Weather Phenomenon: Five Most Deadly Hurricanes
As the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and its 1,836 deaths blows by and the aftermath of its devastation still resonates through peoples daily lives some five years later, this article takes a look at the five most deadly hurricanes to howl through the Atlantic and the communities in left their wake.
5. Dominican Republic Hurricane (1930), approx 8000 deaths
The 1930 Dominican Republic hurricane which killed as many as 8000 people gained momentum on August 25th when it blew in from a tropical cyclone formed near the islands of Cape Verde. Though only a category 4 storm, it caused much devastation including right throughout Hispaniola which was not helped by the looting and robberies that followed.
4. Hurricane Fifi (1974), approx 10,000 deaths
The category 2 hurricane first made landfall in Belize, Central America on September 19th and continued through to Guatemala and Mexico as a tropical storm. It caused about $900 million in damages at the time and had a top wind speed of 110mph. An interesting fact is that Fifi reformed from a tropical storm as Hurricane Orlene a day later but reported no deaths.
Image via Wikipedia
3. Galveston Hurricane (1900), approx 12,000 deaths
The deadliest natural disaster to strike The United States, it caused the deaths of between 8000 and 12000 people with a reported damage cost of $20 million in 1900. It made landfall in Galveston, Texas on September 8th, 1900 and boasted a high wind speed of 150mph. Indecently the storm continued on to reach New York City where it reported one death.
2. Hurricane Mitch (1998), approx 18,000 deaths
This category 5 monster smashed into Honduras on October 22 albeit after losing some strength along the way. It had a top wind speed of 180mph and caused $6.2 billion worth of damage. The storm formed in the Western Caribbean and after striking Honduras and surrounding areas, it also hit the state of Florida as a tropical storm. Most of Mitch’s deaths came in Honduras due to flooding and huge mudslides.
Image via Wikipedia
1. Great Hurricane of 1780 (1780), approx 22,000+ deaths
The most deadly of all hurricanes caused most of its deaths through the islands of the Caribbean including Barbados, Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Saint Eustatius where loss of life was in the thousands. It happened between the days of October 10th and 16th, boasted a top wind speed of 200mph and caused an unknown amount of damage. The hurricane was unable to be classified because of the categorization not being invented at the time. The huge hurricane also grounded many British and French ships contesting control of the area at the time.
Image via Wikipedia
Liked it
16 Responses to “Weather Phenomenon: Five Most Deadly Hurricanes”
On September 6, 2009 at 6:25 am
Thanks this very well marshalled article mate. Never knew these before.
On September 6, 2009 at 7:35 am
our weather system is getting worse and worse. great post.
On September 6, 2009 at 11:15 am
This was very interesting. If I may ask what is that first picture at the top of the article?
Isaac’s Storm really depicts the Galveston Hurricane it is a great read if you have not read it. Again very interesting and great write!
On September 6, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Very awesome. Thx for taking the time to make this!
On September 6, 2009 at 2:27 pm
This is a great informative article. The idea is creative.. I am going to point out Hurricane Andrew, 1992 in Miami, Florida. It was a disaster.
On September 6, 2009 at 3:21 pm
How did hurricane Andrew get left out? I am a native Floridian, and I have been through a few hurricanes. After Andrew went through, there was nothing recognizable in South Florida. (Homestead, South Miami, the keys, ect.).
On September 6, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Well done article. I live in Pensacola, Florida and lived through Hurricane Ivan. My area looked like a war zone, it was the worse thing I have ever been through.
On September 6, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Hurricane Andrew was so bad that the name “Andrew” has been forever removed from the sanctioned list of names for future hurricanes.
-There will never be another “Andrew.”
It did have an interesting side-effect of benefit; to purged the everglades of the old, stagnant waters and ‘replenished’ with new. That actually helped the everglades regenerate. A good hundred-year hurricane like that has beneficial effects. Unfortunate the tragedy with human settlement, property, etc.
On September 7, 2009 at 2:29 am
Even though Andrew was the 3rd most devestating catagory 5 Hurricane to make landfall, it only caused around 65 deaths which is why it is not on the list. This article was on the deadliest.
Cheers for the comments everyone.
On September 7, 2009 at 7:11 am
This is really scary. A very well-presented article as usual.
On September 7, 2009 at 7:11 am
Those hurricane are sure scarry and deadly! Great research!
On September 7, 2009 at 9:01 am
This was a concise and informative article, very well written. You may like my article: Remembering Hurricane Katrina & The People We Lost in New Orleans. It’s more of an opinion piece from my relatively close proximity to the devastation, in Lafayette.
On September 7, 2009 at 9:03 am
It is astounding to read the number of lives lost to these natural killers. Very well written and researched article.
On September 7, 2009 at 2:40 pm
nice pictures and a very well writen article
On September 7, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Nature is not anything to mess with, and hurricanes are devastating. We have family in Puerto Rico, and have had some close calls with minor ones.
Great post
On September 20, 2009 at 5:28 am
it’s very scary… Some of these I haven’t even heard of. =)
Post Comment