Tri-State Tornado 97 years later

(KFVS) - It’s the 97th anniversary of the Tri-State Tornado, the most deadly in U.S. history.

On March 18, 1925, the tornado killed 695 people in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, according to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency.

More than 2,000 people were injured.

According to Missouri SEMA, the F5 tornado also set records for duration and path length. It lasted 3.5 hours and traveled 219 miles.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado started at 1 p.m. northwest of Ellington, Mo. From there, it traveled northeast through Annapolis and Leadanna before heading into Bollinger County where it injured 32 children in two county schools.

By the time it reached the Mississippi River bordering Perry County, the NWS said 11 Missourians had died.

In southern Illinois, the entire town of Gorham was demolished around 2:30 p.m. where 34 people died. Hundreds more were killed as the tornado cut a path nearly 1 mile wide through Murphysboro, De Soto, Hurst-Bush and West Frankfort.

According to the NWS, it wiped out the town of Parrish before killing dozens more in Hamilton and White Counties. It then moved across the Wabash River into Indiana.

They said when it ended, the property damage totaled $16.5 million, nearly two-thirds of that was in Murphysboro, Ill. alone.

Copyright 2022 KFVS. All rights reserved.