How many people died in the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado? Looking back at historic devastation

USA Today

20-03-2025

How many people died in the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado? Looking back at historic devastation
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U.S. severe weather: Over 30 reported dead across the country
Nearly three dozen people have reportedly died across the central and southern U.S. amid a massive storm that fueled violent tornadoes, high winds, dust storms and icy conditions.
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A deadly tornado that raged through Joplin, Missouri 14 years ago is once again in the spotlight after the release of a new Netflix documentary.
"The Twister: Caught in the Storm" is a feature-length documentary that tells the story of the EF-5 tornado that swept through Joplin, a city of approximately 50,000 about 75 miles west of Springfield, in May 2011 through the lens of a group of young people whose high school graduation day was affected by the natural disaster.
The film is directed by Alexandra Lacey, a UK-based filmmaker known for working on projects like "Tinder Swindler," "American Nightmare" and "Three Identical Strangers."
"This catastrophic event ravaged Joplin, and yet its community overcame, rebuilt and became an enduring symbol of hope," the documentary's synopsis reads adding the film "features adrenaline-inducing real-life footage, filmed by people in Joplin, taking us into the eye of the storm."
Here's what to know about one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the United States.
'Twister: Caught in the Storm': Netflix doc to feature 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri
When and where was the Joplin, Missouri tornado?
The Joplin tornado hit land in the early evening of May 22, 2011 which started as a typical spring Ozarks day in which severe weather was looming, Steve Runnels, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Springfield told USA TODAY on the tornado's 10-year anniversary.
"We were predominantly looking at storms likely to produce very large hail," Runnels said. "Tornadoes were a possibility, but not one we were necessary keying in on."
Late that afternoon, the NWS saw indication on the radar that debris had been thrown way up into the atmosphere − well above 10,000 feet, Runnels said.
"That was the first time in my career up to that point that I had seen that (height)," he said. "We had seen it in other radars in other parts of the country, but it was the first time in southwest Missouri."
The tornado touched down around 5:30 p.m. on Joplin's west side and moved east, destroying homes, businesses, and significantly damaging the city's medical center and Joplin High School over the course of approximately 48 minutes.
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How big was the 2011 Joplin tornado? What was its rating?
The tornado's path on the ground was 22 miles long, with 13 miles of it cutting through Joplin's city limits, USA TODAY previously reported. At its peak, it was about three-fourths of a mile wide with winds hitting more than 200 mph.
Runnels said the tornado, rated EF–5 on the Enhanced Fujita tornado intensity scale, was "moving anywhere from 15 to 30 miles per hour over a densely populated area."
"To put that in context, it would have taken two minutes to pass over your house," he had said.
How many people died in the 2011 Joplin tornado?
The massive tornado killed 158 people, according to NOAA, and injured more than 1,000 people and displaced 9,200 after some 4,000 homes were damaged.
While the National Weather Service's official count of "direct fatalities" was 158, there were additional indirect deaths that added up to or even beyond 162 deaths, Runnels explained.
An NWS Central Region Service Assessment of the Joplin tornado found that the "majority of Joplin residents did not immediately take protective action upon receiving a first indication of risk (usually via the local siren system), regardless of the source of the warning," despite the region being prone to tornados.
"Most first chose to further assess their risk by waiting for, actively seeking, and filtering additional information before taking protective actions," the report said, adding the reasons behind their actions were "quite varied, but largely depended on an individual's 'worldview' formed mostly by previous experience with severe weather."
The report added that most Joplin residents did not take protective action until the threat was confirmed through either observing or hearing the tornado, "seeing or hearing confirmation, and urgency of the threat on radio or television, and/or hearing a second, non-routine siren alert."
What is the biggest tornado ever recorded in the US?
While the Joplin tornado was the deadliest tornado of 2011 and has become known as the deadliest tornado in Missouri history, it is ranked as the seventh deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The deadliest tornado, called the Tri-State Tornado, occurred a 100 years ago on March 18, 1925 and killed 695 people across the states of Missouri, Indiana and Illinois.
However, the National Weather Service ranks the Joplin tornado as the deadliest since modern record-keeping began in 1950. Overall, 2011 was the fourth deadliest tornado year in U.S. history, according to NWS.
The Joplin tornado was also the costliest tornado on record, with losses approaching $3 billion, a report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said.
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Contributing: Greta Cross, USA TODAY; Jackie Rehwald, Springfield News-Leader
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [e-mail] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.