Deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes

Over the last century, the death toll from tropical storms and hurricanes have decreased thanks to improved technology and better forecasting. However, with hurricanes getting stronger and rapidly intensifying more often, people living in vulnerable areas are now in greater peril. Take a look at the deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes on record overall and in the United States Mainland.

Footage of increasing wave action from an approaching Hurricane Sandy at Raritan Bay Waterfront Park in South Amboy, NJ.

Storm	Year	Area Affected	Deaths
Great Hurricane of 1780	1780	Martinique, Barbados, and St. Eustatius	22,000
Great Galveston Hurricane	1900	Southeast Texas	8,000 to 12,000
Hurricane Mitch	1998	Honduras and Nicaragua	9,086
Hurricane Fifi	1974	Honduras	8,000 to 10,000
San Zenon Hurricane	1930	Dominican Republic	8,000
Hurricane Flora	1963	Cuba and Haiti	8,000
Pointe-a-Pitre Bay	1776	Guadeloupe	6,000
Canadian Hurricane of 1775	1775	Newfoundland’s Outer Banks	4,000
San Ciriaco Hurricane	1899	Puerto Rico and the Carolinas	3,433
Lake Okeechobee	1928	Florida, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Turks and Caicos Islands	3,411

Table 1: Deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes

Data is courtesy of Weather Underground and World Atlas.

Deadliest Hurricanes – United States Mainland

Storm	Year	Area Affected	Deaths
Great Galveston Hurricane	1900	Southeast Texas	8,000 to 12,000
Lake Okeechobee	1928	Florida	2,500
Hurricane Katrina	2005	Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia	1,833
Cheniere Caminanda Hurricane	1893	Louisiana	1,100 to 1,400
Sea Islands Hurricane	1893	Georgia and South Carolina	1,000 to 2,000
St. Simons Hurricane	1881	Georgia and South Carolina	700
Hurricane Audrey	1957	Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas	416
Labor Day Hurricane of 1935	1935	Florida Keys	408
Last Island Hurricane	1856	Louisiana	400
Great Miami Hurricane	1926	Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama	372

Table 2: Deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes – United States Mainland

Data courtesy of Weather Underground