Tristate tornado essays

Tristate tornado essays The tri-state tornado of 1925 was the hugest and most devastating tornado in U.S. history. Its speed, size, power, and duration enabled it to amass the greatest fatalities and injuries ever, almost doubling its next closest competitor. The 18th of March was just another spring day, and many people thought the storm was just another spring storm, but it was far from that. The great F5 twister started its journey near Ellington, Missouri it then passed through Annapolis MO, where 90% of the town was destroyed. Moving east, the twister crossed the Mississippi just 75 miles south of St. Louis. Had the twister passed through St. Louis its power would have only been amplified as would the number of fatalities. The twister proceeded to Gorham, Illinois where almost the entire town was destroyed, with 34 people taking the big ride in the sky, literally and figuratively. The tornados next stop was Murphysboro where it recorded the largest death toll within a single city at 234 dead. 50% of the towns population was left either dead or injured. The estimated damage there was around 10 million. Im not sure what ten million in those days would equate to now but it would have to be at least a billion. The next stop of this amazing phenomena was Desoto, Illinois, population 600. In two minutes 24 homes were obliterated and 69 people were killed. The sheer force of the tornados winds drove a 2x4 through a steel railroad car, and carried a huge grain bin one-quarter of a mile (Watson, 2002). Still traveling eastward, West Frankfort, a small mining community was where the tornado did some of its last major damage. Most of the men in the town were 500 feet underground mining and minding their own business. It was the power outage that forced the hardworking men above ground only to find total devastation. Their homes were d ...