Deadliest Hurricanes: Atlantic Storms That Killed 8,000+

Six Hurricanes Have Killed 8,000 or More

The extreme death tolls from these six hurricanes were recorded as early as the 1700s and as recently as the 1990s in the Caribbean, Central America and the United States.

(MORE: Deadliest U.S. Hurricanes | The Storm that Killed 300,000)

In NOAA's list of the deadliest hurricanes, the highest estimated death toll that could be found from various sources was used to rank each hurricane (1900 Galveston Hurricane is one exception). Given the difficulties in gathering exact death toll counts for hurricanes in earlier times and in remote locations, there is some uncertainty in these numbers and they could be higher or lower.

On the following pages, we examine some of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in history, including one that killed more than 20,000.

NEXT> Flora's Flooding Disaster

Hurricane Flora (1963)

In early October of 1963, Hurricane Flora hit Haiti as a Category 4 hurricane and then moved over Cuba as a Category 3 storm.

Flora continued to weaken while moving slowly over Cuba for about four days. It was this slow movement that led to some incredible rainfall totals and devastating, deadly flooding in the two countries.

One location in Cuba recorded more than 100 inches of rain. Jamaica and Haiti recorded maximum rainfall amounts of more than 4 feet. Severe property and crop damage was reported in both Haiti and Cuba.

The maximum death toll estimate for Flora is 8,000 people. Several other estimates put the number of fatalities at more than 7,100.

NEXT> Santo Domingo Destroyed

1930 Dominican Republic Hurricane

A reanalysis of the 1930 Dominican Republic hurricane by NOAA classified it as a Category 4 with winds of 155 mph at landfall near the country's capital city of Santo Domingo. The hurricane is also listed as having the worst impact and being the most intense in Dominican Republic history.

An article from the Monthly Weather Review in 1930 says that the most destructive damage was within a 20 mile-wide swath. Since the small area of extreme winds hit one of the most populated cities in the country, the impacts were severe.

NOAA's report lists a maximum death toll estimate of 8,000. However, there are some lower estimates of 4,000 and 2,000 fatalities.

NEXT> Flooding Devastation in Central America

Hurricane Fifi (1974)

Hurricane Fifi is another example of how extreme rainfall from hurricanes and tropical storms can be just as devastating as storm surge flooding and strong winds.

This is particularly the case when a hurricane moves into an area with mountainous terrain, where rainfall amounts are usually enhanced. This was the case with Fifi, which moved inland across the mountains of Central America and southern Mexico in September 1974.

Massive river flooding occurred in the hardest hit country of Honduras. It was this flooding that caused most of the deaths and destruction, according to the National Hurricane Center report.

The total number of deaths listed for Fifi is 8,000. That said, some estimates are up to 10,000, while others are as low as 3,000.

NEXT> Deadliest Hurricane in U.S. History

1900 Galveston Hurricane

The most deadly hurricane in United States history hit Galveston, Texas on Sept. 8, 1900.

According to NOAA, the south, east and west sides of the city were destroyed as much as five blocks inland by a storm surge up to 15 feet high. An estimated 3,500 homes and buildings were destroyed.

Roughly 8,000 people were killed by this Category 4 hurricane, though some estimates put the death toll as high as 12,000.

NEXT> Second Most Deadly Hurricane

Hurricane Mitch (1998)

Hurricane Mitch approached the coast of Honduras as a powerful Category 5. However, Mitch slowed significantly before moving inland and weakened to a Category 1 at landfall.

Because Mitch was still powerful near the coast of Honduras before landfall, offshore islands and the coast saw plenty of destruction.

However, Mitch's most deadly impact was from the heavy rainfall it produced as it moved slowly across the mountainous terrain of Honduras. Massive river flooding and mudslides destroyed a large amount of the infrastructure in Honduras, according to a report from NOAA. Severe impacts were also felt in parts of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize.

Entire villages were wiped out by the flooding and mudslides. The number of homes destroyed was in the hundreds of thousands.

A large majority of the deaths from Mitch were in Honduras and Nicaragua. All together, Mitch is estimated to have killed more than 9,000 people.

NEXT> Great Hurricane of 1780

Great Hurricane of 1780

Above: Interactive map of the eastern Caribbean.

The most deadly Atlantic hurricane in recorded history is the Great Hurricane of 1780.

Hardest hit were the eastern Caribbean islands, including Martinique, Dominica, St. Vincent, St. Eustatius, St. Lucia and Barbados.

According to NOAA, an estimated 22,000 people were killed by the hurricane. On the island of Martinique alone, the death toll was roughly 9,000.

An article written by meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Puerto Rico listed these impacts from the 1780 hurricane:

• No trees or houses were left standing on Barbados.
• Violent winds, possibly as high as 200 mph, stripped the bark off of trees.
• Storm surge from the hurricane lifted a ship anchored in a St. Lucia port onto a hospital, causing it to collapse.
• All houses in St. Pierre, Martinique were destroyed by storm surge flooding.
• 40 French ships sank off the coast of Martinique, drowning thousands of soldiers.
• 584 of 600 houses in the St. Vincent city of Kingstown were destroyed.

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