10-Biggest & Deadliest most destructive hurricanes ever.
1970 Bhola cyclone
Not to be known as some regular typhoon Super Typhoon Nina came onto the scene with a bang, hitting China hard and quickly destroying the Banqiao Dam. The collapse of the Banqiao Dam led to such great flooding that it set off a series of dam collapses throughout China, greatly magnifying the damage caused by Typhoon Nina.
With a 100,000+ death toll Super Typhoon Nina is the 2nd deadliest Typhoon in recorded history though we think it should be #1 since the most deadly typhoon, which hit Haiphong, Vietnam in 1881, didn't even get a name.
Kenna, a category 5 hurricane, was the 3rd most intense Pacific hurricane to ever strike Mexico's West Coast. Hitting San Blas, Nayarit on October 25th, 2002 was the 3rd cat 5 hurricane of the hurricane season. 140 mph winds and a 16 foot surge devastated the coast line causing $101 million dollars in damage.
Not happy to just be one of the most destructive Pacific hurricanes to make landfall in Mexico, Hurricane Pauline had to be one of the deadliest too.
Working it's way up the Mexican coastline Pauline dumped torrential rain falls with 16" of rain in Acapulco alone! The relentless downpour caused disastrous land slides in some of Mexico's poorest villages, killing roughly 250-400 people and leaving a striking 300,000 people homeless.
Beyond all the lives destroyed Hurricane Pauline caused a massive amount of damage, exceeding $7.5 billion (USD 1997).
The Great Hurricane of 1780
Hurricane Andrew
Taking the cake for the deadliest tropical cyclone ever
recorded the 1970 Bhola Cyclone hit East Pakistan (Bangladesh today) and
India's West Bengal on November 12, 1970. While the exact death toll is unknown
it is estimated that 300,000-500,000 people perished in the aftermath of this
storm, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters recent history.
This cyclone was not extremely large, reaching strengths equivalent of a Category 3 Hurricane. The killing power of this storm was almost completely attributed to the cyclone's surge which flooded most of the low lying islands in the Ganges Delta, literally wiping villages and crops off the face of the earth.
This cyclone was not extremely large, reaching strengths equivalent of a Category 3 Hurricane. The killing power of this storm was almost completely attributed to the cyclone's surge which flooded most of the low lying islands in the Ganges Delta, literally wiping villages and crops off the face of the earth.
Typhoon Nina 1975
Not to be known as some regular typhoon Super Typhoon Nina came onto the scene with a bang, hitting China hard and quickly destroying the Banqiao Dam. The collapse of the Banqiao Dam led to such great flooding that it set off a series of dam collapses throughout China, greatly magnifying the damage caused by Typhoon Nina.
With a 100,000+ death toll Super Typhoon Nina is the 2nd deadliest Typhoon in recorded history though we think it should be #1 since the most deadly typhoon, which hit Haiphong, Vietnam in 1881, didn't even get a name.
Hurricane Kenna
Kenna, a category 5 hurricane, was the 3rd most intense Pacific hurricane to ever strike Mexico's West Coast. Hitting San Blas, Nayarit on October 25th, 2002 was the 3rd cat 5 hurricane of the hurricane season. 140 mph winds and a 16 foot surge devastated the coast line causing $101 million dollars in damage.
Hurricane Pauline
Not happy to just be one of the most destructive Pacific hurricanes to make landfall in Mexico, Hurricane Pauline had to be one of the deadliest too.
Working it's way up the Mexican coastline Pauline dumped torrential rain falls with 16" of rain in Acapulco alone! The relentless downpour caused disastrous land slides in some of Mexico's poorest villages, killing roughly 250-400 people and leaving a striking 300,000 people homeless.
Beyond all the lives destroyed Hurricane Pauline caused a massive amount of damage, exceeding $7.5 billion (USD 1997).
Hurricane Iniki
When people think of Hawaii they often imagine lazy days of
surfing and long luaus that go into the night. The last thing most people think
of is hurricanes yet in September of 1992 that's just what they got.
Born from the strong El Nino warm phase of 91-94 Hurricane Iniki reached cat 4 level winds as the eye passed over the island of KauaŹ»i.
Not surprisingly the Hawaiians handled the effects of Hurricane Iniki amazingly well. Communities held parties to cook all the perishable food since the power was knocked out. Grocery stores offered free food to anyone who needed it while most insisted on paying anyways. While there was some looting in the aftermath of the storm though it was very limited in comparison to what happened in Katrina and other disasters.
Amazingly there were only 6 deaths attributed to Hurricane Iniki although the islanders were given less than 24 hours notice. The monetary damage however was huge for the small island, totalling over $1.8 billion (USD 1992).
Born from the strong El Nino warm phase of 91-94 Hurricane Iniki reached cat 4 level winds as the eye passed over the island of KauaŹ»i.
Not surprisingly the Hawaiians handled the effects of Hurricane Iniki amazingly well. Communities held parties to cook all the perishable food since the power was knocked out. Grocery stores offered free food to anyone who needed it while most insisted on paying anyways. While there was some looting in the aftermath of the storm though it was very limited in comparison to what happened in Katrina and other disasters.
Amazingly there were only 6 deaths attributed to Hurricane Iniki although the islanders were given less than 24 hours notice. The monetary damage however was huge for the small island, totalling over $1.8 billion (USD 1992).
Galveston Hurricane of 1900
The year was 1900, the place was Galveston Texas. On
September 4th a warning was released saying a large tropical storm had just
passed Cuba and was headed west across the Gulf of Mexico.
Even though the US Weather Bureau had warning that a large storm was on its way their policy at the time was to avoid pesky words like "hurricane" or "tornado" to avoid giving people a chance to escape oops, I mean to avoid panic.
In this case panic is really what the people of Galveston should have done as there was a big ass storm on it's way and they were grossly unprepared.
In 1900 Galveston was only about 9 feet above sea level which was a bit too low. When the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on September 8th it brought a 15 foot tall storm surge along with 135mph winds, making it a category 4 hurricane. The surge was so powerful it washed over the entire island, knocking buildings off their foundations and then pounding them into scraps of wood. In total over 3600 houses were destroyed.
The Galveston Hurricane is the deadliest natural disaster to ever hit the US, claiming over 6,000 lives. The total damages exceeded $20 million in 1900 dollars, which is over $500 million in todays dollars (inflation is no joke!).
Even though the US Weather Bureau had warning that a large storm was on its way their policy at the time was to avoid pesky words like "hurricane" or "tornado" to avoid giving people a chance to escape oops, I mean to avoid panic.
In this case panic is really what the people of Galveston should have done as there was a big ass storm on it's way and they were grossly unprepared.
In 1900 Galveston was only about 9 feet above sea level which was a bit too low. When the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 made landfall on September 8th it brought a 15 foot tall storm surge along with 135mph winds, making it a category 4 hurricane. The surge was so powerful it washed over the entire island, knocking buildings off their foundations and then pounding them into scraps of wood. In total over 3600 houses were destroyed.
The Galveston Hurricane is the deadliest natural disaster to ever hit the US, claiming over 6,000 lives. The total damages exceeded $20 million in 1900 dollars, which is over $500 million in todays dollars (inflation is no joke!).
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike is in the top 3 for most destructive
hurricane's to ever hit with $24 billion (2008 USD) in the United States, with
additional damage of $7.3 billion in Cuba, $200 million in the Bahamas, and
$500 million in the Turks and Caicos, amounting to a total of $32 billion in
damages.
Hurricane Ike results in at least 195 deaths all the way from Haiti to Galveston and many places in between.
Hurricane Ike results in at least 195 deaths all the way from Haiti to Galveston and many places in between.
The Great Hurricane of 1780
Holding the record as the deadliest Atlantic hurricane this
storm devastated Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Lesser Antilles, Bermuda, and
possibly Florida and other States.
While the total damages are unknown the death toll was well over 22,000 people, more than any other decade of Atlantic hurricanes.
While the total damages are unknown the death toll was well over 22,000 people, more than any other decade of Atlantic hurricanes.
Hurricane Andrew was the only named hurricane for the 1992
season but boy did it make it's mark. Wreaking havoc across the northwestern
Bahamas, southern Florida and southwest Louisiana. Andrew caused $26.5 billion
(USD 1992) in damage though some sources place this number closer to $34
billion.
Even with all the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew the death toll was very low, with 26 deaths caused directly by the hurricane and 39 as secondary deaths.
Even with all the destruction caused by Hurricane Andrew the death toll was very low, with 26 deaths caused directly by the hurricane and 39 as secondary deaths.
Hurricane Katrina
Still fresh in the memories of American's, especially those
from New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina was the costliest hurricane in US history
as well as one of the 5 most deadliest ever recorded. Knocking out levies in
Louisiana Katrina caused over 80% of New Orleans to flood before moving into
the northeastern United States dumping rain all across the area.
By far the largest natural disaster to ever hit the US Hurricane Katrina is $80 billion (2008 USD) in damages and killed 1,836 people with 705 still missing.
One thing that stands out about the Katrina disaster is the utter failure of FEMA or any other government agency to provide support and rescue services to the areas. Lawlessness was rampant with police shooting innocent civilians and going door to door confiscating guns from American citizens in dry areas just trying to defend their homes.
The remnants of Hurricane Katrina are still evident in New Orleans even as efforts to rebuild the city are still under way.
By far the largest natural disaster to ever hit the US Hurricane Katrina is $80 billion (2008 USD) in damages and killed 1,836 people with 705 still missing.
One thing that stands out about the Katrina disaster is the utter failure of FEMA or any other government agency to provide support and rescue services to the areas. Lawlessness was rampant with police shooting innocent civilians and going door to door confiscating guns from American citizens in dry areas just trying to defend their homes.
The remnants of Hurricane Katrina are still evident in New Orleans even as efforts to rebuild the city are still under way.
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