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Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak
April 5th and 6th, 1936. Approximately 436 people were killed in the outbreak.
The Tupelo Tornado, the fourth deadliest tornado in United States history, slammed into Tupelo, Mississippi at around 8:30 P.M. It was an F5 on the Fujita scale, causing total destruction along its path. Fortunately, the tornado missed the downtown business district. The tornado moved through the residential areas of Tupelo, destroying many homes, and killing whole families who had little or no warning. A very young Elvis Presley and his mother were two of the survivors.
When the death toll of 216 was announced, over 100 people had been hospitalized in three states. The final death toll was set at 233 (not necessarily including African-American deaths, who were frequently excluded from death tolls until the 1950s).
The Gainesville Tornado
After the Tupelo tornado, the storm system moved through Alabama overnight and finally reached Gainesville, Georgia at around 8:30 A.M.
This early morning tornado was a double tornado event. One tornado moved in from the Atlanta highway, while the other moved in from the Dawsonville highway. The two merged on Grove Street and destroyed everything in sight, causing wreckage pileups of up to 10 feet in some places. The worst tornado-caused death toll in a single building in U.S. history was at the Cooper Pants Factory. The multiple story building, filled with young workers, collapsed and caught fire, killing 70 people. At the Pacolet Mill, 550 workers averted a tragedy by moving to the northeast side of the building. Many people sought refuge in Newnan's department store; however, it collapsed, killing 20 people.
The final death toll could not be calculated because many of the buildings that were hit collapsed and caught fire. A 203 person death toll was posted, with 40 missing. Letters from Gainesville, Georgia were blown 67 miles away to Anderson, South Carolina.
The Gainesville tornado was an F4 on the Fujita scale and was the fifth deadliest tornado in U.S. history. It caused $13 million in damage.
