1904 Moscow tornado
Encyclopedia
The June 29, 1904 Moscow tornado was one of only three disastrous tornado
es that occurred in central Russia
in recorded history (1984 Yaroslavl tornado
occurred June 9, 1984 in Ivanovo
with Yaroslavl
regions and 2009 Krasnozavodsk tornado
occurred in Krasnozavodsk
3 June 2009, located in Moscow region). The 1904 disaster started as a thunderstorm in Tula
region. It travelled northward, passing through eastern suburbs of Moscow
into Yaroslavl region. When the cloud approached remote Moscow suburbs, it formed a tornado funnel, destroying suburban settlements and Lefortovo
district within the city itself.
and Karacharovo were completely demolished too.
Many witnesses in Moscow, including the famous journalist Vladimir Gilyarovsky
, report the same picture of advancing storm: an unusual black cloud, 15-20 kilometers wide, advanced from south-east at estimated 25 meters per second (no instrumental wind readings were made). The tornado was preceded by a hail
storm and a sudden drop in temperature. Two black funnels, one from the skies, another from the ground, merged into a wide tornado with a yellow fire-like light in the middle. Witnesses mistook this light for an explosion at oil reservoirs that, indeed, were close to the path of tornado, but were spared from destruction.
The tornado broke into the city proper in Lefortovo District
, destroying the freight yard of Kursk railroad, then literally shaving off the Annenhof Forest - an old, neglected park in Lefortovo (north from present-day Aviamotornaya
subway station). It passed through Lefortovo barracks, tearing roofs from masonry buildings, passed over Basmanny District
into Sokolniki Park
and left the city in due northward direction. Apparently, the tornado faded down, thus destruction in densely populated Basmanny was far less than in Lefortovo.
.
Total damage is estimated at 3,000 single-family homes (Razuvaev), while the loss of life was not properly counted (Gilyarovsky reported seeing only one dead). The disaster occurred in the middle of the Russo-Japanese War
, and clearing the rubble and counting the bodies was not a top priority; police reports and formal damage assessments were not published due to war-time censorship
. Many of the victims are presumed to be squatter
s of suburban parks and Annenhof Forest, which was cleared from fallen trees years after the accident.
100 km south-east from Moscow (near Zaraysk
), in June 2009 near Sergiyev Posad
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es that occurred in central Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in recorded history (1984 Yaroslavl tornado
1984 Yaroslavl tornado
The 1984 Yaroslavl tornado was one of only three disastrous tornado outbreaks in modern Russian history...
occurred June 9, 1984 in Ivanovo
Ivanovo
Ivanovo is a city and the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. Population: Ivanovo has traditionally been called the textile capital of Russia. Since most textile workers are women, it has also been known as the "City of Brides"...
with Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
regions and 2009 Krasnozavodsk tornado
2009 Krasnozavodsk tornado
The 2009 Krasnozavodsk tornado was an F3 tornado that occurred on Junе 3, 2009, in Krasnozavodsk near Sergiev Posad in the Moscow region at 22.15 MST. It was the first powerful tornado in the Moscow area since 1984, which damaged around 40 buildings, trees and cars, but without fatalities...
occurred in Krasnozavodsk
Krasnozavodsk
Krasnozavodsk is a town in Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunya River northeast of Moscow and north of Sergiyev Posad. Population:...
3 June 2009, located in Moscow region). The 1904 disaster started as a thunderstorm in Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
region. It travelled northward, passing through eastern suburbs of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
into Yaroslavl region. When the cloud approached remote Moscow suburbs, it formed a tornado funnel, destroying suburban settlements and Lefortovo
Lefortovo District
Lefortovo District is a district of South-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. Population: It is named after a close associate of Tsar Peter the Great Franz Lefort, whose troops were stationed nearby at the German Quarter. The district is considered to be founded in 1699. In the 18th...
district within the city itself.
Contemporary reports
The tornado was recorded by thousands of witnesses in Moscow, but very few outside of the city. The Dean of Sukhanovo church reported that the cloud passed some 18 kilometers west from his town, through the villages of Kapotnya (200 homes destroyed), Chagino (65 out of 67 homes) and Khokhlovka; all three of these settlements are now within Moscow city limits. Nearer suburbs of LyublinoLyublino, Kaliningrad Oblast
Lyublino is a settlement under jurisdiction of the town of Svetly in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Before 1945, it was a German village of Seerappen in Kreis Fischhausen, East Prussia. It was known for being the site of an airship base, then a Luftwaffe airbase, and a concentration camp.-See...
and Karacharovo were completely demolished too.
Many witnesses in Moscow, including the famous journalist Vladimir Gilyarovsky
Vladimir Gilyarovsky
Vladimir Alekseyevich Gilyarovsky , was a Russian writer and newspaper journalist, best known for his reminiscences of life in pre-Revolutionary Moscow , which he first published in a book form in 1926.-Biography:...
, report the same picture of advancing storm: an unusual black cloud, 15-20 kilometers wide, advanced from south-east at estimated 25 meters per second (no instrumental wind readings were made). The tornado was preceded by a hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
storm and a sudden drop in temperature. Two black funnels, one from the skies, another from the ground, merged into a wide tornado with a yellow fire-like light in the middle. Witnesses mistook this light for an explosion at oil reservoirs that, indeed, were close to the path of tornado, but were spared from destruction.
The tornado broke into the city proper in Lefortovo District
Lefortovo District
Lefortovo District is a district of South-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. Population: It is named after a close associate of Tsar Peter the Great Franz Lefort, whose troops were stationed nearby at the German Quarter. The district is considered to be founded in 1699. In the 18th...
, destroying the freight yard of Kursk railroad, then literally shaving off the Annenhof Forest - an old, neglected park in Lefortovo (north from present-day Aviamotornaya
Aviamotornaya
Aviamotornaya is a station on the Kalininskaya line of the Moscow Metro subway system. It opened on 30 December 1979. On 17 February 1982, Aviamotornaya station was the site of a major accident in which eight people died because deteriorating escalators of the station malfunctioned...
subway station). It passed through Lefortovo barracks, tearing roofs from masonry buildings, passed over Basmanny District
Basmanny District
Basmanny District is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. Population: The district extends northeast from Kitai-gorod, within the radial boundaries of Vorontsovo Pole Street and Yauza River in the south and Myasnitskaya Street and Novaya Basmannaya Street in the north...
into Sokolniki Park
Sokolniki Park
Sokolniki Park, named for the falcon hunt of the Grand Dukes of Muscovy formerly conducted there, is located in the eponymous Sokolniki District of Moscow. Sokolniki Park is not far from the center of the city, near Sokolnicheskaya Gate. The park gained its name from the Sokolnichya Quarter, the...
and left the city in due northward direction. Apparently, the tornado faded down, thus destruction in densely populated Basmanny was far less than in Lefortovo.
Present-day assessment
Modern scientists rate 1904 tornado at F2–F3 in Fujita scaleFujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
.
Total damage is estimated at 3,000 single-family homes (Razuvaev), while the loss of life was not properly counted (Gilyarovsky reported seeing only one dead). The disaster occurred in the middle of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, and clearing the rubble and counting the bodies was not a top priority; police reports and formal damage assessments were not published due to war-time censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. Many of the victims are presumed to be squatter
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
s of suburban parks and Annenhof Forest, which was cleared from fallen trees years after the accident.
Other tornado
Rise of tornado registered in 1945 in Moscow and in 1970, 1971, 1984, 1987, 1994, 1997 in Moscow OblastMoscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
100 km south-east from Moscow (near Zaraysk
Zaraysk
Zaraysk is a town and the administrative center of Zaraysky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated about southeast from Moscow. Population: The town stands on the right bank of the Osyotr River, which is a right confluent of the Oka...
), in June 2009 near Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh. The town status was granted to it in 1742...