SURPRISING WAYS NATURAL DISASTERS CAN TURN DEADLY
Forget rivers of lava and strong winds… Earth’s most furious moments claim their victims in unexpected ways
WORDS PROFESSOR SUSAN KIEFFER
Did you know?
A tornado’s damage path can be 50 miles long
Mucor spinosus, one of the fungi that can cause the deadly mucormycosis infection
TORNADOES
AIRBORNE DISEASES
Tornadoes kill primarily with ‘blunt force trauma’ as flying objects hit people. But these flying objects can also carry infections. In 2011, a 0.7-mile-wide tornado blasted through Joplin, Missouri. It was an EF5 storm, with winds exceeding 198 miles per hour. It killed 158 people and injured nearly 1,000. Nearly a dozen people developed mucormycosis from soil that penetrated their skin. This rare infection can be cured, but only with harsh measures: strong antifungal drugs and the removal of damaged skin. At least three of the deaths linked to the tornado were caused by this.