List of deadliest tornadoes in the Americas

The following is a list of the deadliest tornadoes in the Americas including Canada, Mexico, and the United States as well as the countries and islands of the Caribbean and the countries included in both Central America and South America. While the significant majority of tornadoes on this list occurred in the United States, there are also entries for Argentina, Bermuda, The Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay

The deadliest tornado on record was the Daulatpur–Saturia tornado which occurred in the Dhaka division of Bangladesh on April 26, 1989. With a rating of at least F3 from the World Meteorological Organization and top winds estimated at greater than 200 mph (320 km/h), the tornado killed an estimated 1,300 people and injured at least 12,000 others. Of all the recorded tornadoes with death tolls of 100 or greater, at least 24 of them occurred in Bangladesh and/or India, and two of them occurred in Europe (in the countries of Italy and Malta).

In the Americas, there are 15 tornadoes on record that caused at least 100 fatalities, the most recent being the Joplin F5 tornado which killed 158 people in May 2011. There are at least 450 tornadoes on record that caused greater than ten fatalities; the most recent of these was the Rolling Fork, Mississippi EF4 tornado which killed 17 people in March 2023.

100+ fatalities

50–99 fatalities

30–49 fatalities

25–29 fatalities

20–24 fatalities

15-19 fatalities

12-14 fatalities

10-11 fatalities

Notable tornadoes with fewer than ten fatalities

Bibliography

• Grazulis, Thomas (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
• Grazulis, Thomas (1997). Significant Tornadoes Update, 1992–1995. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-04-X.

See also

• Ted Fujita, creator of the original Fujita Scale (used in the United States from 1971 to 2007)
• Thomas P. Grazulis, meteorologist and author of "Significant Tornadoes"
• List of natural disasters by death toll
• List of tornado-related deaths at schools
• List of tornadoes by calendar day
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks (before 2001)
  • List of Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks (since 2001)
  • List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
  • List of Southern Hemisphere tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• List of costliest tornadoes in the Americas
• List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
• List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes
• Tornado climatology
• Tornado records

Notes

References

1. List of tornadoes causing 100 or more deaths
2. Tornadoes in the United States
3. List of costliest tornadoes in the Americas
4. Tri-State tornado outbreak
5. List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
6. List of tornadoes by calendar day
7. List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
8. 2021 Western Kentucky tornado
9. Daulatpur–Saturia tornado
10. Tornado records
11. Tornado climatology
12. 2011 Joplin tornado
13. List of natural disasters by death toll
14. List of tornadoes by province (Canada)
15. List of tornado outbreaks by outbreak intensity score
16. 2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado
17. List of deadliest Storm Prediction Center days by outlook risk level
18. List of tornado-related deaths at schools
19. 1953 Waco tornado outbreak
20. List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes