What happened in Oklahoma and how unique is this event?
Jonathan Meagher: Moore, Oklahoma, experienced a terrible tornado and for each person affected, this was a unique experience that they will never forget. While risk modeling is my job, I never fail to think how terrible things must be for the victims. Based on historical records of tornadoes from the last hundred years, individual communities in and around Oklahoma City experience violent tornadoes approximately every 30 years. With violent tornadoes, we mean storms, that can damage concrete buildings, not just wood-frame houses.
Already in 2012 there was a series of tornadoes in the US. Do they happen regularly, what's the history?
The US is affected by 1000s of tornadoes each year. In spring and early summer, tornadoes are a common occurrence across the Mid-West and southern United States, a total of sixteen tornadoes where reported across the US on the same day as in Moore, Oklahoma. The US Mid-West is particularly vulnerable to tornadoes due to the mixing of cold air from the north and warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, which produces frequent thunderstorms that can lead to tornadoes.
Which other regions in the world are vulnerable?
Almost all areas of the world can experience tornadoes: anywhere that experiences thunderstorms can have tornadoes.
