Twister Disasters Trivia Quiz

On May 7, 1840, a huge tornado touched down around 20 miles southwest of Natchez, Mississippi. It then moved to the northeast and hit the Mississippi River. Eyewitness accounts state that the storm "stripped the forest from both shores". Two-thirds of Natchez was completely destroyed by the strong, whirling winds.

The death toll was 48 lives lost on the land and around 270 on the river, with most of those being on flatboats and steamers that were full of workers. A piece of one steamboat window was carried 30 miles away before it was found. This tornado struck in the pre-Civil War era of slavery, so many pundits feel that slave deaths were not counted in the aftermath.

On May 27, 1896, a deadly F4 tornado touched down in St. Louis, Missouri. This tornado was also accompanied by a downburst, which is a very strong downward current of air that blows out across a geographic area. It spread a path of destruction a mile wide as it moved eastward through the city. It caused over $10 million worth of damage as the tornado swept away buildings and the downburst flattened trees.

A large steel bridge in the city named Eads Bridge weathered the storm, but ended up with a white pine board jammed through its thick iron covering as the tornado created missiles out of objects. There were roughly 150 people killed and over 1,000 injured. This number may not count bodies of people who lived on shanty boats and whose corpses were swept downriver.

On June 12, 1899, an F5 tornado struck New Richmond, Wisconsin on a hot summer afternoon. A large circus was in town and the population had grown that day as people came for the festivities. The tornado began as a waterspout on Lake St. Croix and moved northeast toward New Richmond. Just as the circus show ended, the tornado hit the middle of the town in a half mile long wide path of destruction.

Over 300 buildings were heavily damaged and debris was tossed everywhere, including a 3000 pound safe that was carried blocks away. Heavy rainfall and flooding also accompanied the disaster. All of this resulted in almost 120 deaths and over 200 injuries to the population.

On May 18, 1902, an F4 tornado touched down in Goliad, Texas. It was one of the deadliest tornado strikes in the United States at that point. It started across the San Antonio River from Goliad and soon destroyed bridges as it hit the town in its path northward. It hit a Methodist church where the predominantly black congregation was meeting. It killed almost everyone there and ripped a baby out of its mother's arms before the baby landed safely two blocks away.

The tornado continued its path through the town and even flung a huge steel railroad girder into the ground like a spear. It bored so deep that the girder was never able to be removed. Around 114 people were killed and hundreds injured. The county courthouse was turned into a temporary hospital and morgue to handle the flow of people.

On April 24, 1908, an F4 tornado hit Purvis, Mississippi and the areas around it. Shortly before 2:00 PM, the clouds took a funnel shape and moved toward the small town. The powerful storm moved the train depot completely across the railroad track and destroyed many train cars. Most of the 125 homes in Purvis were destroyed or heavily damaged and the business area was completely leveled.

More than 140 people died and 770 were injured during the storm's rampage as it moved northeast through the area. Special trains made it as far as they could on damaged tracks to carry doctors and rescue workers. The town clock had stopped right at 2:15PM when it was hit and stayed in that position for years afterward as a memorial.

On March 18, 1925, a massive F5 tornado touched down in Ellington, Missouri, and spent three hours going northeast causing unprecedented damage and death. The winds averaged 62 miles per hour for 219 miles with a path around three-quarters of a mile wide. As it traveled through Missouri, it destroyed rural farms and injured and killed children in small schoolhouses.

In Illinois, the destruction got even worse. The storm leveled whole towns and buried schoolchildren under piles of rubble. Miners were trapped underground while their homes were destroyed above. The funnel cloud churned up farmland and threw dirt and debris around for miles. In Indiana, multiple funnels were visible as the storm destroyed both rural and urban developments. When it finally dissipated, it left over 700 dead with thousands injured and millions of dollars in damages.

April 5, 1936, found an F5 tornado touching down in Tupelo, Mississippi not far from where Elvis Presley lay as a baby. The storm moved northeast through the county but missed the business district of Tupelo. It did, however, destroy residential areas and leveled over 200 homes, many of good construction. It completely blew away poorly built homes and killed many families. In one house, all 13 family members were found dead after the storm.

Only the names of white residents were listed so the approximate death toll of 215 does not include many of the black families that were injured or killed. After the horrible storm, 150 box cars were brought to town as housing and a movie theater was made into a hospital. The popcorn machine was used to sterilize instruments.

On April 9, 1947, a thick fog blanketed the Texas panhandle and counties in Oklahoma. A group of telephone operators for the area had gone on strike and communication about developing storms was limited. An F5 tornado started in Texas and moved northeast for about 100 miles. The massive storm was 1.8 miles wide and traveling over 50 miles per hour.

It struck unsuspecting Woodward around 8:42 pm and demolished 100 city blocks. Terror, confusion, and fires followed as over 1000 homes and businesses were destroyed. Due to the destructive situations, many bodies were never identified. Around 200 people were killed and 1100 injured with damages equally $5 million.

On June 8, 1953, disaster in the form of an F5 tornado touched down in Flint, Michigan. Winds were in excess of 200 mph as the 800 yard wide tornado moved 27 miles through the Michigan countryside. Farms, businesses, and many homes were destroyed completely totaling $19 million in damages. A trailer was picked up and blown 8 miles away. Books from the local library and cancelled checks from the bank were found north in Canada.

So many were killed and injured that the National Guard armory was turned into a morgue and families gathered outside in the rainy night to try to identify the bodies. To add further tragedy to the situation, most of the 116 victims were children and teenagers.

On May 22, 2011, an F5 tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, with horrible results. Around 158 deaths occurred with almost 1,200 people badly injured. Authorities attributed the high death toll to poor home construction with limited basement areas. Also, the siren system malfunctioned and would go on and off and on again. Finally, local lore had people believing the geographic area of Joplin made the town "immune" to tornadoes.

Fatalities occurred in businesses, homes, hospitals, and nursing homes. A local Wal-Mart store was literally ripped in half and some churches lost congregation members during the service. An incredible 7000 buildings were destroyed with over $3 billion in damages.