Spatial Analyses of the 2011 Joplin Tornado Mortality: Deaths by Interpolated Damage Zones and Location of Victims

Abstract

On 22 May 2011, a massive tornado tore through a densely populated section of Joplin, Missouri, killing 162 people. The EF5 tornado was the deadliest single tornado to occur in the United States since modern record keeping began in 1950, surpassing the tornado of 8 June 1953, which claimed 116 lives in Flint, Michigan. The Joplin tornado death toll was also far higher than the average annual number of deaths caused by tornadoes in the United States between 2000 and 2011. This study analyzed Joplin deaths by damage zone and place of death. Tabular data collected primarily from secondary sources revealed the number of deaths and death rates differ significantly by zone of destruction. The central zone (labeled as ''catastrophic'') had the most deaths, with the number decreasing systematically in both directions from the center of that zone. The results of this study further show that more people died in nonresidential buildings in Joplin than is usual in a U.S. tornado event, calling into question how well such structures protect occupants. Finally, the lack of basements in residential and other structures most likely contributed greatly to the high death toll, although the degree remains uncertain. Several recommendations are offered to reduce future U.S. tornado fatalities.

Tornadic shear stress induces a transient, calcineurin-dependent hyper-virulent phenotype in Mucorales molds

“…As the rotational speed and viscous effects in the rotating flow of a common laboratory stirrer are several magnitudes smaller than in a tornado (35), prolonged exposure time (≥ 30 minutes) was needed to induce Mucoralean hyper-virulence. Although most tornados last for only a few minutes, violent tornados such as the 2011 Joplin tornado can reach path lengths over 100 miles and travel for more than 30 minutes (36–37), underlining the physiological relevance of our experimental setting.…”

Pattern and spectrum of tornado injury and its geographical information system distribution in Yancheng, China: a cross-sectional study

“…Specifically, the density of injured patients increased with the severity of tornado-related damage in the area, which was mainly related to the wind speed and building destruction. As the wind speeds range from EF1 at the edge of a tornado to EF4 at the centre, 15 we recommend that different quantities of emergency medical personnel be deployed to different disaster areas. Specifically, larger numbers of medical personnel should be deployed to severely affected areas, which contain more victims and higher densities of injured patients.…”

“… 13 Furthermore, Curtis et al used GIS technology to assess the distribution of medical needs in the Los Angeles area after an earthquake. 14 In general, the lethality of a tornado is clearly related to geographical characteristics such as the size of and wind level within the area of damage 15 16 as well as emergency medical rescue efforts. Specifically, the risk of injury or death increases with increasing wind speed or intensity and decreases with increasing distance from the tornado.…”

“…Currently, tornado severity is evaluated using the EF scale, which was based on the 1971 F scale and revised in 2007. 15 19 The EF-scale ranges from 0 to 5, with 5 indicating the highest severity. Some studies have comprehensively assessed the proportion of damaged buildings and other factors to rate different damage areas.…”

“…Although several studies have presented data regarding injuries in different areas, they did not explore the interactions between them. Paul and Stimers studied the distributions of 162 deaths in different damage areas caused by the Joplin, MO tornado, 15 while Curtis and Fagan used a spatial video of damage assessments to analyse the distribution of 135 tornado-related deaths. 20 Ashley provided spatial and temporal analyses of tornado fatalities in the USA from 1880 to 2005, 1 while Shen and Hwang provided a spatial risk analysis of tornado injuries and fatalities in the same country.…”