15 Most Devastating Hurricanes Ever

Frightening reports of the sun unleashing powerful solar flares. Tornadoes hitting areas that were never affected in the past. Floods and fires. All examples of events that have come full force on earth and leave with immense damage in the blink of an eye.

Hurricanes are part of this scary phenomenon of natural disasters. Within the past 100 years, communities, lives and homes have been completely ripped apart due to the devastation hurricanes bring when they rip and roar through our planet. Let’s take a closer look into 15 of the worst hurricanes of the past century.

15. Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, lives would be changes drastically forever. This hurricane hit mostly Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and impacted many other areas. It has been considered one in five of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the USA. This was a category 3 hurricane and was largely publicized.

It was so talked about because of the death toll that amounted. Over 1,800 deaths were recorded from four U.S states alone. The damage was costly, estimating at roughly $81 billion in rebuilding and repairing. To this day, states are still recovering from the tragedy. 

14. Hurricane Charley

This hurricane lasted a very long six days in 2004 and ended up being classified as a category 4 hurricane. Poor Florida got hit really bad. Charley was the second worst hurricane to hit Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The hurricane also hit Jamaica and Cuba.

Jamaica shut down all airports and Cuba evacuated people for their safety. The aftermath was devastating — millions of dollars were raised to rebuild. 

13. Hurricane Sandy

This hurricane caused so much in damage it was one of the top 3 most expensive hurricanes to clean up. It cost a whopping $71.4 BILLION in damage!

Hurricane Sandy made it all the way to New York City. The flooding halted all transportation on the ground and destroyed many homes throughout the area. 

12. Hurricane Ike

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike changes the lives of those affected forever. The damage was felt on the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio and went as far as some parts of Canada! 32, 856 people were sheltered in one night.

The hurricane cost up to $37.5 billion in damages and killed 112 people in the U.S.A. The hurricane goes down as one of the worst in history in damage cost. 

11. Hurricane Camille

In 1969, a category 5 hurricane named Camille forced it’s way from the Caymen Islands through the gulf of Mexico and into the United States. In Mississippi, floods reached a height of 24.6 feet — the highest affected area.

There were 259 deaths in total and $1.42 billion in damages. The winds went so strong and peaked at 200 MPH with a rainfall of 31 inches. 

10. Hurricane Hugo

This category 4 hurricane hit the Carolinas in the USA on September 22, 1989. It hit the coast of South Carolina and stretched over the Myrtle Beach and Romain-Bulls Bay area. It recorded tides up to 20 feet, the highest ever in the east coast.

The winds blew up to 120 MPH and travelled inland. The damage resulted in a $7 billion price tag for the United States alone. 

9. Hurricane Andrew

This hurricane happened in 1992 and is recorded as one of the most damaging hurricanes in US history. The category 5 hurricane and caused $26.5 billion.

As per usual, Florida — especially the southern region — was greatly destroyed. More than 99 per cent of mobile homes were obliterated. 25, 524 homes were lost and 101,241 were damaged. 

8. Hurricane Audrey

This hurricane was responsible for 416 deaths in 1957. It struck along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. It knocked down and destroyed many homes and the lives of those affected.

The winds were so fierce that tornadoes began to form in Mississippi and Alabama. It broke records becoming the first Hurricane ever to attain level 4 category in June — early on in summer for winds to reach that velocity. 

7. Hurricane Floyd

This hurricane was also dubbed as “the hurricane of the century.” It  is known for producing the largest evacuation in history: 3 million people peacefully evacuating at the same time. They fled from the south of Florida to North Carolina.

The cost from Hurricane Floyd ranges from an estimated 4.5 to 6 billion dollars. Occurring in September 1999, it sank its teeth into the 20th century and left with a bang! 

6. Hurricane Isabel

This hurricane was record-breaking. It is known for being the hurricane that intensified the most and stayed at the highest level category 5 for 30 hours total. The strongest winds were recorded at 160 MPH with some gusts reaching an astonishing 234 MPH. Hurricane Isabel took 16 lives and costed $3.37 billion in damages. 

5. Hurricane Jeanne

When news first struck that a hurricane would be coming, it was not predicted to be as powerful as it had turned out. It quickly escalated and created mudslides, intense rainfall and destruction. It affected places like Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and later made it’s way to the USA.

This hurricane took over 3000 lives. The scariest part about it is that it was so erratic and changed directions with little notice. 

4. Hurricane Dennis

On July 4th, 2005 some Carribean islands went through major trauma because of this hurricane. It gathered strength wreaked havoc in Jamaica, Grenada, Cuba and the Caymans. It settled at  category 4 and traumatized the Caribbean.

Danger was caused by telephone poles knocked down, live electrical wires submerged in flooded areas. Eventually, the hurricane passed on to Florida and died down. There were 32 deaths and $2 billion in damages. 

3. Hurricane Rita

In 2005, the Earth was hit like crazy with hurricanes. Rita was the fifth hurricane that year and the most powerful. It began in Turks and Caicos and spread to Florida. 2.7 million people had to be evacuated promptly causing havoc.

Evacuation was not planned well, so easy commutes away from the danger resulted in prolonged waits, blocked passages and complete chaos. The confusion caused 107 deaths. 

2. Hurricane Noel

This occurred in 2007 and was only a category 1 hurricane but ended up causing major problems. It began forming in Haiti, causing 163 casualties and 59 more reportedly missing. It caused $172 million in damages — Cuba was hit hard.

It was extremely costly for these already poor island nations. It went on record as one of the most costly hurricanes of 2007 for that region. 

1. Hurricane Irma

This is the most recent hurricane to affect the United States. This storm was the strongest in the Western Atlantic ever. The winds lasted up to 37 hours at at 187 MPH, which is incredible. It is the longest lasting category 5 intensity storm in the Atlantic.

It caused catastrophic damage to the Caribbean including the Virgin Islands, Barbuda and Saint Martin. Overall it has caused 81 deaths (thus far) including 38 in the United States.

The Caribbean islands now request outside aid to rebuild and the entire process will take many years. The recovery process is still ongoing and new statistics continue to pour in daily.

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