An F5 tornado struck Flint and Beecher, Michigan, causing 116 fatalities, 844 injuries and $19 million in damage during a larger tornado outbreak sequence.
1953 Flint–Beecher tornado
During the evening hours of Monday, June 8, 1953, an exceptionally large and violent tornado struck the north side of Flint, Michigan and the northern suburb of Beecher, causing catastrophic damage and hundreds of casualties. Rated as an F5 on the Fujita Scale, the tornado touched down in Genesee County, Michigan, at 8:30 p.m. EST and continued on a 18.6-mile-path (29.9 km), causing 116 fatalities, 844 injuries and an estimated $19 million in damage.
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. The population was 81,252 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 79,735 in 2024. making it the largest city in Genesee County and the 12th-most populous city in Michigan.
Beecher, Michigan
Beecher is a census-designated place (CDP) in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was first listed as a CDP in 2000. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,840.
Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence
An extremely devastating and deadly tornado outbreak sequence impacted the Midwestern and Northeastern United States at the beginning of June 1953. It included two tornadoes that caused at least 90 deaths each—an F5 tornado occurring in Flint, Michigan, on June 8 and an F4 tornado in Worcester, Massachusetts, on June 9. These tornadoes are among the deadliest in United States history and were caused by the same storm system that moved eastward across the nation.