...TORNADO AND SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IS APRIL 18-22... ...TODAY/S TOPIC...PART 10...USA SEVERE-WEATHER FATALITY STATISTICS... --------------------------------------------------------------------- SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING LIGHTNING...TORNADOES...FLOODING... HURRICANES...EXTREME HEAT OR COLD...AS WELL AS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER...CAN BE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS AND A COSTLY HAZARD TO ANY COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES. MAKE SURE THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY...BUSINESS...OR SCHOOL HAVE A PLAN TO STAYED ON TOP OF CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT THE WEATHER FORECAST CALLS FOR...KNOW WHAT HAZARDS ARE POSSIBLE. ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO OBTAIN A WEATHER FORECAST IS BY LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL-HAZARDS...WHICH BROADCAST ON A 24-HOUR BASIS. YOU CAN PURCHASE A SPECIAL RADIO RECEIVER AT MOST ELECTRONIC STORES TO PICK UP THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO SIGNALS. PREPARE AN EMERGENCY KIT THAT CONTAINS ITEMS SUCH AS FIRST AID SUPPLIES...FOOD AND FRESH WATER...BLANKETS AND EXTRA CLOTHING... THAT WILL COME IN HANDY SHOULD A DISASTER STRIKE YOUR AREA. SEVERE-WEATHER FATALITIES IN THE UNITED STATES 1988-2004 /DIRECTLY-RELATED DEATHS...WHEN EVENT WAS PRIMARY CAUSE OF DEATH/ YEAR LGHT TOR FLD WIND HUR HEAT COLD WINTER DAMAGE COST 1988 68 32 31 - 9 41 17 55 6.2 B 1989 67 50 85 - 38 6 121 63 13.8 B 1990 74 53 142 71 0 32 13 48 6.0 B 1991 73 39 61 64 19 36 13 45 6.2 B 1992 41 39 62 28 27 8 14 59 38.4 B 1993 43 33 103 63 2 20 18 66 28.4 B 1994 69 69 91 29 9 29 52 29 4.4 B 1995 85 30 80 84 17 1021 22 17 11.4 B 1996 53 26 131 54 37 36 62 86 8.0 B 1997 42 67 118 75 1 81 51 90 10.8 B 1998 44 130 136 65 9 173 11 68 16.1 B 1999 46 94 68 62 19 502 7 41 12.3 B 2000 51 41 38 51 0 158 26 41 9.0 B 2001 44 40 48 31 24 166 4 18 11.8 B 2002 51 55 49 45 53 167 11 17 5.7 B 2003 44 54 85 43 14 36 20 36 11.4 B 2004 30 19 57 38 10 6 25 26 MM ---------------------------------------------------------------- 16 YEAR AVERAGE (1988-2003) 56 53 83 55 17 158 29 49 12.5 B KEY... LGHT - LIGHTNING TOR - TORNADO FLD - FLOODS WIND - THUNDERSTORM STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS OR WIDESPREAD NON-TSTM HIGH WINDS HUR - HURRICANE HEAT - EXCESSIVE HEAT AND HUMIDITY COLD - COLD TEMPERATURES OR WIND CHILLS WINTER - WINTER STORMS/BLIZZARDS/ICE/AVALANCHES FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR WEB-SITE AT: http://weather.gov/mkx OR THE WEB-SITE FOR THE AMERICAN RED CROSS AT: http://www.redcross.org $$ KAPELA/KONOP