Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Tornado Disaster -- Texas, May 1997

On May 27, 1997, multiple tornadoes swept through Williamson and Travis counties in central Texas. The tornadoes caused 32 injuries, 29 deaths, and an estimated $20 million in personal and commercial insured losses. This report summarizes the injuries and deaths associated with these tornadoes based on information from emergency department and hospital records and death certificates.
Three tornadoes swept through the towns of Jarrell, Cedar Park, and Pedernales Valley at approximately 3:40 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 4:50 p.m., respectively (Table_1). The first tornado, a slow-moving multivortex F-5 (Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale) (Table_2), swept a path 7.6 miles long and approximately 1320 yards wide through a residential subdivision of Jarrell, a predominantly rural town in Williamson County, destroying 30 permanent homes, eight mobile homes, and three businesses (Table_1). The second tornado (F-3) touched down in Cedar Park in Williamson County and swept a path 9.2 miles long and 250 yards wide, destroying 11 permanent homes and three businesses (Table_1). The third tornado (F-4) swept a path 5.6 miles long and 440 yards wide through Pedernales Valley, a heavily wooded area in western Travis County, destroying 15 permanent homes, three mobile homes, and two businesses (Table_1).

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00049839.htm

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