JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Tornado research has surged since a massive twister destroyed much of Joplin and killed 161 people in 2011.

Engineers, meteorologists and social scientists have published almost 800 peer-reviewed studies about tornadoes over the past five years. University of Florida doctoral student David Roueche says that’s a 36 percent increase from the five-year period before the Joplin storm.

Thousands of photographs and measurements were collected in Joplin and other towns in the aftermath of a record-setting string of tornadoes in the spring of 2011.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says fewer than 1 percent of all tornadoes are rated EF5, and few of those strike populated areas. That meant the massive damage in Joplin provided a rare opportunity to understand the effects of tornadoes.