The 20 Worst Hurricanes Of All Time

Some 26 years after the last Category Five hurricane wreaked havoc in America, Hurricane Michael made its destructive presence known in October 2018. This monstrous weather front began life as a “weak” tropical storm, before arriving above the Gulf of Mexico. Thanks to hot conditions in the area, it grew in power and strength as it edged towards the Florida Panhandle.

By the time it reached the Sunshine State, Hurricane Michael’s winds were recorded at over 160mph. The storm went on to rip through parts of Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina as well, costing 16 people their lives. In total, the Insurance Information Institute estimated that the disaster caused up to $12 billion worth of damage. 

People living in The Bahamas are never going to forget about Hurricane Dorian. It’s the most powerful storm that the country’s ever faced. It developed while moving across the central Atlantic in the latter part of August 2019, eventually turning into a Category Four storm. Then, at the start of September, its ferocity only increased as it loomed closer to land.

Once Hurricane Dorian touched down in The Bahamas, it was a Category Five boasting 185mph winds. The damage it caused was catastrophic, to say the least. Officially, 74 people died during the storm, but it’s feared that many more might’ve been lost across the country. As for the financial costs, the final figure is said to have stood at almost $3.5 billion.

In the space of two days in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina went from a weakening weather front to a nightmarish Category Five maelstrom. Much like Michael, this change occurred when it reached the Gulf of Mexico. After that, it started to head towards New Orleans, Louisiana. By the time it arrived, the storm had been downgraded to Category Three.

Katrina went on to decimate New Orleans, with water levels overwhelming the embankments of the low-lying city. As a result, more than three-quarters of the settlement was flooded. The hurricane caused over $160 billion in damages and sadly led to more than 1,800 deaths. It was described as “the single most catastrophic natural disaster in U.S. history” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Following the horrific destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, a new storm started to develop in September 2005. It was called Hurricane Rita, and just like Katrina, it earned Category Five status above the Gulf of Mexico. At that stage, its wind speed was measured at 180mph. The power of this new weather front again struck fear into already-beleaguered locals.

Rita made its way to Louisiana just as the state was trying to get back on its feet. By that time, the storm had gone down to Category Three. Yet the area was struck hard once again, while Texas felt the hurricane’s wrath, too. In the end, its destruction was calculated at about $12 billion. Given the timing, Rita has since been dubbed 2005’s “forgotten storm.”

At the start of September 1961, a tropical depression formed above the Caribbean Sea. But within a few days, this weather front morphed into a Category-Five monster by the name of Hurricane Carla. It dropped to Category Four once it reached Texas’ coastal area, yet still boasted 145mph winds. Luckily, around 500,000 locals had managed to evacuate prior to landfall. 

By the time it was over, Hurricane Carla’s death toll stood at 46, while more than 460 people had been hurt. The estimated damages came to almost $2.5 billion, highlighting its destructive power. In fact, when the 50th anniversary was marked in 2011 it was still seen as America’s ninth “most-intense hurricane” since the 1850s.

Texas has seen its fair share of bad storms down the years, but none of them can touch this deadly beast from September 1900. Initially, the weather front showed no signs of being a huge threat, lingering near the Florida Keys. But everything changed once it moved west. Then, it transformed into a hurricane and had the city of Galveston in its sights.

Once it arrived, the hurricane had reached Category Four status, flooding Galveston with tidal surges of up to 20 feet. Shockingly, it’s thought that between 6,000 and 12,000 people died, which makes it one of the most fatal storms in the nation’s history. Plus, over 3,600 houses were wrecked, too, with contemporary damage costs calculated at roughly $30 million.

When it came to pressure, no other storm could touch Hurricane Wilma in October 2005. It was the “most intense” weather front on record to pass over the Atlantic Ocean, reaching Category Five status at one stage. But as the hurricane touched down in Mexico, it was Category Four boasting 150mph winds. It didn’t stop there, though — Florida was next.

While Wilma wasn’t quite as strong by that point, it was still a Category-Three hurricane, causing a lot of chaos in the Sunshine State. Once it was over, the repair bill for damage done was said to be in excess of $20 billion. Overall, few other storms in America’s long history have inflicted more destruction than this one.

For weather-watchers, 1992’s storm season began with no notable signs of worry. And that didn’t really change when a new system appeared above the Atlantic Ocean. Yet hearts started to race after this feeble storm transformed into a fearsome hurricane named Andrew, which then smashed into The Bahamas with winds topping 160mph. Then, it moved on to Florida.

As a full-on Category-Five storm, Andrew ripped through southern Miami, with properties unable to withstand its 141mph winds. It decimated the area, resulting in damage costs that reached over $27 billion. At least 61 people also lost their lives in The Bahamas and Florida, while in excess of 125,000 houses were completely flattened.

Heading back to Texas again, in the summer of 2017, a weather front passed over the Gulf of Mexico before touching down in the Lone Star State that August. It was called Hurricane Harvey, and the storm ran roughshod across communities such as Galveston and Corpus Christi. Yet that’s not all.

The Category-Four hurricane also smashed into Houston and refused to budge. Incredibly, over a period of four days, 50 inches of rainwater was dropped upon the metropolis. In most cases, the city would only get that much across a full year! So flooding proved to be a huge issue. Brock Long of FEMA described it as “probably the worst disaster the state’s seen.”

You’ll struggle to name a more tragic hurricane than the one that struck the Florida Keys in 1935. It was a Category-Five behemoth, boasting winds that reached 200mph. And due to the state of meteorological tech at the time, people couldn’t fully prepare for it, leading to some horrific outcomes. 

In total, 400 individuals died during the storm — a large percentage of which were surviving soldiers from World War I. They had been constructing a highway at the time. Meanwhile, plenty more lost their lives as they waited in vain to board a train to escape the area. Ultimately, the transportation didn’t arrive, with floodwater derailing it.

As you can probably gather by now, Florida has dealt with a lot of hurricanes throughout the years. And Hurricane Irma lashed the Sunshine State in September 2017. It was a Category Four at that stage, having previously boasted wind speeds of more than 180mph over the Atlantic Ocean. 

Anyway, the storm was still ferocious when it arrived in Florida. Irma caused a huge amount of property damage as well as flooding, ahead of moving on to other parts of the country. Ten people were killed by the hurricane in America, but many more lost their lives incidentally. As for the financial costs, it’s said that the total reached $50 billion.

During the 2012 storm season, Hurricane Sandy went on to hit Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica prior to reaching the United States that October. By that stage, though, it was no longer a hurricane — it had become a “post-tropical cyclone.” Good news, right? Well, not exactly. This was still a punishing weather front that hit the Jersey Shore and New York City hard.

For instance, tidal surges in Manhattan reached heights of over 13 feet, flooding certain areas. Plus, Queens’ beaches and swathes of Staten Island were also badly affected by Sandy’s volatile conditions: it was scary stuff. The storm obliterated thousands of properties, while nearly 120 people lost their lives across America. Damage costs were calculated at $65 billion in the end.

In September 1989 a Category-Three hurricane named Hugo headed towards the east coast of the United States. And it was a big one — its winds consistently measured around 135mph. Yet as the storm got closer to South Carolina’s Sullivan’s Island, there was a rapid switch. Suddenly, Hugo had been upgraded to a Category Four, which was very bad news for all concerned.

You see, due to its sheer size and the speed at which it was traveling, Hugo battered the non-coastal regions of the Carolinas. Residents were shocked — hurricanes hardly ever did that. In fact, you’d have to go back to 1954 to find a similar storm. Hurricane Hazel ran roughshod over the east coast that year. Anyway, Hugo’s damage costs reached $10 billion, while more than 86 people were killed.

Natural disasters don’t get much worse than Hurricane Mitch. This horrifying weather front made a lot of unwanted history once it touched down in Honduras during the fall of 1998. Over a two-day spell, Mitch dropped four inches of rainwater on the country every 60 minutes. As a result, countless floods and mudslides swamped the streets.

The conditions were catastrophic, leading to the deaths of 11,000 individuals. Only one other hurricane on record has a higher death toll than that. Honduras’ neighboring nation Nicaragua bore some of the brunt of it, too, with a single mudslide claiming the lives of 2,000 people. The figures make for heartbreaking reading.

At the end of July 1980, a “tropical disturbance” emerged above the Atlantic Ocean. But over the course of a few days, it transformed into a worryingly unpredictable hurricane named Allen. You see, the storm frequently jumped from Category Four to Five and back again as it rumbled along the Caribbean. It eventually reached Brownsville, Texas, in August.

Thankfully for the locals, the 190mph winds had gone down to 115mph at that stage, with Allen now a Category-Three storm. Still, it went on to do plenty of damage, with repair costs afterward calculated at about $1 billion. As for the loss of life, 24 people passed away across Texas and Louisiana during the hurricane.

In September 2004 Hurricane Ivan traveled past Cuba when it was a Category-Five system. The storm would move on to the Gulf of Mexico, where it dropped to Category Four. Then, just a few days later, it dipped down again to the next rating after arriving at Alabama’s Gulf Shores. Yet it still boasted 120mph wind speeds during that spell.

Here was the big issue, though: Ivan just wouldn’t go away! It stuck around on America’s south-eastern coast for days, dropping loads of water across various states. The hurricane even moved back into the Gulf of Mexico via Florida, before becoming a tropical storm. Thanks to all that lingering, at least $27 billion worth of destruction was caused in those areas.

When it comes to size, Hurricane Gilbert is definitely among the biggest storms on record. Yep, its width was measured at a jaw-dropping 500 nautical miles. This monster formed close to Africa’s western coast, prior to traveling across the Atlantic Ocean in 1988. During that journey, it eventually reached Category Five status. And unfortunately, Jamaica was sitting right in its path.

There was no getting away from Gilbert — it literally dwarfed the whole country. Due to that, more than three-quarters of Jamaica’s houses were wrecked that September. Mexico and the Cayman Islands were hit hard as well, resulting in roughly $5.5 billion in total damages. Sadly, over 300 people lost their lives in the hurricane, too.

Following the destruction of Hurricane Irma, a new storm emerged in September 2017. And it was a powerful Category Five by the name of Maria. This hurricane first touched down in Dominica, blasting the island with 175mph winds. After that, it traveled to both the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guadalupe. But the chaos didn’t end there: Puerto Rico was next in the firing line.

While Maria had been downgraded to Category Four at that stage, it still caused havoc on the island. The rain was non-stop and winds were reaching 155mph. Shockingly, nearly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico as the storm raged on. And damages hit $90 billion-plus when all was said and done in the country, making it one of the worst disasters in the nation’s history.

In the summer of 1969, a storm emerged close to the Cayman Islands. From there, it developed into a Category-Three hurricane named Camille. The volatile weather front hit Cuba, ahead of moving into the Gulf of Mexico. Then, much like some of the other hurricanes that we’ve looked at, it became a lot more powerful. Yes, Camille reached Category Five.

At that point, the storm made its way toward Mississippi’s coast. The wind was so strong that it actually broke the equipment that would have read its strength! Many experts have since predicted that it hit speeds of 200mph. That figure soon dipped as Camille moved around and struck Virginia. But the sheer amount of rain caused major problems, with damage costs coming to $1.4 billion-plus.

Nope, that’s not the title of a Hollywood movie! The Great Hurricane of 1780 came long before storms were named or measured. Historical records show that it emerged in the fall of that year, hitting a number of islands in the Caribbean. And the timing couldn’t have been more dangerous — after all, the Revolutionary War was still going on during that period.

As a result, many American and British troops were caught in the storm on their boats. A lot of them made up the 22,000 who died while the hurricane raged. As you can probably guess, no other meteorological disaster has a death toll that can touch that. As for the estimated wind speeds, old written descriptions have prompted historians to claim they might’ve hit 200mph. It must’ve been a fearsome ordeal.