However, part of this trend may be due to increased population densities. More people per unit area means a greater chance of seeing this relatively rare weather event. Two other factors that could also be responsible for the perceive increase in tornado numbers may be satellite imaging and weather radar. Both of these technologies allow us to pinpoint the thunderstorms that may generate funnels. Total damage from tornadoes over the last 50 years has been estimated to be about 25 billion dollars.
Tornadoes also take a heavy toll on human lives.
Table 5t-2 describes the ten most deadliest tornado events in the United States. From 1986 to 1995, only 418 individuals perished. This reduction is even more astonishing when you consider that the population of the United States doubled from 1935 to 1990. Ten deadliest tornado events in the United States. Tornadoes can cause considerable damage to natural and human made structures on the Earth's surface.