(Reuters) – A powerful tornado scored a direct hit Joplin killing at least 116 people and leaving about 400 more injured, authorities said on Monday.
The Joplin tornado is the deadliest single twister since Woodward, Oklahoma in 1947.
Here is a list of the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history:
1. Mar 18, 1925 Missouri/Illinois/Indiana; 695 dead
2. May 6, 1840 Natchez, Mississippi; 317 dead
3. May 27, 1896 St. Louis, Missouri; 255 dead
4. April 5, 1936 Tupelo, Mississippi; 216 dead
5. April 6, 1936 Gainesville, Georgia; 203 dead
6. April 9, 1947 Woodward, Oklahoma; 181 dead
7. April 24,1908 Amite, La./Purvis, Miss.; 143 dead
8. June 12, 1899 New Richmond, Wisconsin; 117 dead
9. May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missouri; 116 dead
10. June 3, 1953 Flint, Michigan; 115 dead
NOTE: The death toll may rise more in Joplin as the search for missing people continues. Also, the figures do not include the series of tornadoes in the Southeast including Alabama in April 2011 which killed at least 346 people in seven states. Of those, 238 deaths were in Alabama, 41 of which were in Tuscaloosa County.
SOURCE: Storm Prediction Center of National Weather Service's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "25 deadliest tornadoes."
(Compiled by Greg McCune; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst)
