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in the United States. Historic Events. Florida ranks third in the United States in the number of tornado strikes, and the first in the number of tornadoes per square mile. The odds of a tornado striking any specific point in southeastern Florida are 0.04, or once per 250 years. The damage from a tornado is a result of the high wind velocity and wind-blown debris. Florida's average is 50 tornadoes annually since 1950, causing an average of 3 fatalities and 52 injuries each year. According to the National Climatic Data Center Storm Events Database (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents), there have been 20 tornado events reported in Indian River County between 1950 and 2014. Eight were F0, four were EFO, six were EF1, and two were F2 magnitude events. NCDC data indicates that there has been one tornado-related injury, no deaths, and $1,940,000 in property damage associated with tornado events in the County. The NCDC has recorded tornado events in unincorporated Indian River County, the City of Vero Beach, the City of Sebastian, Town of Fellsmere, and Wabasso (located in unincorporated County). No events have been recorded in the Town of Indian River Shores or Orchid. During the tornado in December of 2002, the ARC provided services to three families hit by the tornado and opened a shelter for 38 families who were ordered to evacuate because their homes were deemed unsafe. Extent. The National Climate Data Center (NCDC) indicates that there have been a total of 20 tornado incidents in Indian River County in the last 65 years, therefore there is a 3% chance of a tornado affecting our county in any given year. The majority of the events have been EFO and EF1 as defined on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Vulnerability Assessment. Tornado events can have the following potential impacts within a community: • Excessive wind; Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Basic Page 26