University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2015 Economic Losses and Extreme Tornado Events Rachel Reeves University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Reeves, R.(2015). Economic Losses and Extreme Tornado Events. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ etd/3663 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Economic Losses and Extreme Tornado Events by Rachel Reeves Bachelor of Science University of Oklahoma, 2013 ______________________________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Geography College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2015 Accepted by: Susan L. Cutter, Director of Thesis Christopher T. Emrich, Reader Cary J. Mock, Reader Lacy Ford, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Abstract Research on tornado impacts has previously focused mainly on analyzing the deaths and injuries associated with tornadoes. While economic loss from multiple hazards is a well-researched field, little has been done to assess the economic losses sustained during tornado events. Additionally, the literature regarding the Enhanced Fujita scale’s comparability to the Fujita scale is limited. This research aims to add to the literature by statistically analyzing the two tornado scales, determining the movement of tornadoes over time using a cluster analysis, comparing the location of extreme tornadoes to those which produce extreme loss, and looking at the statistical relationship between extreme tornadoes and extreme loss.