ON THIS DATE IN 2011: An EF-5 tore through Joplin, Missouri causing catastrophic damage. The tornado killed 158 people (including eight indirect deaths) and injured some 1,150 others.
The tornado devastated a large portion of the city of Joplin, damaging nearly 8,000 buildings and destroying over 4,000 houses. The damage—which included major facilities like one of Joplin's two hospitals as well as much of its basic infrastructure—amounted to a total of $2.8 billion (equivalent to about $4 billion today), making the Joplin tornado the costliest single tornado in U.S. history.