Warning: this article discusses catastrophic storms and death, which could be distressing to some readers.

Netflix’s gripping new disaster documentary, The Twister: Caught in the Storm, provides a look back at the 2011 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri. One of the best new documentaries on Netflix, The Twister: Caught in the Storm, makes use of footage taken by the town’s residents as the tornado blew through, as well as new interviews with some of those same survivors. Even with the footage and interviews, natural disasters such as the 2011 Joplin tornado can be difficult to comprehend, but Netflix’s documentary helps convey the courage of those involved as well as their loss.

The 2011 tornado was one of the most damaging in US history and certainly of recent years. On top of the physical destruction of the community’s buildings and landscape, the Joplin tornado also had a shocking death toll. While any loss of life is always tragic, The Twister: Caught in the Storm highlights just how devastating the events of May 2011 were on every level. The destruction and loss of life caused by the tornado sadly set it among the most ᴅᴇᴀᴅly of all time, surpᴀssing several from centuries past.

10

1953 Flint-Beecher Tornado – 116 Deaths

The F5 Tornado Left Hundreds Injured

The Flint-Beecher tornado occurred on June 8, 1953, and was just one part of the larger Flint-Worcester outbreak that traveled across the Midwest and Northern part of the US, beginning in Nebraska and making its way over to Mᴀssachusetts and New Hampshire over the course of several days. While the number of injured and casualties from all the tornadoes combined is higher, the Flint tornado alone resulted in the deaths of 116 people and injured over 800 more.

Prior to the Joplin tornado in 2011, the Flint-Beecher tornado was the most recent tornado to take over 100 lives.

The Flint tornado was also incredibly destructive and costly. At the time, it caused $19 million in damage, which is worth $223 million in today’s currency, though the biggest cost of tornadoes will always and undoubtedly be the loss of life. Prior to the Joplin tornado in 2011, the Flint-Beecher tornado was the most recent tornado to take over 100 lives. If anything, this could be seen as a reflection that newer technologies and warning systems have helped save lives since their introduction and updates.

9

1899 New Richmond Tornado – 117 Deaths

The Wisconsin Tornado Was An F5

In 1899, a tornado, estimated to be F5 after the fact, hit New Richmond, Wisconsin and the surrounding areas. The tornado resulted in 117 deaths and an estimated 150 injuries. In an unfortunate coincidence, there was a circus in town that day, which resulted in hundreds of extra people being in New Richmond, which regularly had around 2,000 inhabitants. This fact likely contributed to the heightened death toll of the storm.

The tornado formed around 6 pm on June 12, 1899, in St. Croix County and eventually traveled over 45 miles. As an F5 tornado, it would have garnered wind speeds between 261 and 318 miles per hour. The New Richmond tornado greatly devastated the area and resulted in the community needing to rebuild a significant portion of their town. It is also the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest tornado to have ever hit Wisconsin.

8

1908 Louisiana-Mississippi Tornado Outbreak – 143 Deaths

The Tornado Outbreak Lasted 3 Days

The 1908 tornado outbreak spanned the Midwest and southern US states and actually consisted of at least 31 confirmed tornadoes. Across all the tornadoes in 13 states, there were over 300 confirmed deaths, but the most ᴅᴇᴀᴅly single tornado was an F4 that moved from Pine, Louisiana to Richton, Mississippi, which resulted in 143 confirmed deaths and nearly 800 injuries.

The Fujita scale that is used to measure the strength of tornadoes was invented by Dr. Theodore Fujita in 1970 and was updated to the Enhanced Fujita scale in 2007.

The tornado formed near Livingston, Louisiana just before noon on April 24. It then moved East, destroying Amrite and Pine before moving into Mississippi and damaging the towns of Purvis and finally Richton before clearing. The tornado’s path was 155 miles long and the tornado’s width was estimated to be 1,000 yards. Because so much of the destruction occurred in rural areas and among minority communities, it is possible that the death toll is an underestimate.

7

2011 Joplin Tornado – 158 Deaths

The Joplin Tornado Was The ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest Tornado In The US In The 21st Century

The 2011 Joplin tornado that is the focus of Netflix’s The Twister: Caught in the Storm is in the top 10 ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest tornadoes in American history at number seven. The storm is by far the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest tornado that has occurred in the 21st century and the most recent tornado to result in over 100 deaths since 1953. Tragically, 158 people died in the tornado and more than 1,000 people were injured. Netflix’s documentary tells the impressive stories of several survivors, but it also points toward the broad devastation, both on a personal level and a physical level, as much of the infrastructure of Joplin was destroyed.

The tornado was also the costliest tornado in US history, doing over $2.8 billion of damage, which is worth nearly $4 billion today.

The Joplin tornado occurred on May 22, 2011, and lasted for less than an hour. However, the EF5 tornado had a path 21 miles long and wind speeds estimated at well over 200 miles per hour. The tornado was also the costliest tornado in US history, doing over $2.8 billion of damage, which is worth nearly $4 billion today. The mᴀssive structural damage to the city is terrible, but the Joplin tornado has also shed light on the mental impacts of surviving a natural disaster that are lost in many older accounts.

6

1947 Glazier-Higgins-Woodward Tornado Outbreak – 181 Deaths

The F5 Tornado Resulted In 181 Casualties

The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward tornadoes were a group of tornadoes that swept through Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas from April 9-11, 1947. While it is estimated that there were between 12 and 17 individual tornadoes, there was one F5 tornado that is estimated to have caused the majority of the damage. Shortly after being formed, the tornado destroyed the town of Glazier, Texas before moving on to Higgins, near the border. The tornado then moved through smaller towns and destroyed Woodward, Oklahoma.

Not only was the Glazier-Higgins-Woodward tornado incredibly fast, but it was also very wide. The tornado was estimated to be up to two miles wide at some points, meaning that large portions of communities were sometimes destroyed all at once. The largest portion of the deaths from the tornado are ᴀssigned to Woodward at 107, then Higgins at 51, and finally 17 in Glazier, with the remaining six coming from other rural locations.

5

1936 Tupelo-Gainesville Tornado Outbreak – 203 Deaths (Gainesville)

The Gainesville Tornado Was Just One Part Of The Outbreak

The 1936 Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak consisted of at least 14 tornadoes across multiple Southern states that formed over the course of April 5 and 6, 1936. The total death toll of the tornadoes combined is numbered at 454, but just two of those tornadoes are responsible for the majority of those. In particular, the Gainesville, Georgia tornado resulted in 203 deaths and approximately 1,600 injuries.

The tornado that destroyed a significant part of Gainesville was formed by two separate tornadoes which combined to form an F4 tornado.

The storm system moved East into Georgia during the early morning of April 6. The tornado that destroyed a significant part of Gainesville was formed by two separate tornadoes which combined to form an F4 tornado. Tragically, the largest percentage of the deaths from the Gainesville tornado came from the Cooper Pants Factory, which caught fire after being hit by the tornado and trapped over a hundred people inside, killing 70.

4

1936 Tupelo-Gainesville Tornado Outbreak – 216 Deaths (Tupelo)

In Addition To The Deaths, Hundreds Were Injured

Aside from the Gainesville tornado that caused 203 deaths on April 6, the Tupelo, Mississippi tornado that claimed 216 lives was the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest in that storm system. The Tupelo tornado followed several other F3 and F4 tornadoes from earlier in the day on April 5, but it was much more damaging. The tornado traveled 15 miles and was 1,000 yards across, resulting in it completely destroying many of the buildings that it came across.

While 216 is the given death toll, many estimates have put the death count at much higher. This is because the deaths were counted before many missing people were recovered and while many injured patients remained in the hospital. Later estimates raised the death toll to 233 and noted that over 700 were injured by the Tupelo tornado alone.

3

1896 St. Louis Tornado – 255 Deaths

There Were Likely Many Unrecorded Deaths As Well

The 1896 St. Louis tornado remains the third-ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest tornado in US history and one of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest worldwide. The tornado was part of a larger string of tornadoes that devastated the US during May 1896, but it was by far the most ᴅᴇᴀᴅly on its own. The tornado destroyed a lot of Downtown St. Louis, causing significant and costly damage. From the St. Louis tornado alone, there were 255 deaths recorded, but these likely underestimate the true number.

The death toll from 1896 likely did not include some African American victims or working-class victims. In particular, because the tornado crossed the Mississippi River, those living near the river or on boats were presumably missed as well. Though it is slightly difficult to say exactly how much the damage cost, in terms of today’s money, the St. Louis tornado would likely be considered one of the most costly because it hit right at the heart of the city.

2

Great Natchez Tornado – 317 Deaths

The True Death Count Is Likely Far Higher

The 1840 tornado that hit Natchez, Mississippi, is the second-ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest tornado in American history, with a death toll of 317. However, the true death toll is likely much higher than that number as enslaved people were largely not counted in the death tolls in Mississippi and Louisiana. Likewise, because the tornado followed the river, many boats sank, which could have also contributed to inaccuracies. Along with the given death toll, it was also reported that there were over 100 injuries.

Though there was no ranking system at the time to distinguish the severity of tornadoes, it has been estimated that the Natchez tornado would have been at least an EF4. The tornado traveled over a course of 35 miles along the Mississippi River and was 1,000 yards wide, destroying buildings on both sides. The Great Natchez Tornado is one of the most harrowing natural disasters in US history and is certainly a reminder of the violence of nature.

1

1925 Tri-State Tornado – 695 Deaths

The Tornado Swept Through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana

The 1925 tornado that swept through three Midwestern states is the most ᴅᴇᴀᴅly tornado recorded in US history and the second ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest worldwide. Though the Fujita scale was not introduced until nearly 50 years later and the Enhanced Fujita scale is even more recent, it is estimated that the tornado was an EF5, placing it in the most damaging category. The tornado resulted in 695 reported deaths and over 2,000 injuries. However, other estimates placed the death toll as being even higher when considering the level of destruction and those who later died from their injuries.

The tornado first formed in Reynolds County, Missouri and touched down in Shannon County. The tornado then moved through Southern Illinois before finally dissipating in Pike County, Indiana. The entirety of the damage was done in under four hours from the time of its formation to its dissipation. It traveled over 200 miles during that time and reached max wind speeds of over 300 miles per hour. As The Twister: Caught in the Storm shows, it is terrifying to be caught in a tornado, and one such as the 1925 tornado shows the extremes of their destruction.

Sources: CNN, Significant Tornadoes by Thomas Grazulis