Worst Hurricanes
By The Tampa Tribune
These are among the most destructive hurricanes to hit the United States from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean since 1900.
GALVESTON (TEXAS) HURRICANE, 1900
This was the deadliest hurricane of the 20th century. According to climatologist Isaac M. Cline, a witness: ''Sunday, September 9, 1900, revealed one of the most horrible sights that ever a civilized people looked upon. About three thousand homes, nearly half the residence portion of Galveston, had been completely swept out of existence, and probably more than six thousand persons had passed from life to death during that dreadful night.'' The Galveston storm reached the Texas coast south of Galveston on Sept. 8 as a Category' 4. Storm tides of 8 to 15 feet inundated Galveston. The tides were largely responsible for 6,000 to 12,000 deaths, and property damage was estimated at $30 million.
ATLANTIC-GULF HURRICANE, 1919
Ten ships in the Gulf of Mexico sank or disappeared, sending more than 500 to their deaths, when this storm passed south of Key West on Sept. 10. It slowed from Category 4 to Category 3 as it reached Corpus Christi, Texas, on Sept. 14. The final death toll was estimated at 600 to 900 people. Damage in the United States was estimated at $22 million.
GREAT MIAMI HURRICANE, 1926
Hundreds of people in the town of Moore Haven, south of Lake Okeechobee, drowned in storm surge from the lake as this storm passed on Sept. 18. Every building in the downtown district of Miami was damaged or destroyed by the Category 4 hurricane. More than 800 people are known to have died, and historians believe the real toll was higher. The hurricane continued across the Gulf of Mexico and hit Pensacola on Sept. 20, then moved inland over Louisiana.
SAN FELIPE-OKEECHOBEE HURRICANE, 1928
Just like two years before, storm surge from Lake Okeechobee killed hundreds as the hurricane crossed the Florida peninsula. About 1,836 people died in Florida.The storm first hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 13 as a Category 4, then made landfall near Palm Beach on Sept. 16. Casualties also included 312 in Puerto Rico and 18 in the Bahamas. Property damage was estimated at $50 million in Puerto Rico and $25 million in Florida.
FLORIDA KEYS LABOR DAY HURRICANE, 1935
Hundreds of World War I veterans were working to build a highway connecting the Florida Keys when a Category 5 hurricane hit. Hundreds of veterans lost their lives while waiting for an evacuation train to arrive, and about 409 people died in Florida. The storm hit the Keys on Sept. 2, then turned north, ran parallel to Florida's west coast, and headed across the Southeastern United States to Norfolk, Va. Damage in the United States was estimated at $6 million.
NEW ENGLAND HURRICANE, 1938
Also known as "The Long Island Express," this storm hit New York and Connecticut as a category 3 on Sept. 21. Large, stone beach houses were swept away by 10- to 12-foot storm surges, and more than 500 people died. Property damage totaled $308 million.
HURRICANE AUDREY, 1957
At least 390 people drowned in storm surge that flooded southwest Louisiana when Audrey hit on June 27. Witnesses told of rushing water destroying homes by pushing down the walls and sucking the remnants into the storm. Officials blamed the high death toll on tepid evacuation efforts in a mostly rural area. The category 4 storm sent 8- to 12-foot storm surges penetrating 25 miles inland. Damage in the United States was estimated at $150 million.
HURRICANE DONNA, 1960
Donna arrived at the Florida Keys on Sept. 9 with Category 4 intensity. It then curved northeast, crossing the Florida peninsula Sept. 11, devastating the state's citrus industry. Donna was responsible for 50 deaths in the United States and 147 in Puerto Rico. The hurricane caused $387 million in damage in the United States and $13 million elsewhere.
HURRICANE CAMILLE, 1969
The category 5 Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi coast late Aug. 17 with such force that it destroyed all wind-recording instruments in the area. (Estimates put wind speed near 200 mph.) Survivors in the Biloxi area described Audrey's arrival as a two-hour deafening shriek. The combination of wind, surges and rainfall caused 256 deaths (143 on the Gulf Coast and 113 in related flooding in Virginia) and $1.42 billion in damage.
HURRICANE ANDREW, 1992
The most destructive U.S. hurricane of record, Andrew blasted across South Florida as a Category 5 on Aug. 24, then hit the central Louisiana coast. Andrew's peak winds in South Florida were not directly measured because the measuring instruments had been destroyed. Andrew was responsible for 23 deaths in the United States and three in the Bahamas. It caused $26.5 billion in damage with all but $1 billion occurring in Florida.
HURRICANE MITCH, 1998
Mitch's greatest impact was heavy rain and severe floods in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, causing an estimated 9,000 deaths in Central America with another 9,000 missing. Mitch made landfall over northern Honduras on Oct. 29 as a Category 1. It then moved back over water and began developing again. The reborn Mitch crossed South Florida as a tropical storm Nov. 5. Mitch caused tremendous property, infrastructure and crop damage in Central America, and an additional $40 million in damage in Florida.
HURRICANE FLOYD, 1999
Flooding brought on by Floyd's torrential rains caused most of the 56 deaths associated with this storm. Floyd's large size brought rainfall to many parts of the eastern U.S., from the Carolinas to New York. Floyd crossed the Bahamas as a category 4 storm on Sept. 13. It made landfall two days later as a Category 2 near North Carolina's Cape Fear. Property damage was estimated at between $3 billion and $6 billion.
HURRICANE CHARLEY, 2004
Charley strengthened to category 4 just hours before it came ashore near Port Charlotte, Fla., on Aug. 13 at about 3:45 p.m. The storm made its greatest impact in the counties of Charlotte and DeSoto, but it also affected Polk, Orange, Volusia, Lee and Sarasota. Charley's wrath killed at least 25 people. Causes of death included four trapped in a collapsed building or trailer; four in traffic accidents; three from carbon monoxide poisoning; three from medical conditions worsened by the storm; two from heat-related causes; one electrocution; and others killed by debris or unspecified causes. Initial damage estimates put the storm's cost at $15 billion.
- Compiled by Tribune research
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