When you are reliably protected by the walls of your home, it is difficult to believe that the wind can kill a person. But this is exactly what happens when it comes to tornadoes. The most destructive tornadoes in history, which we will tell you about now, claimed hundreds of human lives in a matter of minutes.
10. Great tornado in Natchez, USA
The death toll: 317 people.
It is believed to be the only tornado in the United States that killed more people than suffered. The tornado occurred in May 1840, it walked straight along the Mississippi River, tearing trees from both banks. It is not surprising that most of the victims of the disaster were on flat-bottomed boats. The number of wounded reached 109 people.
However, the real number of those killed by the Great Tornado may be much higher, because the death of slaves was not included in the general sad account.
9. Tornado Narail Magura, Bangladesh
The death toll: about 500 people.
The first but not the last tornado "hails" from Bangladesh in the ranking of the worst tornadoes of all time. In 1964, the rage of the elements devastated two cities and seven settlements, and 400 people from the village of Bhabanipur were never found and are considered dead.
8. Tornado in Comoros, Africa
The death toll: over 500 people.
One of the poorest countries in the world and a former French colony in the middle of the 20th century (in 1951) survived the blow of a giant tornado. It originated above the surface of the water, and then, gaining strength and intensity, reached land, scattered light buildings like chips and killed about 500 people, both Aboriginal and visiting French.
Other details of this incident are unknown as the island nation was still under foreign control at the time.
7. Sicilian tornado, Italy
Number of deaths: approximately 600.
Over the years, no one will say how many human lives this terrible tornado took. Like the tornado from the Comoros, the Sicilian one originated above the surface of the water, and only then "came" to land.
Perhaps it was not one, but two tornadoes at once, which merged into a "megatornado". This is one of the hypotheses of why so many local residents died from a tornado in Sicily.
6. Tornado La Valetta, Malta
The death toll: about 600 people.
The island of Malta is usually associated with a pleasant holiday, sun, sea, but not with horror and destruction. But it turns out that hellish days also happen in the earthly paradise. One of them came out on September 23, 1551 or 1556 (different sources indicate different years).
Having arisen over the Mediterranean Sea, the tornado moved towards the Grand Harbor Bay. During the tornado rampage, at least four ships of the Order of Malta were overturned, and many others were badly damaged. But even more than the courts went to the residents of Malta, many of whom died, and the exact number of injured is unknown.
Despite the name of the tornado, the capital of Malta - Valletta - did not exist at that time, since the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta personally laid the foundation stone on March 28, 1566, ten to fifteen years after the disaster.
5. Tornado in Dhaka, Bangladesh (at the time of the incident - Pakistan)
The death toll: 660 people.
In 1969, when the city of Dhaka was still under the jurisdiction of Pakistan, and not Bangladesh, a terrible tornado swept through its northeastern, densely populated suburb.
He killed approximately 660 people, and the number of injured reached 4,000. But as terrible as the tragedy was, it was only one of two deadly tornadoes that hit Bangladesh on April 14, 1969.
A second tornado appeared in the Comilla area of Chittagong, Bangladesh, on the same day. Both tornadoes were part of the same storm system, but separated from each other.
If we consider the total number of deaths (883 people) from two tornadoes, then this day is one of the deadliest in world history.
4. Tornado Manikganj-Singair-Nawabganj, Bangladesh
The death toll: 681 people.
One of the most destructive tornadoes was named after the three main areas that it destroyed on April 17, 1973. In all, the tornado destroyed most of the nine cities.
In some unofficial lists, the death toll reaches 1,000. According to reports from the time, the two tornadoes merged into one super-cyclone that swept across most of Bangladesh.
3. Tornado of three states, USA
The death toll: 695 people.
Given the large number of victims, this tornado is considered the most deadly in US history. And its 352-kilometer journey through Missouri, Indiana and Illinois is the longest tornado path in world history.
The death toll for March 18, 1925 was 695 people, more than two thousand were injured, and 15 thousand houses were destroyed. Several small towns (for example De Soto and Parrish) were completely devastated. Most deaths were recorded in southern Illinois.
There was no effective disaster warning system at the time, and people were caught off guard. In addition, a very fast moving tornado at times had an unusual appearance. Witnesses often described the three-state tornadoes as amorphous rolling fog or boiling clouds on the ground, and many people did not sense danger until it was too late to flee. It was also reported that the tornado's funnel was sometimes obscured by a cloud of dust and debris, making it obscure and less recognizable.
2. Tornado Madarganj-Mrizapur, Bangladesh
The death toll: about 700 people.
In the small state of Bangladesh, dangerous tornadoes are not uncommon. But the one that hit the country on May 13, 1996, became one of the most catastrophic in the entire history of the country. The exact number of casualties is unknown, and in terms of the number of deaths, this tornado was the second most deadly in history.
As the tornado moved further south from Madarganj to Mirzapur, it also destroyed about 30,000 homes.
1. Tornado Daulatpur-Saturia, Bangladesh
The death toll: about 1,300 people.
On April 26, 1989, the worst tornado in the history of mankind appeared in the Manikganj area, in the central part of Bangladesh. Within 6 km², countless trees were uprooted in its path, and all dwellings within this area were completely destroyed.
The force of the resulting wind ranged from 180 to 350 km / h. According to experts, the width of the tornado reached incredible dimensions - 1.5 km, and it passed through the poor regions of the country, leaving a path of death and chaos 80 km long. In addition to the huge number of deaths, 12 thousand people were injured, and 80 thousand were left homeless.
“I saw black clouds gathering in the sky,” said Saida Begum, a 30-year-old resident of Saturia. "After a few minutes, I found myself flying with my home."
Tornado season in Bangladesh is short-lived, but extremely deadly.This is due to the lack of a sophisticated warning system, as well as a lack of tornado shelters and few buildings to withstand devastating winds. The fact that the Daulatpur-Saturia tornado struck in April was not a surprise. It was at this time that the peak of the appearance of tornadoes occurred in the country, especially in the district of Manikganj, a severe drought raged for six months, which could accelerate the formation of tornadoes.