Recent Tropical Cyclones That Killed More Than 1,000

When Tropical Cyclones Kill More Than 1,000

Sadly, perhaps the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines), has claimed at least 1,000 lives in the Philippines from Nov. 7 to 8, 2013, according to the latest counts.

(MORE: News | Photos | One of Strongest | How You Can Help)

Even in the 21st century, landfalling tropical cyclones can claim thousands of lives. This is not just a disaster for the third-world, either.

What follows is a list of some recent tropical cyclones responsible for at least 1,000 deaths.

NEXT > Super Typhoon Bopha 2012

Super Typhoon Bopha: December 2012

At the time, Bopha, known as Pablo in the Philippines, was the strongest tropical cyclone of record to hit the southern Philippine Island of Mindanao. 

(MORE: Track History via Weather Underground)

More than 1,000 were killed, primarily from flash flooding and landslides. Another 700,000 were homeless. Bopha became the costliest storm to impact the Philippines, with more than $1 billion (U.S.) in damage.

According to Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, Bopha was the most southerly typhoon of record in the western Pacific Basin and the second most southerly Category 5 equivalent typhoon on record.

At its peak intensity, Bopha's estimated winds from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center topped out at 160 mph, a full 35 mph less than the peak estimated winds of 2013's Super Typhoon Haiyan.

NEXT >  Philippines Again!

Tropical Storm Washi: December 2011

Those who think weaker tropical cyclones aren't dangerous should recall this December 2011 tropical storm. Once again, it was the Philippines that took the brunt of it.

Washi, known as Sendong in the Philippines, never reached typhoon status. 

Nevertheless, just over seven inches of rain in a 24-hour period triggered catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides, claiming 1,268 lives in the Philippines.

More than 6,000 were injured and a total of nearly 700,000 were affected in the islands.

NEXT > Cyclone Nargis' Horrifying Toll

Cyclone Nargis: May 2008

By far the highest death toll from any tropical cyclone so far in the 21st century occurred in May 2008.

Category 4 equivalent Cyclone Nargis roared ashore near the mouth of Myanmar's heavily-populated Irrawaddy River Delta at high tide on May 2. The storm drove an estimated 12-foot storm surge roughly 25 miles up the delta, as you can see in the NASA satellite image above.

Officially, around 138,000 were killed by Nargis, the deadliest tropical cyclone anywhere in the world since another Bay of Bengal cyclone in 1991.

(MORE: Deadliest Tropical Cyclones | The Storm That Killed 300,000)

Myanmar's military government initially resisted foreign aid, which complicated the massive recovery effort. 

NEXT > Cyclone Sidr 2007

Cyclone Sidr: November 2007

Some of the deadliest weather events in history have been from tropical cyclones tracking into the Bay of Bengal.

(MORE: Bay of Bengal: Surge Prone)

An intense cyclone heading toward Bangladesh or extreme eastern India brings a feeling of dread to every meteorologist, as these regions are near sea level, extremely surge prone and heavily populated.

In mid-November 2007, Category 4 equivalent Cyclone Sidr clobbered the highly vulnerable coast of Bangladesh with a storm surge of more than 16 feet.

While officially 3,447 were killed from Sidr, many lives were saved by a massive evacuation effort of the lowest-lying areas. According to the Red Crescent's Cyclone Preparedness Center Director, roughly two million were evacuated ahead of Sidr.

Hurricane Katrina: August 2005

Given advancements in both meteorology and technology some thought a hurricane would no longer claim a massive death toll in the U.S. 

Hurricane Katrina gave the nation a loud wake-up call.

The storm claimed 1,500 lives due to a combination of record storm surge along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the failure of the New Orleans levee system, which inundated 80 percent of the city, according to the National Hurricane Center's (hereafter, NHC) final report.

(MORE ON KATRINA: The Day Before | Louisiana Impact | Miss. Impact)

The majority of deaths in Louisiana were those over the age of 60, according to the NHC report. In Mississippi, the storm surge of up to 27.8 feet claimed the majority of the estimated 200 deaths directly related to the storm there. From 1963 to 2012, storm surge flooding was responsible for roughly half of all U.S. deaths from tropical storms and hurricanes.

The last time a single U.S. hurricane had claimed more than 1,000 lives was the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. 

NEXT > Hurricane Stan

Hurricane Stan: October 2005

Of all the hurricanes in the record-setting 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Stan may be the most forgotten. In parts of Central America, however, it will always be remembered.

Stan wasn't a particularly intense hurricane. Stan tracked across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a tropical storm, before intensifying into a minimal Category 1 hurricane in the Bay of Campeche prior to landfall in southern Mexico Oct. 4, 2005. 

(MORE: Hurricane Stan's path history)

However, as we saw with the recent Philippine tropical storm, Stan's deadliest element was the inland heavy rain.

According to the NHC's final report, it was impossible to determine the death toll directly related to Stan. However, Stan's remnant became entwined in a broader low pressure circulation that generated torrential rainfall from southern Mexico to Guatemala and El Salvador. 

An estimated 1,000 to 2,000 lives were lost due to severe flash flooding and mudslides, particularly in Guatemala. 

(MORE: Deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes)

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Deadliest Atlantic Hurricanes