Kentucky governor Andy Beshear on Saturday said that nocturnal tornadoes might have killed at least 70 people in the state. The toll has been climbing after severe weather ripped through at least five states, leaving widespread devastation.
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“This has been the most devastating tornado event in our state’s history,” Beshear said at a news conference Saturday.
The storms hit a candle factory in Kentucky, an Amazon facility in Illinois and a nursing home in Arkansas. Beshear said about 110 people were in the Mayfield factory when the tornado hit.
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However, the tornado is not the deadliest in the country’s history. In 1925, a tri-state tornado hit Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing at least 695 people, as per the National Weather Service. About 2000 were injured and 15,000 homes were destroyed.
On April 5, 1936, Tupelo, Mississippi was hit by at least one tornado that killed 216 people, according to the National Weather Service. About 203 deaths were recorded in Gainesville, Georgia the very next day.
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Only a decade ago, a tornado killed 158 people in Joplin Missouri. Woodward, Oklahoma saw 183 deaths in 1947.
Here is a list of the 10 deadliest tornadoes in the United States since 1900:
— 695 deaths. March 18, 1925, in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
— 216 deaths. April 5, 1936, in Tupelo, Mississippi.
— 203 deaths. April 6, 1936, in Gainesville, Georgia.
— 181 deaths. April 9, 1947, in Woodward, Oklahoma.
— 158 deaths. May 22, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri.
— 143 deaths. April 24, 1908, in Amite, Louisiana, and Purvis, Mississippi.
— 116 deaths. June 8, 1953, in Flint, Michigan.
— 114 deaths. May 11, 1953 in Waco, Texas.
— 114 deaths. May 18, 1902 in Goliad, Texas.
— 103 deaths. March 23, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska.
With inputs from the Associated Press
