10. New Orleans Hurricane
(September 30, 1915)
The New Orleans Hurricane of 1915 was an intense Category 4 hurricane that made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana during the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane killed 275 people and caused $13 million (1915 US dollars) in damage.
9. The Atlantic-Gulf Hurricane
(Florida, Texas September 10 - 14, 1919)
The Atlantic Gulf Hurricane of 1919 was an intense Atlantic hurricane, killing 772 people as it moved through the Florida Keys and Texas. The second tropical cyclone of the 1919 hurricane season, it moved in the proximity of the eastern Greater Antilles and Bahamas before moving through the Florida Keys and central Gulf of Mexico into southern Texas. It is one of the most intense hurricanes on record for Key West, Florida and the first hurricane to cause significant damage to the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Damage from the storm totaled $22 million (1919 USD).
8. The Grand Isle Hurricane
(Louisiana September 20, 1909)
This Category 4 storm struck the mainland between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. It is blamed for at least 350 deaths.
7. The Great Miami Hurricane
(Florida September 18, 1926)
The Great Miami Hurricane was a Category 4 hurricane that devastated Miami in September 1926. The storm also caused significant damage in the Florida Panhandle, the U.S. state of Alabama, and the Bahamas. The storm's enormous regional economic impact helped end the Florida land boom of the 1920s and pushed the region on an early start into the Great Depression.
6. Hurricane Audrey
(Texas and Louisiana June 26, 1957)
Audrey was a Category 4 that caused eight to 12 foot storm surges that moved inland as far as 25 miles through low-lying areas of Louisiana. The storm is blamed for 390 deaths.
5. The Great Labor Day Storm
(Florida September 2, 1935)
One of just three Category 5 Hurricanes to make landfall in the US, the Great Labor Day Storm was responsible for 423 deaths in Florida. Most of those occurred when a train carrying World War I veterans was overturned. The Hurricane also was notable for providing the setting for the Humphrey Bogart - Lauren Bacall movie, Key Largo.
4. The Long Island Express
(North Carolina to New York September 20 - 22, 1938)
The Long Island Express roared past North Carolina on September 20, and hit Long Island on September 22 as a Category 3. Storm surges of 12 - 16 feet killed at least 600.
3. Hurricane Katrina
(Louisiana, Mississippi August 25 - 29, 2005)
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,833 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion (2005 USD), nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
2. San Felipe-Okeechobee Hurricane
(Florida September 16 - 17, 1928)
The fourth strongest Hurricane to hit the US mainland caused the second highest number of casualties. A lake surge on the inland Lake Okeechobee in Florida rose as high as nine feet, flooding nearby towns. A total of 1,836 people died in Florida; another 312 died in Puerto RIco, and 18 in the Bahamas.
1. The Great Galveston Hurricane
(Galveston, Texas September 8, 1900)
This unnamed hurricane caused the greatest loss of life of any Hurricane in recorded US history. First tracked in Cuba as a tropical storm on Sept. 3, it hit Galveston as a Category 4 Hurricane. An estimated 6,000 - 12,000 people died as storm tides of eight to 15 feet washed over the barrier island. The tragedy was documented in the recent book, Isaac’s Storm.
