Biggest Hurricanes In History: Which Storms Caused The Most Deaths?
Sandy Takes Place Among Biggest Hurricanes In History
While the recent devastation, flooding and death toll caused by Hurricane Sandy already ranks it among the largest hurricanes in terms of sheer size, there have been other massive storms throughout history which take their place among the biggest hurricanes ever recorded.
One of the most deadly in terms of human lives lost occured in 1970 when the Bhola Cyclone raged across what was then called East Pakistan and West Bengal in India, killing an estimated half a million people.
The hurricane that struck the Florida Keys along the U.S. seacoast in 1935 as a category 5 hurricane,the most powerful category, was known simply as The Labor Day Hurricane and classified as the most powerful to ever hit the US.
More than 5,000 people lost their lives when Hurricane Camille came ashore at the Mississippi and Louisiana coastlines in 1969, causing a 20-foot storm surge and more than one billion dollars in property damage.
Florida took a direct hit when Hurricane Andrew, another category 5 storm, arrived in August of 1992, causing $25 billion in damage. Even the islands of Hawaii have not been immune from destructive hurricanes. Hurricane Iniki was one of the rarest weather occurences on the Islands and gave little more than 24 hours notice before it hit landfall in 1992.
Storms that caused over one thousand deaths
| Deaths | Name | year |
|---|---|---|
| 27,500+ | Great Hurricane of 1780 | 1780 |
| 18,974 – 21,000 | Hurricane Mitch | 1998 |
| 8,000 – 12,000 | “Galveston” Hurricane | 1900 |
| 8,000 – 10,000 | Hurricane Fifi | 1974 |
| 2,000 – 8,000 | “Dominican Republic” Hurricane | 1930 |
| 7,186 – 8,000 | Hurricane Flora | 1963 |
| 6,000+ | Pointe-à-Pitre Bay Hurricane | 1776 |
| 4,000 – 4,163+ | “Newfoundland” Hurricane | 1775 |
| 4,000 | “Monterrey” Hurricane | 1909 |
| 4,075+ | “Okeechobee” Hurricane | 1928 |
| 3,433+ | Hurricane “San Ciriaco” | 1899 |
| 2,500 – 3,107 | “Cuba” Hurricane | 1932 |
| 3,037 | Hurricane Jeanne | 2004 |
| 3,000+ | “Central Atlantic” Hurricane | 1782 |
| 3,000+ | “Martinique” Hurricane | 1813 |
| 2,000 – 3,000 | “Central America” Hurricane | 1934 |
| 30 – 3,000 | “Cuba” Hurricane | 1791 |
| 1,500 – 2,500 | “Barbados” Hurricane | 1831 |
| 1,500 – 2,500 | “Belize” Hurricane | 1931 |
| 1,168 – 2,150 | “Caribbean” Hurricane | 1935 |
| 2,063+ | Hurricane David | 1979 |
| 2,000+ | Florida Hurricane | 1781 |
| 1,000 – 2,500 | Sea Islands Hurricane | 1893 |
| 2,000 | Gulf of Mexico Hurricane | 1780 |
| 1,800 – 2,000 | 1893 Chenier Caminanda Hurricane | 1893 |
| 136 – 2,000 | Hurricane San Marcos | 1870 |
| up to 2,000 | Caribbean Hurricane | 1666 |
| 1,836+ | Hurricane Katrina | 2005 |
| 1,662+ | Hurricane Stan | 2005 |
| 1,600 | Martinique Hurricane | 1767 |
| 1,500 | Mexico Hurricane | 1909 |
| up to 1,500 | Cuba and Florida Hurricane | 1644 |
| 372 – 1,300+ | Caribbean Hurricane | 1824 |
| 1,300 | Nicaragua Hurricane | 1605 |
| 1,145 | Hurricane Gordon | 1994 |
| 42 – 1,090 | Jamaica and Cuba Hurricane | 1780 |
| 1,090 | Straits of Florida Hurricane | 1622 |
| 1,000+ | Gulf of Mexico Hurricane | 1590 |
| 1,000+ | Barbados Hurricane | 1694 |
| 1,000 – 2,500 | Bahamas Hurricane | 1715 |
| 43 – 1,000 | Havana Hurricane | 1768 |
| 1,000 | Veracruz Hurricane | 1601 |
| 600 – 1,200 | Hurricane Hazel | 1954 |
| 1,000 | Hurricane Inez | 1966 |
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