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Here are the worst hurricanes the US has ever seen

Posted on by Kennedy
Here are the worst hurricanes the US has ever seen

Currently a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Milton follows Hurricane Helene and a long history of other storms that have had life-changing impacts on those in its path.

People in states like Florida and North Carolina are still recovering from the devastation left by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in late September. The death toll rose to over 200 people on Saturday and losses numbered in the billions, and another strong storm is expected to make landfall soon.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Milton is becoming a threat, and it is not the first time a hurricane has had devastating consequences. Here are other similar storms.

Hurricane Helene

  • Year: 2024
  • Location: Helene made landfall in several locations, including North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee
  • Deaths: The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose to 228 as of Saturday, according to an analysis by the USA TODAY Network
  • Damage: An analysis shows the cost of Helene's tour of destruction across the southeastern United States is expected to exceed $30 billion.
  • What happened: Helene is the fourth deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since 1950. Officials in the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee have reported deaths. Falling trees were the most common cause of death, according to preliminary reports.

Hurricane Katrina

  • Year: 2005
  • Location: Three landfalls, one at Keating Beach, Florida, and two others near Buras, Louisiana, and near the Louisiana-Mississippi border
  • Deaths: 1,392
  • Damage: $125 billion (2005 US dollars)
  • What happened: According to the National Hurricane Center, Katrina is considered the deadliest storm since 1950 and, along with Hurricane Harvey, is the costliest Atlantic hurricane on record. The leading cause of death associated with Katrina was the failure of the levees around New Orleans, which led to catastrophic flooding in the area.

Hurricane Harvey

  • Year: 2017
  • Location: San Jose Island, Texas, about 20 miles southeast of Houston
  • Deaths: 103
  • Damage: $125 billion (2017 dollars)
  • What happened: The storm caused catastrophic flooding in the Houston area and was the strongest hurricane to make landfall on the mainland United States since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Some areas such as Nederland, Texas accumulated 60.58 inches of rain.

Hurricane Ian

  • Year: 2022
  • Location: Landing at Cayo Costa Island, Florida, about 29 miles west of Fort Myers
  • Deaths: 156
  • Damage: $113 billion (2022 US dollars)
  • What happened: Ian was classified as a Category 5 hurricane and was the third costliest hurricane on record, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane was also the costliest storm in Florida history. Aside from the extensive damage it caused in Florida, Ian also caused damage in Cuba and the Carolinas.

Hurricane Andrew

  • Year: 1992
  • Location: Elliot Key, Florida, about nine miles east of Homestead
  • Deaths: 65
  • Damage: US$60 billion (1992 US dollars)
  • What happened: The Category 5 hurricane is considered one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida. Andrew was the costliest hurricane in Florida history until Hurricane Irma overtook it 25 years later. According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma caused around $77 billion in damage.

Deadliest hurricanes in the USA

The deadliest hurricanes are listed below by rank, name, year and number of deaths, according to the National Hurricane Center.

  1. Katrina – 2005, 1,392
  2. Audrey – 1957, 416
  3. Camille – 1969, 256
  4. Helene – 2024, 228 (as of Saturday, Oct. 5)
  5. Diane – 1955, 184
  6. Ian – 2022, 156
  7. Agnes – 1972, 122
  8. Harvey – 2017, 103
  9. hazel – 1954, 95
  10. Irma – 2017, 92
  11. Ike – 2008, 85
  12. Ida – 2021, 87
  13. Betsy – 1965, 75
  14. Andrew – 1992, 65
  15. Rita – 2005, 62
  16. Carol – 1954, 60
  17. Michael – 2018, 59
  18. Ivan – 2004, 57
  19. Floyd – 1999, 56
  20. Matthew – 2016, 52

Julia Gomez contributed to this report.

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