May 21, 2013

How big an area was damaged by the Oklahoma tornado?

One of the first things I want to understand when there’s a natural disaster is the scale of it. Since I don’t deal with square miles or square kilometres each day, I find it hard to comprehend what an estimate of 60 square miles of damage means.

So, I used this tool to overlay 60 square miles on a map of Auckland:

tornado-size

Of course, the accuracy of such an estimate remains to be seen, or indeed what the level of damage is within that area, but this helps me grasp a sense of the scale of this tornado’s damage.

Comments

  • avatar
    Thomas Lumley

    The damage was a long, relatively narrow track (NY Times map).

    For an Auckland analogy, along the motorway from Albany to Otara would be about the length of the track.

    12 years ago

    • avatar
      Rachel Cunliffe

      Thanks Thomas – that’s a helpful mental picture.

      12 years ago