Deadliest mainland U.S. hurricanes 1851-2020

The category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Galveston, Texas in 1900 was the deadliest to hit the United States, with a death toll estimated between 8,000 and 12,000. Since 1970, only one U.S. hurricane – namely Katrina, which hit in 2005 – made the ranking, with about 1,200 deaths.

The deadliest tropical cyclones and hurricanes in the United States mainland from 1851 to 2020

Characteristic	Number of deaths
Galveston, Texas (1900)*	8,000
Lake Okeechobee, Florida (1928)*	2,500
Katrina (2005)	1,500
Cheniere Caminanda, Louisiana (1893)*	1,100
South Carolina, Georgia (1893)*	1,000
South Carolina, Georgia (1881)	700
Audrey (1957)*	416
Florida Keys (1935)	408
Last Island, Louisiana (1856)	400
Florida (1926)	372
Grand Isle, Louisiana (1909)	350
Florida Keys/ South Texas (1919)**	287
New Orleans, Louisiana (1915)	275
Galveston, Texas (1915)	275
New England (1938)**	256
Camille (1969)	256
Diane (1955)	184
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina (1898)	179
Texas (1875)	176
Florida (1906)	164

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Release date

June 2021

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

1851 to 2020

Supplementary notes

* Fatalities could be higher: Texas (1900): 8,000 to 12,000.
Florida (1928): 2,500 to 3,000.
Louisiana (1893): 1,100 to 1,400.
South Carolina, Georgia (1893): 1,000 to 2,000.
Audrey: more than 416.

** With offshore deaths total is approximately 600.

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