The most powerful hurricanes in the world. The most dangerous tornadoes The most famous tornadoes in history

Problems range from local troubles to global cataclysms. Volcanic eruptions, large hail that destroys crops and breaks through the roofs of houses and cars, prolonged rains causing a rapid rise in water levels in rivers, heavy downpours leading to mudflows and landslides. In addition, there are tropical cyclones, which the weather service loves to scare ordinary people with. different countries, including Russia, the notorious global warming, as elusive as atypical fever, foreign tornadoes and domestic tornadoes, sea / ocean storms, hurricanes - you can’t count everything. Of inexhaustible interest are tornadoes that arise due to inexplicable ordinary person reasons in a matter of minutes, terrifying, mystical in appearance, sad in the volume of destruction, general material damage, and often casualties. What and where was the largest tornado in the world is a question that is probably interesting to all readers.

First of all, to avoid confusion in concepts, it is necessary to say that hurricanes are tropical cyclones, moving with enormous speed and the same destructive force, coming to land from the ocean, and this happens in many places in the world, from the USA to Far East Russia, have little in common with tornadoes.

Is that their ultra-high speed of moving air for normal atmospheric conditions and the destructive consequences for people caught in their area of ​​​​action. But at the same time, a hurricane is a much more global phenomenon, compared to a tornado, which originates and acts in a limited, in comparison, territory.

Now about the difference between the concepts of a tornado and a tornado. These are two names for the same destructive thing. atmospheric phenomenon nature. It’s just that the first is more familiar to the residents of Russia, and the second – to the USA and Canada, on whose territory most of the events take place in North America. large number such terrifying “gifts” from planet Earth.

By the way, the natural phenomenon received its foreign name from the conquistadors who saw a spinning storm and called it tornar, which translated from Spanish means to twist/twist. The word, familiar to the inhabitants of Russia, has its roots in the ancient Russian “march”, which meant cloud.

Scientific explanations for the mechanism of a tornado are as follows:

• This is an atmospheric vortex, also called an annular storm.
• Differences from a hurricane are the scale of the action zone from origin to loss of wind energy, dissipation, varying from tens of meters above the surface of water bodies to 3 km above solid ground.
• Favorable conditions for the appearance are a thunderstorm front with cumulus rain clouds, in which it arises, spreading down to the very surface of the earth or water (depending on the place of origin) in the form of a sleeve, rope, trunk, which is how a tornado appears to observers.
• Inside the tornado, the air masses descend, and outside they rise, which creates rotation and, as a result, a zone of strong vacuum, whose values ​​​​inside the tornado, which scientists really want to measure for obvious reasons, but cannot, are so high that filled with air under normal atmospheric pressure buildings with closed windows and doors simply explode, at best, losing glazed joinery, but often this leads to more significant destruction. This is especially true of the mortgaged buildings made of wooden blocks, plywood and plasterboard, for which one-story America is famous, unaware of the misadventures of two of the three little pigs from the fairy tale.
• Determined by scientists based on indirect observational data, the air speed inside a tornado can reach terrifying values ​​- up to 1,300 km/h.
• The tornado is inseparable from the cloud that gave birth to it, and moves with it.
• The length of passage of a tornado is different and directly depends on the energy reserve of the thunderstorm front, meteorological conditions along the route, varying from several tens to hundreds of kilometers with a zone of severe, sometimes complete, destruction hundreds of meters wide.

An “ordinary” tornado should not be confused with dust/sand whirlwinds/storms, since the mechanism of origin and development of these natural phenomena is different, despite the external similarity/similarity.

Tornadoes can theoretically occur anywhere on Earth, with the exception of mountainous and polar regions, but, in practice, among the leaders are the Great Plains in the United States, which apparently is an ideal natural testing ground for the creation and development of a tornado, as well as the southern regions of Brazil and China. In other regions of the planet, including Russia, conditions for their appearance are rarely formed - on average, once every few years.

The most powerful tornadoes in human history occurred:

Assessing which one is the biggest is, to say the least, unethical.

The most powerful tornado in Russian Empire, which occurred on June 29, 1904, was mentioned by the famous writer Vladimir Gilyarovsky in the essay “Hurricane”. Anyone can get acquainted with it. It is worth warning that the essay ends with the words “The impression is terrible,” characterizing the author’s attitude to what he saw after the tornado.

Readers, having learned from the article that a tornado in the world is extremely unlikely in the vast expanses of Russia, can more calmly watch news programs on TV, similar information on the Internet, despite the hysterical assurances of bloodthirsty journalists that everything, in connection with the semi-mythical global warming, will only be worse.

More than 700 hurricanes of varying strength sweep across the United States every year. The state of Kansas with its 1,200 cyclones per year is recognized as the leader in the number of these destructive phenomena. By the way, if in Northern and South America destructive tropical cyclones that cause tornadoes or tornadoes are called hurricanes; in Asia they are also called typhoons. Today we present Top 10 most destructive hurricanes in history, the victims of which were hundreds of residents from different parts of the planet.

In Russia, such cataclysms occur much less frequently, and tornadoes form, as a rule, in coastal waters and rarely reach land.

10. Typhoon Bhola (Pakistan, 1970)

A powerful typhoon hits the shore East Pakistan, causing the formation of a wave 8 meters high. The death toll from the hurricane, according to various estimates, ranged from 300 to 800 thousand people, more than 10 million people in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India were left homeless.

9. Hurricane Pauline (Mexico, 1997)

Hurricane-force winds and heavy rains caused landslides and floods in various parts of Mexico. About 400 people are considered dead, and 300 thousand Mexicans were left without housing and livelihoods. The damage caused by Pauline is estimated at $7.5 billion.

8. Hurricane Nargiz (Myanmar, 2008)

The hurricane caused catastrophic flooding, which, according to the UN, killed 138 thousand people. 2.4 million people in Myanmar are considered affected. The damage caused to Nargiz is estimated at $4 billion.

7. Hurricane Sandy (USA, 2012)

The most destructive hurricane of the past year hit the east coast of the United States. The hurricane killed 113 people. The greatest damage was caused to the states of New York and New Jersey.

6. Typhoon Nina (China, 1975)

The destructive power of Hurricane Nina allowed the Banquiao Dam to burst, causing catastrophic flooding and the collapse of other dams. The number of victims of the hurricane ranges from 100 to 230 thousand people.

5. Hurricane Charlie (USA, Cuba, Jamaica, 2004)

Wind gusts during the rampant of this element reached 240 km/h. The hurricane was classified as category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale out of five possible. In the United States, 2 million people were evacuated. Damages from Charlie amounted to $16.3 billion.

4. Hurricane Ivan (USA, Cuba, Cayman Islands, 2004)

The hurricane was classified as a category five hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The disaster is responsible for widespread destruction in Cuba, the USA, Jamaica and Grenada. The damage caused by Ivan is estimated at $18 billion.

3. Hurricane Wilma (USA, Cuba, 2005)

This hurricane is the most powerful Atlantic cyclone on record. The cyclone originated in the ocean and made landfall several times. 62 people are believed to have died from Wilma, and the damage caused is estimated at $29 billion.

2. Hurricane Ike (USA, 2008)

The diameter of the giant vortex was more than 900 km. The wind speed during the hurricane reached 135 km/h. The cyclone “walked” across the United States for 14 hours, bringing with it destruction totaling $30 billion.

1. Hurricane Katrina (USA, 2005)

The most destructive hurricane of the last decade is undoubtedly Katrina. One of them says that they are almost never accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning; Katrina was an exception to this rule. According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, the cyclone received a category five rating. Flooding caused by the hurricane covered 80% of New Orleans under water. 1,836 people were killed and damage amounted to $125 billion.

What is a tornado?

A tornado or tornado is an atmospheric vortex that occurs in a rain or thundercloud. It looks like a cloud funnel, which often goes down to the ground.

Tornadoes travel at high speed and can cause considerable destruction. Most of them have wind speeds of no more than 170 km per hour, but some vortices can move at speeds of up to 500 km per hour.

Tornadoes occur on all continents of the planet, but most often, especially in the United States.

Tornadoes in Daulatpur and Saturia

The deadliest tornado in history was the one that hit Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. This is one of the countries where, along with the USA and Canada, tornadoes occur quite often.

The tornado with a radius of more than 1.5 km traveled 80 km and affected Manikganj district, which is located in the center of the country in the Dhaka region. The worst hit cities were Daulatpur and Saturia. The tornado killed 1.3 thousand people, 12 thousand were injured.

The tornado was so destructive that it easily lifted into the air and destroyed the homes of local residents in poor areas of Bangladesh. Some cities were completely destroyed. As many as 80 thousand people were left homeless.

Tornadoes in Pakistan

A terrible tornado in 1969 swept through the territory of eastern Pakistan, which is now the territory of Bangladesh. The city of Dhaka was seriously affected by it. More than 660 people died, about 4 thousand were injured.

On the same day, another tornado occurred in Comilla district of Chittagong region, Bangladesh. More than 220 more people died. The tornado passed through a densely populated area, which is why there were so many casualties.

Tri-State Tornado

In the US tornado country, the most terrible consequences were produced by the Tri-State on March 18, 1925. It traveled from southeastern Missouri through southern Illinois to southwestern Indiana.

About 700 people died, 2 thousand were injured. 15 thousand houses were destroyed, many were left homeless and foodless. Cases of looting and theft of property of the victims were recorded. Some settlements, destroyed by this tornado, were never restored.

Tornado in Mirzapur

Another incredible tornado hit Bangladesh on May 15, 1996. It passed from the city of Madarganj in the north of the country to the city of Mirzapur in its central part.

About 700 people became victims of this tornado, many people were lifted into the air by the whirlwind to a height of more than a kilometer. 30 thousand houses were destroyed.

Tornado in Dhaka region

The top five most destructive tornadoes include another deadly tornado that swept through Bangladesh on April 17, 1973. It affected the cities of Manikganj and Singair in central Bangladesh, as well as the city of Nawabganj in the west of the country.

About 700 people tragically died due to the tornado. The villages that were on his way - this is 100 km - were completely destroyed. Almost all the houses in them were lifted into the air and carried away by the tornado.

Tropical cyclones or hurricanes bring with them not only extreme winds, but also heavy rains, large waves, storm surges and tornadoes. Interestingly, in North and South America tropical cyclones are called hurricanes, and in Asia they are called typhoons. Below is a list of the ten most destructive hurricanes on record.

Katrina is one of the most destructive Atlantic hurricanes in the history of the United States. It emerged on August 23, 2005, in the Bahamas, peaked on August 28, and dissipated at 31. On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, Katrina was rated as a Category 5 hurricane. The wind speed reached 280 km/h. The cyclone and subsequent floods killed at least 1,245 people. Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion (as of 2005). New Orleans in Louisiana was hit the hardest - about 80% of the city's area was under water.

Andrew is a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane (with wind speeds of 270 km/h), formed on August 14, 1992 in Atlantic Ocean over the west coast of Africa. Andrew passed through the northwestern Bahamas, southern Florida and southwestern Louisiana, killing 65 people and destroying large numbers of homes, in many cases leaving only concrete foundations. The total damage caused by the hurricane in all affected regions exceeded $26 billion (as of 1992).

The Great Hurricane of 1780 or "San Calixto II" was the deadliest tropical cyclone in the North Atlantic basin, killing more than 22,000 people in the Lesser Antilles and Bermuda between October 10–16, 1780. The specifics and exact strength of it are unknown, since the official database on hurricanes began to be maintained in 1851. There is an assumption that the wind force could exceed 320 km/h.

“Ike” is a tropical cyclone of danger category 4 (wind speed more than 215 km/h) on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale. Sailed through the Greater Antilles and the southern coast of the United States between September 1–14, 2008. It originated in last days August off the coast of Africa and by the time it reached North America near the city of Galveston (Texas), the diameter of the storm was more than 1,450 km, making it the largest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean on record. According to preliminary estimates, property damage from Hurricane Ike amounted to approximately $37.5 billion. It claimed the lives of 195 people in the United States, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Iniki was a powerful Category 4 hurricane that formed on September 5, 1992 and passed through the Hawaiian Islands. The wind speed reached 233 km/h. The total damage from Hurricane Iniki was about $1.8 billion (as of 1992). The hardest hit island was Kauai, where 5,152 homes were heavily damaged and another 1,421 were completely destroyed. As a result of the hurricane, more than 7 thousand people were left homeless and 6 people died. Iniki dissipated on September 13, halfway between Hawaii and Alaska.

The Galveston Hurricane was the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, making landfall near Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. As a result, from 6 thousand to 12 thousand people died (the most often mentioned figure is 8000). At average speed Winds of 233 km/h were assigned to the 4th danger category on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. The material damage caused is estimated at $20 million (in 1900). Then more than 3,600 houses were destroyed, and only ruins remained of the largest city at that time in the state of Texas with a population of 42 thousand.

Pauline is one of the deadliest Pacific hurricanes to ever reach the shores of Mexico. It was formed on October 5, 1997, approximately 410 km southwest of the city of Santa Maria Huatulco. It initially moved east and then turned northwest, reaching peak wind speeds of 215 km/h. Moving parallel to the Mexican coast, Hurricane Pauline caused heavy rainfall, causing flooding and landslides in some of Mexico's poorest areas, killing 230–500 people. As a result of the hurricane, tens of thousands of homes were destroyed and damaged, and about 300 thousand people were left homeless. Total damage was $7.5 billion (as of 1997).

Kenna is third on the list of the most destructive hurricanes in history. This is a powerful hurricane that formed in the northeastern part Pacific Ocean October 22, 2002. Having reached a peak wind speed of 270 km/h, it was assigned danger category 5. The hardest hit cities were San Blas in the Mexican state of Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta in the state of Jalisco, where more than 100 people were injured. As a result of the hurricane, thousands of homes were damaged or completely destroyed. In total, it claimed 4 lives and caused $101 million in damage (as of 2002).

Typhoon Nina is a category 4 tropical cyclone (maximum wind speed reached 250 km/h), which passed through Taiwan and China in early August 1975. In the central Chinese province of Henan due to severe flood caused by rains, the Banqiao Dam was destroyed and 62 dams were broken. As a result of the flood, 26 thousand people died (according to other sources up to 85,000), and later - due to famine - about 145 thousand more. In addition, over 300,000 livestock died and approximately 5,960,000 buildings were destroyed. The hurricane is estimated to have caused $1.2 billion in damage (1995).

Cyclone Bhola is a devastating category 3 tropical cyclone (maximum wind speeds of 205 km/h) that struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and the Indian state of West Bengal on November 12, 1970. This is a tropical cyclone with a record number of casualties, and one of the worst natural disasters in the world. modern history. An estimated 300,000–500,000 people lost their lives, mostly as a result of the 9m high storm surge, which swept away entire villages and farmland in the region along its path. In the worst-hit upazilas of Thanh and Tazumuddin, more than 45% of the population died. The total damage from the cyclone was $86.4 million (as of 1970).

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, carried away hundreds human lives in a matter of minutes.

10. Great Natchez Tornado, USA

Number of deaths: 317 people.

Believed to be the only tornado in the United States causing death more people what was damaged. The tornado occurred in May 1840, it went straight down the Mississippi River, tearing down trees on both banks. Not surprisingly, most of the disaster's victims were on flat-bottomed boats. The number of wounded reached 109 people.

However, the actual number of those killed by the Great Tornado may be much higher, because the death of slaves was not included in the overall sad count.

9. Narail-Magura tornado, Bangladesh

Number of deaths: about 500 people.

The first, but not the last tornado “originally” from Bangladesh in the ranking of the most terrible tornadoes of all time. In 1964, the fury of the elements devastated two cities and seven villages, and 400 people from the village of Bhabanipur were never found and are believed to be dead.

8. Tornadoes in Comoros, Africa

Number of deaths: over 500 people.

One of the poorest countries in the world and the former French colony in the middle of the 20th century (in 1951) it survived the impact 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 approximately 500 people, both natives and visiting French.

Other details of this incident are unknown as the island nation was still under foreign administration at this time.

7. Sicilian tornado, Italy

Death toll: approximately 600 people.

Over the years, no one will say how many human lives this terrible tornado claimed. Like the Comoros tornado, 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 that merged into a “megatornado.” This is one of the hypotheses for why such a large number of local residents died from a tornado in Sicily.

6. Tornado La Valletta, Malta

Number of deaths: 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 in earthly paradise there are hellish days. One of them occurred on September 23, 1551 or 1556 (different sources indicate different years).

Having arisen over the Mediterranean Sea, the tornado moved towards Grand Harbor Bay. At least four ships were capsized during the tornado rampage. Order of Malta, and many others were badly damaged. But even more than the ships, the inhabitants of Malta suffered, many of whom died, and the exact number of wounded is unknown.

Despite the name of the tornado, the capital of Malta, Valletta, did not exist at that time, as the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta personally laid the foundation stone on 28 March 1566, ten to fifteen years after the disaster.

5. Tornado in Dhaka, Bangladesh (at the time of the incident - Pakistan)

Number of deaths: 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 suburbs.

He killed approximately 660 people and wounded up to 4,000. But as terrible as this tragedy was, it was only one of two deadly tornadoes that struck Bangladesh on April 14, 1969.

A second tornado occurred in the Comilla district of Chittagong, Bangladesh, on the same day. Both tornadoes were part of the same storm system but separated from each other.

When considering the total number of deaths (883 people) from the two tornadoes, this day is one of the deadliest in world history.

4. Manikganj-Singair-Nawabganj Tornado, Bangladesh

Number of deaths: 681 people.

One of the most destructive tornadoes was named after the three main areas it devastated on April 17, 1973. Overall, the tornado destroyed most of nine cities.

Some unofficial lists put the death toll as high as 1,000. According to reports at the time, two tornadoes combined to form one supertornado that tore through much of Bangladesh.

3. Tri-State Tornado, USA

Number of deaths: 695 people.

Considering large number This tornado is considered the deadliest in US history. And its 352-kilometer path through Missouri, Indiana and Illinois is the longest tornado path in world history.

The death toll on March 18, 1925 was 695 people, more than two thousand were injured, and 15 thousand houses were destroyed. Several small towns (such as De Soto and Parrish) were completely devastated. Most of the deaths were recorded in southern Illinois.

At that time there was no effective warning system for natural disasters, and people were taken by surprise. In addition, the very fast-moving tornado at times had unusual appearance. Witnesses often described the Tri-State tornado as an amorphous rolling fog or boiling clouds on the ground, and many people did not perceive danger until it was too late to flee. It was also reported that the funnel of this tornado was sometimes obscured by a cloud of dust and debris, making it unclear and less recognizable.

2. Madarganj-Mrizapur Tornado, Bangladesh

Number of deaths: about 700 people.

In the small country 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 existence of the country. The exact number of injured is unknown, but in terms of the number of deaths, this tornado became the second deadliest in history.

1. Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado, Bangladesh

Number of deaths: about 1300 people.

On April 26, 1989, the worst tornado in human history occurred in the Manikganj district of central Bangladesh. Within 6 km² of its path, countless trees were uprooted, and all dwellings within this area were completely destroyed.

The strength of the resulting wind ranged from 180 to 350 km/h. According to experts, the width of the tornado reached an incredible size of 1.5 km, and it passed through poor areas of the country, leaving behind 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. “Within a few minutes I found myself flying with the house.”

The tornado season in Bangladesh is not very long, but it is extremely deadly. This is due to the lack of a sophisticated warning system, as well as a lack of tornado shelters and few buildings that can withstand destructive winds. That the Daulatpur-Saturia tornado struck in the month of April was not unexpected. This is precisely the time when tornadoes peak in the country, especially since Manikganj district experienced a severe drought for six months, which could hasten the formation of tornadoes.