The most destructive tornados around the world

The United States sees more tornadoes than anywhere else on Earth, but some of the deadliest have struck countries thousands of miles away.

Last week was an unusual one in Paris, the City of Lights. First came the jewel heist with eight pieces valued at $102 million stolen from the Louvre Museum on Sunday, Oct. 19. Then on Monday, Oct. 20, residents just outside of Paris in Ermont found themselves in the path of a rare EF2 tornado, with estimated winds of 130 mph. At least nine were seriously injured and a young construction worker was killed. Amid the damage, about 1,700 homes lost power and a local gym was transformed into an emergency shelter.

When most people think of tornadoes, they picture the Great Plains: dark funnels carving out a path across Oklahoma, Kansas, or Texas, and for good reason. The United States records more tornadoes than any other country on Earth, with an average of around 1,200 per year. About 75% of the world’s EF4 and EF5 tornadoes occur within the contiguous 48 states. Geography is destiny here, where cold, dry air from Canada often collides with warm, moist Gulf air. Add to it the lack of significant geographic barriers in the Plains — and deep continentality — and it's an atmospheric powder keg few other regions around the world can match.

But as the recent severe weather in Paris reveals, twisters are hardly an American exclusive. Tornadoes have struck nearly every continent, from Argentina to Bangladesh’s river deltas, sometimes with devastating results. Here are a few of the most devastating tornadoes from other parts of the world:

Bangladesh – Daulatpur–Saturia Tornado (April 26, 1989)

An F3 tornado struck central Bangladesh in spring 1989, and it was likely one of the deadliest tornadoes of all time. Official estimates from the World Meteorological Organization indicate that it killed approximately 1,300 people, though more recent research has called the number into question. Regardless, the twister leveled entire villages and left around tens of thousands of residents homeless. Poor construction standards and the storm’s path through densely populated areas made it especially catastrophic.

Tornadoes are not unheard of across the Ganges Basin, which includes all of Bangladesh. On average, about six form each year, most often during the pre-monsoon season from March to May, when heat, humidity, and wind shear combine to fuel severe thunderstorms. This is also the period that favors tropical development, said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls. During the monsoon, meanwhile, the atmosphere from the ground up is pretty uniformly moist and with limited to no variations in winds speeds or direction with height. 

"The reason for a lack of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes during the monsoon is [the] lack of cooler, dry air aloft and almost no wind shear to generate spin for a tornado," Nicholls added.

Argentina – San Justo Tornado (Jan. 10, 1973)

In the Southern Hemisphere's summer, a violent tornado tore through the Argentine town of San Justo. One resident described “a 300-yard-wide swath of incredible damage," saying the ground shook “like an earthquake.” Rated F5 on the Fujita scale, the twister destroyed over 500 homes and killed 63 people as it remained on the ground for some 10 minutes. Ted Fujita, the Japanese-American meteorologist who created the most widely used tornado scale, called it the most violent tornado to occur outside the United States.

France – Montville Tornado (Aug. 19, 1845)

In an era far before weather satellites or Doppler radar, northern France endured what remains one of Europe’s deadliest tornadoes. Around 1 p.m., local time, a violent funnel touched down near Le Houlme in Normandy and quickly intensified, tearing through the industrial valley toward Montville, where the tornado reached nearly 550 yards wide. Two silk mills were destroyed, including the newly built Picquot-Deschamps factory, whose three stories and 150-foot chimney were pulverized. Debris was reportedly carried more than 25 miles away. The official toll lists 75 deaths and 130 injuries, though later analyses put the number of injuries closer to 200.

Modern reanalysis rates the storm F5, with winds likely exceeding 200 mph, making it one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded outside the United States. Even today, as France averages 20 to 50 mostly weak tornadoes a year, the Montville storm stands as a European benchmark for severe weather.

Italy – Montello Tornado (July 24, 1930)

In Northeastern Italy, on a hot July afternoon in 1930, one of Europe’s most violent tornadoes tore across Italy’s Veneto region, cutting a nearly 50-mile path from the Po Valley toward the foothills of the Alps. The funnel first touched down near Treviso and rapidly intensified as it swept across the Montello Hill area, reducing stone farmhouses and factories to rubble in seconds. Brick structures soon became projectiles. By the time the whirlwind dissipated, 23 people were dead, more than 500 were injured, and over 1,000 homes were either destroyed or severely damaged. Later analysis estimated winds exceeding 200 mph, earning the Montello tornado an F4 to F5 rating—one of the strongest ever confirmed in continental Europe.

While Rome, never mind even farther south in Sicily, is known for generally dry summers, typical of their Mediterranean climates, Northern Italy more often has a four-season humid subtropical climate, like say, Atlanta, Georgia. That moisture-rich, four-season climate, sitting beneath the Alpine and Apennine corridors, helps fuel instability and shear, twin ingredients that make severe thunderstorms far more likely up north than under the clearer, drier skies of the south.

Canada – Regina Cyclone (June 30, 1912)

Known more for biting cold and snow, Canada can get plenty of tornadoes, too. Perhaps the most striking example took place nearly a century ago. Just after 4 p.m. in the summer of 1912, a dark funnel formed southwest of Regina and moved straight into the heart of the Saskatchewan capital. Known simply as “The Cyclone,” the storm tore through downtown with winds estimated near F4 intensity, leveling homes, toppling railcars, and scattering debris across the prairie.

In a matter of minutes, 28 people were killed, hundreds were injured, and much of the city’s business district lay in ruins. Before British actor Boris Karloff became the iconic monster in the 1933 classic film "Frankenstein," he was in Regina at the time of the disaster, performing with a traveling theatrical troupe. In the storm's wake, he assisted in search and rescue.

India – West Bengal Tornado (March 24, 1998)

India sees dozens of tornadoes each year, but few with the severity of the one that tore through West Bengal in March 1998. Near the village of Dantan, wind-driven destruction claimed approximately 250 lives and injured thousands, leaving entire villages flattened.

Like its neighbor, Bangladesh, eastern India is primed for severe storms during the pre-monsoon season. Warm, moisture-laden air from the Bay of Bengal collides with dry, cooler air descending from the Himalayan foothills, while upper-level westerlies provide shear and divergence. Studies show about two-thirds of India’s tornadoes occur in this window, with March often the peak month.

United Kingdom – South Wales (Oct. 27, 1913)

Believe it or not, the United Kingdom has the most tornadoes per square mile of any country in the world, with about 30-50 per year, per the BBC. However, most of them are quite weak, in stark contrast to the huge tornadoes that ravage the central and southern parts of the United States.

However, in the fall of 1913, the valleys of South Wales awakened to a rare sight. On Oct. 27, several tornadoes spawned, the worst tracking from one small village, Llantwit Fardre, to another, Bedlinog, and then sweeping through other towns with estimated winds of 160 mph (F3 equivalent).

The cause? A rapidly deepening Atlantic low swept into South Wales, drawing warm, humid air north from the English Channel beneath powerful upper-level winds. The collision of those air masses, intensified by the funneling effect of the Taff Valley, created the perfect setup for rotation. At least six people were killed and over 150 were injured, making it the deadliest tornado event in U.K. history.

South Africa – KwaZulu-Natal Tornadoes (June 4, 2024)

In June 2024, a powerful low pressure system over South Africa’s eastern coast triggered an intense storm system in the KwaZulu-Natal province. According to local officials, at least 11 people were killed and many more injured or displaced as two tornadoes tore through communities near Durban and Tongaat. The event forced thousands from their homes.

Notably, on the continent of Africa, the tornado record focuses on the southern part of the continent, not in the equatorial regions of Western and Eastern Africa. Tornadoes are rare near the equator for the same reason they are rare during the monsoon.

Argentina/Paraguay Border – Posadas Tornado (September 2009)

On the night of Sept. 7, 2009, a violent supercell thunderstorm developed over Argentina’s Misiones Province, near the city of Posadas, spawning one of the strongest tornadoes ever documented in the region. Fueled by hot, moist air surging north from the Pampas colliding with cooler, drier winds from the south, the storm quickly intensified, producing a funnel that cut a path through Santa Rosa, San Pedro, and several rural communities before crossing into Paraguay.

Local officials reported at least 10 fatalities and more than 100 injuries, with homes leveled, vehicles tossed, and trees stripped bare, damage consistent with an EF4 tornado. The storm struck at night, compounding its impact. The Posadas tornado served as a wake-up call that the same volatile mix of heat, humidity, and wind shear that fuels Tornado Alley can occasionally find a foothold worlds away.

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