March 4th, 2012 -- Posted in Tornado |
As deadly twisters ripped through 12 states in the Midwest and the South on Friday, they obliterated homes, leveled towns, and killed at least 38 people. Hardest hit were Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
The National Weather Service reported that the four twisters to hit Kentucky were the worst in the region in 24 years.  “In Indiana, a tornado packing 175 mph winds hit the town of Henryville, and stayed on the ground for more than 50 miles. Three tornadoes in Kentucky had wind speeds up to 160 mph.”
The Associated Press In West Liberty, Ky., reported the aftermath for Doris Shuck. The storms took her home, leaving only the basement and front porch. “I could hear the glass and hear the wood breaking. I just thought the house is going to fall on top of me,” she said. She had scrapes and bruises.
The town of Marysville, Ind., population about 1,900, was “completely gone,” Clark County sheriff’s Maj. Chuck Adams told NBC News.
Paige Colburn, an emergency management officer at the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency, told msnbc.com that the damage in Alabama covered a 4- to 5-mile swath in northern Madison County. “The reason that it is so wide is because we’re not talking about one tornado. We’re talking about a very large super-cell that spawned several smaller tornadoes,” she said.
As survivors try to recover and search and rescue teams continue their efforts to find missing and injured residents, the American Red Cross has launched a multi state relief operation. To learn more about helping, visit www.redcross.org
February 29th, 2012 -- Posted in Tornado |
Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska were slammed by deadly storms around 1 a.m. today. Massive damage, injuries and fatalities have been reported in Branson, Mo; Buffalo, Mo; Harveyville, Kansas; and Harrisburg, Illinois.
Small towns in Illinois and Kansas were hit hard. At least nine deaths are blamed on the tornadoes.
Tornado Forming in Kansas
According to a KRMG news article, a man at a hotel in Branson, Mo. told KRMG, “Next thing I know the entire building is starting to shake. I believe there’s 12 floors to the hotel. You could hear windows being blown out and you could see debris out the window,” Corey Hall said. “The storm hit from both sides. It just basically went over the top of the hotel.”
The Christian Science Monitor quoted Branson’s Mayor “We were blessed with several things—the time of year and certainly the time of day, when people were not in their vehicles or outdoors,” said Mayor Raeanne Presley, noting that during Branson’s peak season, up to 60,000 visitors would have been in the city on any given day and staying in many of the hotels that were damaged.
Tulsa World News posted a historic record of previous Leap Day tornado outbreaks. The growing reports indicate that 2012 may be the worst Leap Day outbreak yet.
May 30th, 2011 -- Posted in Tornado |
by Victoria M. Johnson
On May 22, 2011 an EF-5 tornado slammed into Joplin, Missouri, demolishing everything in its path. An EF-5 is the strongest rating possible. The twister is responsible for 139 fatalities and 100 people remain unaccounted for. The twister that destroyed a third of the city of nearly 50,000 residents also injured more than 900 people.
Joplin, Missouri Tornado aftermath
According to the New York Times, the Joplin tornado was part of a weather system in which cold and warm fronts crashed together throughout the middle of the country, creating conditions that spawned “supercell” thunderstorms. Even though the supercell is the rarest of storm types, it is the most dangerous because of the extreme weather generated.
The Weather Channel forecasts widespread and severe thunderstorms throughout the Memorial Day holiday in the Plains and Upper Midwest. So far tornados in May 2011 have killed 10 in Oklahoma (May 24), 2 people in Kansas (May 24), 6 people in Arkansas (May 24).
January 22nd, 2011 -- Posted in Earthquakes, Natural Disasters, Volcanoes |
If you’re at all like me, you enjoy watching disaster films. Asteroid collisions, volcanic eruptions, mega earthquakes, are all events I love to see (fictionalized—not the real thing). Today the Syfy Channel has a disaster film marathon. With movies like NYC Tornado Terror, Category 6: Day of Destruction, Megafault, and Volcano: Nature Unleashed, scientists and regular citizens scramble to prevent the ultimate disaster that will end the world. In these films earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or extreme weather systems threaten the world as we know it.
Earthquake Fault
I examined what it is I love so much about these kinds of movies and here’s what I discovered. There are people out there who dedicate their lives to studying our planet—disaster films give them the recognition they deserve—as it is often their expertise that saves mankind. The threat of disaster or dealing with the aftermath of the disaster brings people together, giving a sense of hope for the future, that facing the worst the planet has in store for us, we will survive. I also like that sense of survival that comes out in these films, people have to use their wits to stay alive, they have to step up and be brave and do whatever it takes to live. Another thing I enjoy is the often thought-provoking question that many of these films ask. What about you? Share your thoughts on this topic.