The Most Devastating Hurricanes to Ever Hit the U.S.
This Is How They Blow
When September rolls around, the hurricanes start showing up. And while few hurricanes leave the land or people unscathed, there are several hurricanes that have done so much damage in the past that we’re likely to never forget them.
The Galveston Hurricane
Year: 1900
Death Toll: 6,000–12,000
Financial Impact: Estimated $30 million at the time (~$700 million adjusted for inflation)
At the time, 38,000 people lived in Galveston, Texas. By the end of this Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds, 10,000 of them had lost their homes in the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Hurricane Maria
Year: 2017
Death Toll: 2,982
Financial Impact: Estimated $91.6 billion
This one’s recent enough to remember: The Category 4 hurricane hit Puerto Rico, causing widespread infrastructure damage, and power outages that lasted for months.
San Felipe-Okeechobee Hurricane
Year: 1928
Death Toll: 2,500–3,000
Financial Impact: Estimated $100 million at the time (~$1.47 billion adjusted for inflation)
This Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Palm Beach, Florida, but the worst damage was at Lake Okeechobee, where winds of 162 mph caused storm surges up to 9 feet.
Hurricane Katrina
Year: 2005
Death Toll: 1,833
Financial Impact: Estimated $161 billion
Here’s another hurricane we’re not likely to forget any time soon. The city of New Orleans was ill-prepared for 157+ mph winds, and the levees failed, which caused widespread flooding. On top of that, the hurricane caused 33 tornadoes.
The Great New England Hurricane
Year: 1938
Death Toll: 682
Financial Impact: Estimated $306 million at the time (~$4.7 billion adjusted for inflation)
Called the "Long Island Express," this hurricane wreaked havoc all along the New England coast, from New York to Connecticut to Rhode Island. It started as a Category 5 hurricane when it formed near the coast of Africa, but was downgraded to a Category 3 when it made landfall.
Hurricane Audrey
Year: 1957
Death Toll: 416
Financial Impact: $150 million (1957 dollars), equivalent to ~$1.5 billion today
With winds reaching 156 mph, this hurricane caused storm surges of 8 to 12 feet in Louisiana. It continued its rampage all the way to the Great Lakes region.
Hurricane Camille
Year: 1969
Death Toll: 259
Financial Impact: $1.4 billion (1969 dollars), equivalent to ~$10 billion today.
With winds reaching 175 mph, this Category 5 hurricane devastated parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. It was the second-most intense hurricane in U.S. history, with barometric pressure reaching almost 27 inches.
Hurricane Sandy
Year: 2012
Death Toll: 233
Financial Impact: Estimated $65 billion
Sandy was born in the Caribbean and made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, with winds up to 110 mph. It caused damage in 24 states. New York City was flooded and suffered power outages.
Hurricane Ike
Year: 2008
Death Toll: 195
Financial Impact: ~$38 billion
This Category 4 storm caused significant damage to infrastructure and agriculture in Cuba, Texas, and across the Gulf Coast, as well as extensive power outages. Seventy-four of the 195 deaths were in Haiti, which was still reeling from three previous storms that had hit that year.
Hurricane Irma
Year: 2017
Death Toll: ~134
Financial Impact: $77.2 billion
At the time, Hurricane Irma was the most powerful hurricane in history in the open Atlantic. People dubbed it “Irmageddon” because it caused so much widespread destruction in the Caribbean and Florida.
Hurricane Harvey
Year: 2017
Death Toll: 107
Financial Impact: Estimated $125 billion
This Category 4 hurricane flooded Houston and surrounding areas, some of which received more than 60 inches of rain. It ties with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest hurricane in U.S. history.
Hurricane Hazel
Year: 1954
Death Toll: 95 (in the U.S.)
Financial Impact: $382 million (1954 dollars), equivalent to ~$3.8 billion today
This Category 4 storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before landing between North and South Carolina. It also destroyed a significant amount of Haiti’s coffee and cacao crops.
Hurricane Andrew
Year: 1992
Death Toll: ~65
Financial Impact: $27.3 billion (1992 dollars), equivalent to ~$55 billion today.
This Category 5 hurricane hit the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, and remains the most destructive hurricane to hit Florida. It is one of few hurricanes to hit land as a Category 5 hurricane.
Hurricane Michael
Year: 2018
Death Toll: 59
Financial Impact: ~$25 billion
Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5, making it one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S. It was an expensive hurricane, causing extensive damage to Tyndall Air Force Base, as well as U.S. fighter jets, which cost $6 billion to replace.
Hurricane Florence
Year: 2018
Death Toll: 53
Financial Impact: ~$24 billion
This hurricane may have been slow-moving when it first came out of the Cape Verde islands, but by the time it reached the Carolinas, it was raging. It caused significant flooding across the Carolinas, and it also generated tornadoes that caused their own damage.
These hurricanes have left deep impacts on the U.S., both in terms of lives lost and economic devastation, highlighting the powerful and destructive force of nature.
For trivia stories like this, please sign up for our free newsletters.
This article was originally published on Cheapism
