Tornado damage survey

Although it is unknown when damage surveys began to be used to determine structural and property damage, one of the earliest known surveys was conducted by German scientist Gottlob Burchard Genzmer in the aftermath of the 1764 Woldegk tornado.

Genzmer published a detailed survey of the damage path from the tornado, which documented the 33 km (18.6 mi) long track.

[3] Following the Fargo tornado in 1957, Fujita conducted one of the first damage surveys using photographic evidence and ground measurements, using 200 photos to determine the approximate track of the tornado.

[6] In the 2020s, drones have been used to survey hard-to-access areas, most notably following the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado.

An estimated 38,000 individual damage points have been recorded using the software.