1878 Wallingford Tornado - Aftermath

Aftermath

A district schoolhouse was converted into a temporary morgue immediately after the storm; 21 bodies were discovered and placed there that night. One person was found dead 3300 feet (1 km) from where he had been standing. The tornado brought down telegraph lines and poles around the area, so assistance from physicians in nearby towns took more than an hour. More than 50 special police were sworn in to prevent looting, and to control the crowds of curious onlookers who had come by train from surrounding cities.

Thirty five homes were completely destroyed, with many more being unroofed or receiving some sort of damage. Damage estimates were around $150,000 from buildings alone; utilities and railway facilities received a lot of damage as well. Final estimates were around $250,000 ($5.3 million when adjusted for inflation).

Tornadoes are not very uncommon in the state of Connecticut, but tornadoes of this power are rare. Though tornadoes have only been officially rated on the Fujita scale since 1950, this tornado has been estimated to be of F4-intensity on the scale. This would make it one of only three tornadoes of this intensity to ever affect the state, as of 2008. Thirty-four people were killed by the tornado—thirty-one more than the second-deadliest Connecticut tornado—and 70 others injured.