Murphysboro 234 killed highest singlecity death toll of

Murphysboro • 234 killed, highest single-city death toll of any tornado • 17 children killed at Longfellow School, 9 at Logan School • Remains of city caught fire shortly after tornado passed • Major industries destroyed

De Soto • Town virtually annihilated; strong F-5 damage • 69 deaths including 33 at the school—still the worst tornado school death toll • Business district destroyed, caught fire after storm’s passage

West Frankfort • Most men were employed in mines and were underground when storm struck • 147 fatalities, most of them women and children • Tornado devastated northwest quadrant of town, where most miners lived • Business district largely spared

Rural Hamilton and White Counties, Illinois • No population centers struck • 65 deaths, hundreds injured • Strong F-5 damage continues, with concrete walkways blown out of the ground at one Hamilton County farm

Griffin, Indiana • Town completely destroyed • Large quantities of mud sucked from Wabash River, pelted many survivors • Storm still exhibiting F-5 damage • 26 fatalities in village of 400 people • Schoolchildren killed on the way home from school

Owensville, Indiana Area • Storm turned slightly northward; first deviation in path since touchdown • Tornado passed just northwest of Owensville, destroying 85 farms • Entire farm families wiped out

Princeton, Indiana • Largest city to be struck by tornado after Murphysboro and West Frankfort • Two southern neighborhoods, Baldwin Heights and Summit, bore brunt of storm • Heinz Ketchup plant and Southern Railroad shops demolished • 25 deaths in Princeton area