A Brief History
On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael hit Florida hard, a category 5 hurricane that caused 57 American deaths and $25.1 billion of damage. Rating the worst hurricanes can be done by dollar amounts in either contemporaneous values or proportioned to today/s value, or by deaths. Obviously, estimates also vary, but we will attempt to rank some of the worst of these big Atlantic storms.
Digging Deeper
The worst hurricane by fatalities was the Great Hurricane of 1780, with around 22,000 people killed, 9000 on Martinique alone as it ravaged the Caribbean.
The deadliest hurricane in US history was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed between 8,000 and 12,000 Americans.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused a US record amount of damage, $195 billion worth! Sadly, the storm also caused nearly 1400 fatalities.
Also in 2005, Hurricane Wilma is the most powerful Atlantic hurricane by air pressure, but Hurricane Allen of 1980 holds the wind speed record of 190 mph.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you ever been in a hurricane?
If you liked this article and would like to receive notifications of new articles, please feel welcome to follow History and Headlines on Facebook and X!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Charles River Editors. America’s Deadliest Hurricanes: The History of the Three Worst Hurricanes in American History. Charles River, 2018.
Dolin, Eric. A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes. Liveright, 2020.
