1. Texas (Galveston) Year 1900, Category 4, Death Toll 8000 On September 8, 1900 this category 4 hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas and caused more deaths than any storm in American history. Waves 15 feet above their normal levels and winds raging at 130 mph destroyed much of Galveston and left 8000 Galveston residents and tourists dead. 2. Florida (Lake Okeechobee) Year: 1928, Category 4, Death Toll 2500 Striking Okeechobee, Florida on September 16, 1928 and causing Lake Okeechobee's 700 miles of wetlands to become one massive storm surge and flood the towns in the surrounding areas. Some survivors only made it out alive after clinging to debris and floating as far as two miles into the everglades. 3. Katrina (LA, MI, AL) Year 2005, Category 5, Death Toll1604 Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas and rushed toward the United States through the Gulf of Mexico. On the morning of August 29 the storm made landfall in the Southwest region of Louisiana and the border of Mississippi with winds raging at 120 mph. The storm surge burst over the levees surrounding the coastal cities and caused flooding of nearly 80% of the metropolitan areas. New Orleans was the hardest hit and accounts for most of the damage and the death toll. 4. Louisiana (Cheniere Caminanda) Year1893, Category 4, Death Toll 1100-1400 The small coastal town of Cheniere Caminanda was hit on October 2, 1893 with waves 16 feet high and winds topping out at 135 mph. Over half of the towns residents were killed and most of the town was destroyed by the winds and the storm surge. 5. South Carolina/Georgia (Sea Islands) Year 1893, Category 3, Death Toll 1000-2000 The "Sea Islands Hurricane" made landfall on Georgia's Sea Islands near Savannah on August 27, 1893. The storm had been moving parallel to the shore before hitting the area and brought with it winds of 120 mph and a 16 foot tall storm surge. Most of the deaths occurred because of drowning and the storm left 30,000 people homeless. The storm continued up the United States east coast before finally breaking up. |
