Wednesday marked the 45th anniversary of the 1974 super tornado outbreak that killed 315 and injured over 5,800 more in the eastern United States, including 77 deaths in Kentucky.

Although the tornadoes led to fatalities in 13 Kentucky counties, the hardest hit area was Meade County, where 31 people died when an F5 tornado - the strongest category on the Fujita scale - roared through Brandenburg. That tornado first touched down in neighboring Breckenridge County causing F3 damage, then intensified as it moved into Meade county. Its total path was 32 miles.

Eighteen of the fatalities occurred along Green Street in Brandenburg, and the town's downtown area was also devastated.

Of the 59 tornadoes that have been rated as an F5 or EF5 in United States history, the Brandenburg tornado is the only F5 ever in Kentucky.

The death toll by county included: Boyle 1, Clinton 8, Franklin 4, Hardin 2, Jefferson 3, Madison 7, Meade 31, Nelson 1, Pulaski 6, Rockcastle 1, Simpson 1, Warren 2, and Wayne 4.

свернуть