1938 — Feb 17, Tornado, Rodessa (at least 20), LA –20-21
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-9-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 21 Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 325 and 873.
Alabama (20)
–20 AP. “Search For Bodies Ends With Rodessa Toll Corrected To 20.” Port Arthur News, 2-20-1938, 3.
–20 Rodessa
- Bernice Blackwell, 25.
- George Blackwell, 30.
- Alice Clark, 30.
- E. Clark, 35.
- Laura Lee Clark, 7.
- Mary Louise Clark, 9
- Annie Crowder, 76.
- E. Crowder, 51.
- B. E. Crowder, 45.
- L. Fuller, 27.
- L. E. Haddock, 34.
- L. E. Haddock. 30.
- Cherrie Ann Haddock, 11 months.
- Vernell Haddock, 111.
- Juanita Marie Perry, 9 months.
- George Rogers, 35.
- Bessie Trevillion, 39.
- James Allen Trevillion, 15.
- Patricia Bess Trevillion, 4.
- William (Bill) L. Young, 40, derrick worker.
–20 Ruston Daily Leader, LA. “Tornado Sweeps Rodessa Oil Field, Twenty Reported Dead.” 2-18-1938, p.1.
Texas or LA (1?)
–1 Roy Morris of Atlanta TX reported missing driving from Rodessa to Atlanta.[1]
Narrative Information
Grazulis: “TX-LA Feb 17, 1938 21:40 21k [killed] 50 inj 200y 7m F4 Cass, TX / Caddo, LA”
Newspapers
Feb 17, AP: “Shreveport, La., Feb. 17. – (AP) – A tornado that smashed across Rodessa, small North Louisiana oil town tonight, was believed to have killed a score of persons and seriously injured another score. Ten unidentified dead and more than 30 injured persons were taken from Rodessa to Atlanta, Tex. One of the dead was a 9-months-old baby. Attaches at the Ellington Memorial Hospital in Atlanta said all of the injured were critically hurt. Rescuers said that as many dead and injured were being taken to Shreveport as were being sent here. Dr. Edgar Galloway, Shreveport physician who sped to Vivian, La., near the stricken oil town, reported ‘at least 20 were killed and the number of injured will run higher than that….Many of the dead were so mangled, Dr. Galloway said, that they could not be identified….
“Garvie Norwood, reporter for the Texarkana Gazette, said Rodessa men told him the ‘Christmas trees’ had been blown from two oil wells at Rodessa and the wells were ‘running wild.’
“Hospital facilities at Atlanta were ‘exhausted’ and the national guard armory was utilized to take care of the stream of injured….” (Associated Press. “Tornado Rages Through Rodessa.” The Galveston Daily News, TX. 2-18-1938, p. 1.)
Feb 19, AP: “Rodessa, La., Feb. 19. (AP) – Sam Goldman, chairman of the Caddo parish chapter of the Red Cross, said today that three persons reported as dead in the tornado which struck here Thursday night turned up alive this morning….The mangled condition of the bodies, the fact they were brought to hospitals distances apart and duplication of identities may cause one or two more names to be deleted from the list of dead, Goldman said, but the estimated death toll at somewhere between 20 and 25. Nineteen were being buried today….” (Associated Press. “Three Are Alive.” Wichita Daily Times, TX. 2-19-1938, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Search For Bodies Ends With Rodessa Toll Corrected To 20.” Port Arthur News, 2-20-1938, p. 3. Accessed 11-9-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-feb-20-1938-p-3/
Associated Press. “Three Are Alive.” Wichita Daily Times, TX. 2-19-1938, p. 1. Accessed 11-9-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wichita-daily-times-feb-19-1938-p-1/
Associated Press. “Tornado Rages Through Rodessa.” The Galveston Daily News, TX. 2-18-1938, p. 1. Accessed 11-9-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-feb-18-1938-p-1/
Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.
Ruston Daily Leader, LA. “Tornado Sweeps Rodessa Oil Field, Twenty Reported Dead.” 2-18-1938, 1. Accessed 11-9-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ruston-daily-leader-feb-18-1938-p-1/
[1] AP. “Search For Bodies Ends With Rodessa Toll Corrected To 20.” Port Arthur News, 2-20-1938, p. 3.