Current:Home > StocksHelene near the top of this list of deadliest hurricanes-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Helene near the top of this list of deadliest hurricanes
View Date:2024-12-23 22:51:11
As search and rescue teams continue to examine stream beds and debris piles in hollers throughout North Carolina's western mountains, the toll of lives lost in Hurricane Helene's horrific flooding mounts daily. And with hundreds still missing, officials expect the number to rise.
Officials in four other states ‒ Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee ‒ also announced additional deaths this week, bringing the toll to 214, as of Thursday morning. That makes Helene the fourth deadliest landfalling hurricane in the mainland U.S. since 1950.
Counting the deadliest hurricanes can be tricky.
If you include hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on the list, Maria in 2017 was the deadliest hurricane in the modern era. After a reassessment by the National Hurricane Center, Maria's final death toll was set at 2,975. However, there are studies indicating the loss of life related to Maria continued for months after the storm. (Similar studies have suggested all hurricane-related deaths may rise for years after a storm.)
That makes Maria the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in all of the U.S. since 1950.
Death estimates:Helene will likely cause thousands of deaths over decades, study suggests
If the entire history of Atlantic hurricanes dating back to 1851 is considered, the loss of life before modern forecasting and communications was much greater. That list is topped by the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, Texas, which killed at least 8,000 but possibly as many as 12,000, according to hurricane center information.
A hurricane in San Ciriaco, Puerto Rico claimed 3,369 lives in 1899. Only a few storms in the modern era would appear in a comparison of the deadliest storms on the full historical list. They include Maria, Katrina (which struck Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005), and Audrey (which in 1957 hit southwestern Louisiana and northern Texas).
In the strictest sense, Sandy was not a hurricane when it made landfall. It was a hurricane at one point, then transitioned into an extratropical storm as it arrived in the Northeast. Ultimately Sandy claimed at least 159 lives.
With those caveats, here's a look at the deadliest hurricanes to make landfall in the mainland U.S. since 1950:
- Katrina - 2005, 1,392
- Audrey - 1957, 416
- Camille - 1969, 256
- Helene - 2024, 214 (preliminary)
- Diane - 1955, 184
- Ian - 2022, 156
- Agnes - 1972, 122
- Harvey - 2017, 103
- Hazel - 1954, 95
- Irma - 2017, 92
- Ike - 2008, 85
- Ida - 2021, 87
- Betsy - 1965, 75
- Andrew - 1992, 65
- Rita - 2005, 62
- Carol - 1954, 60
- Michael - 2018, 59
- Ivan - 2004, 57
- Floyd - 1999, 56
- Matthew - 2016, 52
Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change and the environment for USA TODAY. She's written about hurricanes, tornadoes and violent weather for more than 30 years. Reach her at [email protected] or @dinahvp.
veryGood! (497)
Related
- Why Dolly Parton Is a Fan of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Little Love Affair
- NOAA Climate Scientists Cruise Washington and Baltimore for Hotspots—of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants
- The Poet Franny Choi Contemplates the End of the World (and What Comes Next)
- Planet Money Paper Club
- Halle Berry Rocks Sheer Dress She Wore to 2002 Oscars 22 Years Later
- Residents Fear New Methane Contamination as Pennsylvania Lifts Its Gas-Drilling Ban in the Township of Dimock
- Delivery drivers want protection against heat. But it's an uphill battle
- These farmworkers thought a new overtime law would help them. Now, they want it gone
- IAT Community Introduce
- Delivery drivers are forced to confront the heatwave head on
Ranking
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 11
- Decarbonization Program Would Eliminate Most Emissions in Southwest Pennsylvania by 2050, a New Study Finds
- Russia's nixing of Ukraine grain deal deepens worries about global food supply
- Three Midwestern States to Watch as They Navigate Equitable Rollout for EV Charging
- Garth Brooks wants to move his sexual assault case to federal court. How that could help the singer.
- Massachusetts Utilities Hope Hydrogen and Biomethane Can Keep the State Cooking, and Heating, With Gas
- Colleen Ballinger's Remaining Miranda Sings Tour Dates Canceled Amid Controversy
- Summer School 1: Planet Money goes to business school
Recommendation
-
Tesla issues 6th Cybertruck recall this year, with over 2,400 vehicles affected
-
Keep Cool With the 9 Best Air Conditioner Deals From Amazon Prime Day 2023
-
Corn Nourishes the Hopi Identity, but Climate-Driven Drought Is Stressing the Tribe’s Foods and Traditions
-
Amazon Prime Day 2023 Flash Deal: 52% Off a Revlon Heated Brush That Dries and Styles at the Time Same
-
Taylor Swift drops Christmas merchandise collection, including for 'Tortured Poets' era
-
Planet Money Paper Club
-
Microplastics Pervade Even Top-Quality Streams in Pennsylvania, Study Finds
-
Kate Hudson Proves Son Bing Is Following in Her and Matt Bellamy’s Musical Footsteps