It varies widley depending on the intensity of the tornado and where it hits. Some tornadoes stay in open fields anc cause no damage. Weak tornadoes in developed areas may blow down fences and cause some roof damage, with costs totaling in the thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. In the worst cases, large, violent tornadoes strike large population centers. When this happens, thousands of homes may be destroyed, with whole neighborhoods leveled. Damage can total in the hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars. In at least once instance, a subdivision in one small town was completely swept away, with nothing left but mud and concrete foundations.
The Joplin tornado caused about $2.8 billion worth of damage to the city of Joplin.
Most damage in a tornado is caused by the extremely fast winds.
The largest tornado even recorded caused about $160 million dollars in damage, but keep in mind this wasn't the most damaging tornado or the strongest. The tornado with the strongest recorded winds caused $1 billion in damage (about $1.3 billion in today's dollars). The most damaging tornado recorded caused the equivalent of $1.7 billion in today's dollars.
The Moore, Oklahoma tornado of 1999 caused $1 billion worth of damage. This works out to $1.4 billion in 2014 amounts.
Alot..people lose their houses....and even die!
The greatest amount of damage in a tornado is caused by extremely strong winds. Additional damage is from flying debris.
The May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak caused extensive damage, particularly in Oklahoma, where an F5 tornado resulted in 36 fatalities and over 600 injuries. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and the total damage was estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
The most famous tornado today is most likely the Oklahoma City tornado of May 3, 1999. That tornado caused approximately $1 billion in damage.
Tornado damaged is caused by a tornado's powerful winds and objects carried y those winds.
The size of a tornado, or its width is determined by how wide the area of damage is. The rating of a tornado, which is not dependent on size (though there is some correlation) is based on the severity of the damage caused.
Most of the damage caused by tornadoes is the result of extremely powerful winds.
The Fujita and Enhanced Fujita scales assesses damage caused by a tornado to assign a rating.