When tornadoes touch down, people run for cover. They crouch in bathtubs or hide in basements and then listen as the storm nears. Survivors have described terrifying rumbles that shake the house and banging noises against the roof. They hear glass shatter, trees plummet to the ground, and, as one survivor recalled, an eerie groaning sound when his house strained from the force of the wind.
Sometimes, shelters aren’t enough to protect people from deadly tornadoes. In a typical year, about 1,000 reported tornadoes in the U.S. result in 80 fatalities and 1,500 injuries. These storms can happen anywhere in the country but typically occur in the Great Plains, Midwest, South and Southeast.
Meteorologists have become increasingly skilled at predicting deadly storms and have been able to forewarn about 87 percent of them. Scientists are learning more about what makes tornadoes deadly and how people can protect themselves.
Deadly Natural Disasters
In the U.S., tornadoes are one of our most deadly natural disasters. Tornadoes are swirling air columns stretching from a cumuliform cloud to the ground. They typically occur within supercell thunderstorms, and they have the potential to be deadly because of the intense energy that is concentrated within a small area.
