The 10 Worst Natural Disasters in US History
Which Disasters Rank in the top 10?
Natural disasters continue to be one of humanity’s greatest fears. Despite technological advancements, humans are virtually powerless in the face of hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, and wildfires.
The United States has experienced more than its fair share of natural disasters that have claimed thousands of lives and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Today we will sharing with you the 10 worst natural disasters in US history.
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Here are 10 of the very worst to hit the United States.
#1: The Great Galveston hurricane in 1900
The Great Galveston Hurricane began as a fairly typical tropical cyclone in the Caribbean Sea, but by the time it hit Galveston, Texas, on September 6th, it had evolved into a Category 4 hurricane with winds of up to 145mph.
The island of Galveston had not received adequate warnings, nor did they believe they were in danger, having grown accustomed to a series of minor storms.
As a result, roughly one quarter of the island’s population died, and another 10,000 were left homeless, with every home in town damaged by the storm.
Aid took several days to arrive because the hurricane destroyed all bridges to the mainland and downed telephone wires. It is still the deadliest natural disaster in US history, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people.
#2: The North American Heatwave in 1936
The 1936 heatwave swept across North America, breaking records across the continent. Temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius hit the Midwest in June, as part of the Dust Bowl phenomenon of the 1930s, and droughts spread across the continent, as far north as Canada and stretching from coast to coast.
Temperatures peaked in July, setting high temperature records in 13 states that still stand today. Harvests were destroyed, and the ground became parched, which took years to recover from.
It is estimated that up to 5 thousand people died from heat exhaustion and heat stroke this summer. Air conditioning was scarce, and many elderly people, particularly those living in dense urban areas, struggled to cope.
It is still the most damaging and widespread heatwave in American history.
#3: San Ciricao Hurricane in 1899
The 1899 San Ciricao hurricane was both the longest lasting and deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. It moved westward from the Cape Verde Islands, striking multiple Caribbean islands including Guadeloupe, Monserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and finally North Carolina on the mainland.
Despite advance warning, many boats were sunk, most of Montserrat’s buildings were destroyed, and Saint Kitts was buffeted by winds of up to 120 mph.
The island of Puerto Rico suffered the most damage: one US Army Major described the hurricane as “more disruptive than the American invasion of Puerto Rico.”
The hurricane left 250,000 people without food, clean water, or shelter, and killed over 3,000 Puerto Ricans. Over 23 inches of rain fell in some areas in 24 hours, causing widespread flooding across the island.
The hurricane also destroyed many of the year’s crops, including valuable coffee crops, further devastating livelihoods.
#4: The San Francisco Earthquake in 1906
San Francisco is located on the San Andreas fault line, a tectonic boundary that makes the area prone to earthquakes. The 1906 earthquake lasted approximately one minute and had a magnitude of approximately 7.9 on the Richter Scale.
The earthquake caused massive damage to the city, destroying roughly 80% of it. The official death toll is now estimated to be around 3 thousand; previously, the number of casualties in Chinatown was not included in official tolls.
More than half of San Francisco’s 400,000 residents were made homeless.
The fires that raged for days afterwards exacerbated much of the damage, as did untrained fire crews who tried to use dynamite to create firebreaks, but only succeeded in setting fire to more buildings.
The army was called in to protect civilians from rioters and looters, as well as to feed and shelter them. Officials in San Francisco downplayed the extent of the damage, desperate not to lose business or investment as a result of the earthquake.
Reconstruction efforts were largely completed by nineteen fifteen, resulting in an extremely rapid recovery that changed the face of the city.
#5: Hurricane Maria in 2017
The main impact of Category 5 Hurricane Maria was felt once again in the Caribbean, with damage in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands prompting President Trump to declare a major disaster.
North Carolina was also caught in the hurricane’s path, with power outages and storm surges wreaking havoc. The US government came under fire for its slow response to the disaster.
Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, lost 64 people during the hurricane, with well over 2,000 more dying as a result of inadequate response times and a lack of medical facilities on the island.
As a result, Hurricane Maria is regarded as one of the deadliest natural disasters to strike the United States. It is also the third most expensive, causing billions of dollars in damage.
#6: Okeechobee Hurricane in 1928
The Okeechobee hurricane also made landfall on Caribbean islands such as Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas before making landfall in Florida with winds of up to 145 miles per hour.
Fortunately, timely hurricane warnings allowed many people to evacuate the most vulnerable areas, but over 15,000 people were displaced, and thousands of farms and crops were destroyed.
Storm surges were larger than predicted that summer due to above average rainfall, washing away entire houses from their foundations, flooding the area, and killing hundreds.
#7: Johnstown Flood in 1889
The Johnstown Flood occurred as a result of the failure of Pennsylvania’s South Fork Dam. Heavy rainfall in the area caused the Conemaugh River, which runs through Johnstown, to swell dangerously, and workers awoke early in the morning to find water nearly overflowing the dam.
The dam eventually failed, releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water that rushed downhill, picking up debris as it went. Water traveling at 45 miles per hour with swells up to 60 feet high hit towns in the path of the swell.
The water hit an ironworks on its way down the valley, picking up meters of barbed wire along the way, which proved deadly for those who came into contact with it later in the water’s path.
The flood killed 2208 people, making it the disaster with the highest civilian death toll at the time. Because of the sheer volume of debris, the cleanup took years, and hundreds of families were forced to relocate.
Relief efforts, led by Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, lasted 5 months, and donations from all over the world poured in to assist survivors and rebuild the area.
#8: Chenière Caminada Hurricane in 1893
The Chenière Caminada hurricane, also known as the Great October Storm, destroyed much of the island of Chenière Caminada in Louisiana, killing an estimated 2,000 people.
Many of the fatalities were attributed to the hurricane’s powerful storm surge, which reached up to 16 feet. The hurricane killed roughly half of the island’s population (around 780 people), and many crops were completely destroyed, wreaking further havoc on farmers.
Many ships and schooners that happened to be in Louisiana and Mississippi at the time were also sunk.
#9: The Forest Fire of 1871
The Peshtigo Fire is the deadliest forest fire in recorded history, killing between 1,525 hundred people in Wisconsin and Michigan and destroying over 1 million acres of forest.
The Peshtigo Fire, unlike many other forest fires, occurred in October. Small fires had been started to clear forest for construction, but strong winds from an approaching cold front fanned the flames, sending them spiraling out of control.
Because the fire killed so many people who witnessed it, little is known about it. Flames leapt across the river, leaving no choice but to jump into the river, which was freezing and had swift currents, causing many to drown.
The fire completely destroyed records and wiped out entire communities. Because no one could identify the bodies, 350 were thrown into a mass grave.
Despite being so deadly, the Peshtigo Fire has largely gone unnoticed in American history because it occurred at the same time as the Great Chicago Fire, which killed far fewer people but had a far more widely felt and reported on impact.
#10: Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Hurricane Katrina is best known for the devastation it caused in New Orleans, where it flooded 80% of the city due to structural flaws in the levees that were supposed to protect it from exactly these scenarios.
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida were also hit hard. Following Katrina, over 1 million people were displaced: efforts to bring relief to the devastated area and clean up the aftermath took months and years in some places.
Oil spills and difficulties in removing floodwater from affected areas exacerbated the situation. It is still the most expensive natural disaster in US history. It is estimated that 1,836 people died as a result of the hurricane, floods, and aftermath.
Final Thought
There you have the 10 worst natural disasters in US history. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. Stay tuned for the next exciting article.
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