These folks are primarily low income people. The reason the median household incomes seem at least better than average is because of the join incomes of the households by many members. I hope they had insurance that would cover their losses.
It has been stated the tornado was a mile wide, that is a bit incorrect. The 'system' supporting the tornadoes was a mile wide, but, the tornadoes were not that wide, they were however powerful vortexes.
