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Tornado-Associated Fatalities -- Arkansas, 1997On March 1, 1997, approximately nine tornadoes originating from two separate thunderstorms swept across Arkansas, from Hempstead County in the southwest to Clay County in the northeast (approximately 260 miles) (Figure_1). The tornadoes caused 26 deaths and an estimated $115 million in property damage, reflecting damage to residences, nonresidential buildings, bridges, and roads and agriculture and timber losses. The strongest tornadoes touched down southwest of Little Rock in Clark, Saline, and Pulaski counties; the estimated widths of the tornado paths ranged from 1/2 to 1 mile, and wind speeds were greater than 200 miles per hour (National Weather Service {NWS}, unpublished data, 1997). This report summarizes circumstances of the tornado-associated fatalities from information collected by the American Red Cross (ARC); 14 of the 26 fatalities occurred among persons who were in mobile homes. ARC collected data about fatalities associated with the tornadoes by contacting area hospitals and medical examiner's and coroner's offices in affected counties. Fatalities were verified by death certificates obtained from the Arkansas Department of Vital Statistics. A total of 26 fatalities resulted from injuries sustained during the tornadoes; one additional death resulted from electrocution during storm-related clean-up activities in Pulaski County. Twenty-two deaths occurred in the three most heavily affected counties (Clark, Saline, and Pulaski) (Figure_1). Decedents' ages ranged from 14 to 79 years (median: 48 years) (Table_1), and 14 were male. When tornadoes touched down, 14 of those who died were in mobile homes; four, in single-family dwellings; three, in nonresidential buildings; three, in motor vehicles; and two, outdoors. Most deaths resulted from multiple injuries; head injuries were specifically listed in 14 deaths. Twenty-two persons died at the scene of injury; three died at or while being transported to a hospital; and one died in a hospital the following day. ARC reported 400 nonfatal injuries that were treated at area emergency departments. Of these, 296 (74%) persons were treated and released, and 104 (26%) required hospitalization. Interviews with family or neighbors of 10 (71%) decedents revealed that the mobile homes in which these deaths occurred (both in parks and stand-alone mobile homes) lacked access to underground storm shelters. Reports from local public health officials indicated that the remaining four mobile homes in which deaths occurred also probably did not have storm shelters (family or neighbor contacts for these decedents could not be located). On the day of the tornadoes, the NWS issued storm warnings to 55 Arkansas counties, including tornado warnings in 33 counties. Lead time between warning issuance and tornado touchdown was 15 minutes for most affected counties. Lead times for all counties in which death or injury occurred ranged from 18 to 32 minutes (NWS, unpublished data, 1997). Warning systems varied by county but generally consisted of warning sirens supplemented by television and/or radio bulletins. CDC and the Arkansas Department of Health are conducting a survey to evaluate public awareness and response to the tornado warnings during this disaster. Reported by: Health depts in Pulaski, Saline, and Clark counties; TM Holmes, PhD, SB Nichols, MD; T McChesney, DVM, State Epidemiologist, Arkansas Dept of Health. American Red Cross Disaster Health Svcs, Falls Church, Virginia. National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Dept of Commerce. Maternal and Child Health Br, Div of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Health Studies Br, Div of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC. Editorial NoteEditorial Note: In the United States, tornadoes cause an average of 51 deaths and approximately 1000 injuries each year (1). Occupancy of a mobile home is an important risk factor for tornado-related deaths and injuries (2-4), and the presence of on-site storm shelters in mobile-home parks is effective in reducing tornado-related injury and death (4). During the storm in Arkansas on March 1, more than half of the fatalities occurred among persons in mobile homes, and persons in these structures did not have access to storm shelters. To reduce injury and death from tornadoes, strategies and efforts are needed to provide residents of mobile homes with access to underground shelters. Other needs include evaluation of public-education campaigns and shelter-seeking behaviors; during a storm in Alabama in 1994, only 31% of persons who heard a tornado warning sought shelter (5). Public health departments should assist with efforts to improve public awareness of safety measures that will reduce injury and death during a tornado. For example, local public health clinics are a setting for distributing educational brochures that outline tornado safety guidelines (see boxTable_B1). Public awareness or education campaigns should specifically target residents of mobile homes. References
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| Erratum: Vol. 46, No. 19
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| In the article, "Tornado-Associated Fatalities -- Arkansas,
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| 1997," an error appears in one case in the line listing of cases
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| Table 1 on page 414. The 29-year-old female decedent in Jackson
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| County should have been listed as a 30-year-old male. Other than
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TABLE 1. Tornado-related deaths, by time and county of death and decedent's age,
sex, location when injured, and nature of injury -- Arkansas, 1997
=======================================================================================================
Time/County Age Sex Location when injured Nature of injury
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Impact
Clark 14 F Mobile home Trauma impact
Clark 14 F Mobile home Trauma impact
Clark 45 F Mobile home Trauma impact
Clark 42 M Mobile home Trauma impact
Clark 39 F Office building Trauma impact
Clark 45 M Motor vehicle Motor-vehicle crash
Saline 23 F Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 35 F Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 52 F Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 55 F Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 15 M Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 49 M Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 55 M Mobile home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 72 M Mobile home Tornado, not otherwise specified
Saline 61 F Single- amily home Multiple head and internal injuries
Saline 64 M Single- amily home Multiple head and internal injuries
Pulaski * 40 F Mobile home Closed head injury; multiple trauma
Pulaski 62 M Single- amily home Multiple blunt force head trauma
Pulaski 69 M Single- amily home Multiple blunt force head trauma
Pulaski 61 M Store Tornado, not otherwise specified
Pulaski * 74 F Motor vehicle Multiple blunt force trauma
Jackson * 79 M Mobile home Tornado, not otherwise specified
Jackson 29 F Outdoors, ditch Multiple head and internal injuries
Jackson 21 M Outdoors Tornado, not otherwise specified
Greene *+ 47 M Building Massive head injury
Pope 57 M Motor vehicle Cardiopulmonary arrest; massive
thoracic trauma
Clean-up
Pulaski + 35 M Outdoors Electrocution
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* Died at or while being transported to a hospital.
+ Death occurred the day after the tornado.
Source: American Red Cross-CDC Health Impact Surveillance System for Disasters.
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Return to top. Table_B1 Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size. Recommendations for Persons in Areas Under a Tornado Warning --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Move from homes and buildings to basements or underground shelters. - If underground shelters are unavailable, move to interior rooms or hallways on the lowest floor and get under a piece of sturdy furniture. - Leave vehicles and lie flat in nearby ditches or depressions. - Leave mobile homes and move to underground shelters. If underground shel- ters are unavailable, lie flat in nearby ditches or depressions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: National Weather Service and CDC (6,7). =================================================================================== Return to top. Disclaimer All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices. **Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.Page converted: 09/19/98 |
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