The scene of a train derailment is pictured after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several U.S. states in Earlington, Kentucky, U.S. December 11, 2021. REUTERS/Cheney Orrpeople in Kentucky and destroyed homes and businesses, officials said.
The devastation was the latest of numerous destructive tornadoes that have struck the United States, where twisters are more common than in any other country in the world. The following are five of the deadliest:The deadliest tornado recorded in U.S. history was the Tri-State Tornado, which struck Missouri, Illinois and Indiana in 1925.
to the National Weather Service, at least 695 people died, 2,000 people were injured and 15,000 homes were destroyed in a storm that cut across the three states over three and a half hours.On April 5, Tupelo, Mississippi was hit by at least one tornado that killed 216 people, according to the National Weather Service.
1953 is considered one of the worst tornado years in the United States. A separate twister in Waco, Texas, killed 114 people earlier that spring. The day after the Beecher tornado, 90 people died in Worcester, Massachusetts from a separate tornado spawned by the same storm system.The Shinnston tornado killed 100 people in the West Virginia community, according to the National Weather Service.