worst of the damage.
2011 Joplin tornado
In May 2012, the Missouri National Guard released documents showing that four soldiers looted video game equipment and a digital camera from a ruined Walmart during cleanup efforts. According to the investigative memo, they believed the merchandise was going to be destroyed. All the soldiers were demoted and had a letter of reprimand placed in their personnel file, but were never prosecuted, even though many civilian looters were prosecuted.
Tornadoes of 2009
Another major severe weather event developed early on May 8 over southwestern Kansas. It quickly formed into a major progressive derecho which tracked across the central Plains, the Ozarks and into the Ohio Valley. The city of Joplin, Missouri had a derecho. It eventually became an F1 tornado destroying a TV station tower. Several tornadoes also developed, primarily in the Springfield, Missouri area where damage was reported. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued primarily due to the wind threat. Two people were killed near Poplar Bluff, Missouri when winds knocked a tree onto their car. Another Missouri resident suffered a fatal heart attack after he was blown away 
from his home and dropped into a field by an EF2 tornado. A woman was killed in southeastern Kansas after her mobile home was blown off its foundation. Two other deaths occurred in Kirksville, Kentucky from an EF3 tornado. Eventually, the storm developed a tropical cyclone-like structure, with a well-defined eye feature. In addition, winds were measured as high as in Carbondale, Illinois.
Tornado outbreak of June 18, 2001
The Siren tornado was the outbreak's only fatal storm, killing three people and injuring another 16. Damages from the tornado were estimated at approximately $10 million USD. The tornado caused the most damage in the village of Siren, where most structures were completely destroyed. 240 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the tornado, and over 100 firefighters helped rescue people trapped in buildings and clean up. Residents reported cows and other livestock flying through the air during the tornado. Despite a tornado warning being issued, Siren's only civil defense siren failed as a result of a lightning strike in April or May. Police took to the streets, sounding their horns and shouting warnings to local residents. The siren system had been scheduled to be repaired the following week.
Tornadoes of 2008
On March 15, a moderate risk of severe weather was issued for the same area, with more tornadoes possible. At midday, the risk area was extended to the Carolina Coast. Later that day, a high risk was issued for Northern Georgia and part of South Carolina. Two people were killed in Georgia by a tornado. A tornado emergency was also issued on the afternoon of March 15 for Atlanta and its immediate suburbs for a tornado that did not occur, although the extremely ominous rotating cloud was shown live on TV towercam.
May 1995 tornado outbreak sequence
Another tornado outbreak which the National Weather Service issued a high risk for occurred in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The tornadoes that occurred on this day resulted in three deaths all from the same tornado that moved through Montgomery and Boone Counties in Indiana just west of Indianapolis. A tornado also hit the eastern sections of the Indianapolis area causing damage to dozens of structures but no injuries. Several destructive tornadoes also touched down south and west of the Peoria, Illinois Metro Area including two F4s that resulted in 50 injuries.
2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado
The 2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado was a violent, long-track EF5 wedge tornado that devastated several towns in northern Alabama, United States, before tearing through the northern suburbs of Huntsville and causing damage in rural portions of southern Tennessee on the afternoon and early evening of Wednesday, April 27, 2011. It was the deadliest tornado of the 2011 Super Outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history. The tornado reached a maximum width of and was estimated to have had peak winds of . The tornado killed 72 people, making it the deadliest tornado in Alabama history, and injured at least 145 others. It was the deadliest tornado to strike the U.S. since the Udall, Kansas tornado of 1955 until the catastrophic tornado on May 22, 2011, which killed 158 people in Joplin, Missouri.
Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
On May 22, a large, devastating EF5 tornado tracked through Joplin, Missouri, leaving behind catastrophic damage. It was a multiple-vortex tornado in excess of wide. Mainly the southern part of the city was affected with most structures in the area either damaged or destroyed. 162 people were killed along the path through Jasper and Newton counties in Missouri, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947, and one of the deadliest single tornadoes ever recorded. Among the most heavily damaged structures was St. John's Hospital (pictured right), which later was torn down due to the severity of the structural damage. Damages were estimated at around $2.8 billion (2011 USD).
Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for much of the Midwest, as well as further south to Oklahoma for May 22. The first tornadic supercell developed in the mid-afternoon hours over the western Twin Cities in Minnesota, and caused moderate damage in the Minneapolis area. Shortly thereafter, an intense tornado crept towards Harmony, Minnesota, prompting the National Weather Service to issue the first tornado emergency of the outbreak. Late that afternoon, a large, intense EF5 multiple-vortex tornado left catastrophic destruction in Joplin, Missouri. Causing 158 fatalities, it was the deadliest single tornado in the U.S. since at least 1947.
Tornadoes in the United States
During the winter months of the year, tornadoes have been known to hit the Southern United States and Southeastern United States the most, but have hit other areas as well. One notable recent example of a winter tornado outbreak was the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak on February 5 and February 6, 2008. 84 tornadoes occurred over the course of the outbreak. The storm system produced several destructive tornadoes in heavily populated areas, most notably in the Memphis metropolitan area, in Jackson, Tennessee, and the northeastern end of the Nashville metropolitan area. At least 57 people were killed across four states and 18 counties, with hundreds of others injured. The outbreak was the deadliest of the modern NEXRAD doppler radar era, until the 2011 Super Outbreak killed over 348 people (324 of which were tornado-related). It was the deadliest single outbreak since the May 31, 1985 outbreak, which killed 76 across Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well claiming 12 victims in Ontario, Canada. It was also the deadliest outbreak in both Tennessee and Kentucky since the 1974 Super Outbreak.
Tornado outbreak of May 18–21, 2013
Taking a path through the heart of Moore, an estimated 13,500 people were directly affected by the tornado. Large swaths of the city were completely destroyed and unofficial estimates placed the number of severely damaged or destroyed buildings at 1,500 with another 4,000 affected. In contrast to the violent nature of the tornado, the death toll was relatively low. A total of 24 people lost their lives, nine of whom were children, and over 300 were injured. This ranks it as the ninth-deadliest tornado in the state's history. The lack of further fatalities was attributed to a 16-minute lead time on the Moore tornado given by the National Weather Service forecast office in Norman. Risk Management Solutions Inc. estimated that the insurance payout from the tornado would amount to $2–3.5 billion, stating that the event was worse than the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado and may rival the 2011 Joplin tornado.
2011 Joplin tornado
As the tornado tracked eastward, it maintained EF5 strength as it crossed Main Street between 20th and 26th Streets. It heavily damaged every business along that stretch and several institutional buildings were virtually destroyed. It tracked just south of downtown, narrowly missing it. Entire neighborhoods were leveled in this area with some more homes swept away, and trees were stripped completely of their bark. At some residences, reinforced concrete porches were deformed, or in some cases completely torn away. Damage to driveways was noted at some residences as well. Numerous vehicles were tossed up to several blocks away from the residences where they originated, and a few homeowners never located their vehicles. A large church, Greenbriar Nursing Home, Franklin Technology Center, St. Mary's Catholic Church and School, and Joplin High School were all destroyed along this corridor. The Greenbriar Nursing Home was completely leveled, with 21 fatalities occurring there alone. As the tornado crossed Connecticut Ave further to the east, it destroyed several large apartment buildings, a Dillon's grocery store, and a bank. Only the concrete vault remained at the bank, and a wooden 2x4 was found speared completely through a concrete curb at one location as well. No one was in the high school at the time; the high school graduation ceremonies held about to the north at Missouri Southern State University had concluded shortly before the storm. Pieces of cardboard were found embedded sideways into stucco walls that remained standing at Joplin High School. Steel beams and pieces of fencing were deeply embedded into the ground in fields near the high school as well, steel fence posts were bent to the ground in opposite directions, and a school bus was thrown into a nearby bus garage. The tornado then approached Range Line Road, the main commercial strip in the eastern part of Joplin, affecting additional neighborhoods along 20th Street.
Tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008
On June 5, a storm system caused damage throughout the Great Plains. The most substantial damage occurred in Altus, Oklahoma, where 179 homes sustained some form of damage, with two destroyed, five with major damage, 43 with minor damage and 129 affected. Seventeen businesses were damaged, with two destroyed, four with major damage and eight with minor damage. A school in Mulvane, Kansas had roof damage and there was significant roof damage to the terminal building at an airport near Winfield. In Lawrence, The Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival shut down while the storm passed through. On June 8, thunderstorms affected areas across the Great Lakes region. Two people were killed in Ottawa County, Michigan due to the straight-line winds that toppled trees; one onto a pedestrian and another onto a car. In Eaton County, a woman was killed by winds which blew a large trailer on to her. Over 300,000 people in Michigan were left without power due to the storm.
On June 10, a powerful squall line of thunderstorms with embedded supercells developed across New York and moved northeast through parts of northern New England and Quebec. Particularly hard hit was the Montreal region and its southern suburbs including Longueuil, Châteauguay, Brossard and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Barns were reported damaged and other structures sustained roof and siding damage; particularly in the Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu area where one home was pushed from its foundation. In Sainte-Catherine, the roof of an office was blown into a nearby residence punching a large hole on the back wall. On Montreal's Champlain Bridge, eight tractor trailers were overturned forcing the closure of the entire bridge in both directions. In addition, a window washing platform tumbled from a high rise building in downtown Montreal. The workers were able to get inside.
Severe thunderstorms also affected the Saint-Hyacinthe, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City where winds as strong as were reported with locally higher gusts while hail from golf ball to baseball size were reported in Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Belœil breaking windows from homes and vehicles. The roof of a 65 unit apartment complex in Sainte-Foy was heavily damaged. The Quebec Bridge linking the city to the suburb of Levis was also temporarily shut down because of a collapsed scaffolding. About 300,000 Hydro-Québec customers across the province lost power, particularly in the Quebec City, Montérégie and Montreal regions with outages occurring in the Eastern Townships and Mauricie regions. Schools in some areas were closed on June 11 due to the power outages. The tractor trailer accidents resulted in two minor injuries during the storms. According to a report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, insured damage amounts were estimated at $56 million (2008 CAD), and up to 16,000 insurance claims were filed for damage to homes and automobiles.
Mucormycosis
A cluster of infections occurred in the wake of the 2011 Joplin tornado. As of July 19, a total of 18 suspected cases of cutaneous mucormycosis had been identified, of which 13 were confirmed. A confirmed case was defined as 1) necrotizing soft-tissue infection requiring antifungal treatment or surgical debridement in a person injured in the tornado, 2) with illness onset on or after May 22 and 3) positive fungal culture or histopathology and genetic sequencing consistent with a Mucormycete. No additional cases related to that outbreak have been reported since June 17. Ten patients required admission to an intensive-care unit, and five died.
Joplin High School
After three years in temporary campuses as a result of the 2011 tornado, Joplin High School opened at 2104 Indiana Ave. on September 2, 2014. The new facility combines a college, career and technology focused education along with Franklin Technology Center. The formal ribbon cutting ceremony was held on October 3, 2014. Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan attended the ceremony and spoke to the crowd. A ribbon representing the destructive path of the 2011 tornado was a part of the ceremony. Joplin High School Student Council President Sadie Wallner cut the ribbon.
2011 Joplin tornado
It also ranks as the costliest single tornado in U.S. history.
Insurance payout was $2.8 billion; the highest in Missouri history, with the previous record of $2 billion being the April 10, 2001 hail storm.
List of tornado-related deaths at schools
The state with the highest number of tornadoes with deaths at schools is Alabama at 8 events. Illinois is second with 6 tornadoes. Missouri and Oklahoma are tied for third with 5 tornadoes. Fifth is Georgia with 3 tornadoes. Sixth are Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Arkansas, each with 2 events. One school fatality tornado event has occurred in Ohio, Louisiana, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Florida (the probable downburst in New York is not included).