In 2021, there were 68 fatalities due to hurricanes reported in the United States. Since the beginning of the century, the highest number of fatalities was recorded in 2005, when four major hurricanes – including Hurricane Katrina – resulted in 1,518 deaths.

The worst hurricanes in U.S. history
Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in August 2005, ranked as the third deadliest hurricane in the U.S. since records began. Affecting mainly the city of New Orleans and its surroundings, the category 3 hurricane caused an estimated 1,500 fatalities. Katrina was also the costliest tropical cyclone to hit the U.S. in the past seven decades, with damages amounting to roughly 186 billion U.S. dollars. Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, both of which made landfall in 2017, ranked second and third, resulting in damage costs of 149 and 107 billion dollars, respectively.

How are hurricanes classified?
According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, hurricanes can be classified into five categories, depending on their maximum sustained wind speed. Most of the hurricanes that have made landfall in the U.S. since 1851 are category 1, the mildest of the five. Hurricanes rated category 3 or above are considered major hurricanes and can cause devastating damage. In 2021, there were 38 hurricanes recorded across the globe, of which 17 were major hurricanes.

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, leaving widespread destruction in its path. The official death count for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria was 64 excess deaths, but that controversial death toll has been debated by a number of academic and independent researcher journalists. With the loss of electrical power and telecommunication systems for much of the island, it was unclear how many deaths in Puerto Rico were an immediate result of Hurricane Maria's destruction as opposed to the access to care conditions that prolonged. Santos-Burgoa et al. applied a time-series analysis of the Puerto Rico Vital Statistics data to estimate the death count over time. To consider how many people died as opposed to emigrated away from Puerto Rico, two counterfactual assumptions were used, a Census-based scenario and a Displacement-based scenario for expected population change. Under the Census scenario and the Displacement scenario, the estimated death counts in Puerto Rico was approximately 1200 deaths and 3000 deaths, respectively, where the Displacement scenario was acclaimed as the preferred model.

Due to copy-right issues, the article and supplementary materials should be accessed at the source website. Please use the following reference citation and doi to redirect there: Santos-Burgoa C, Sandberg J, Suárez E, Goldman-Hawes A, Zeger S, Garcia-Meza A, Pérez CM, Estrada-Merly N, Colón-Ramos U, Nazario CM, Andrade E. Differential and persistent risk of excess mortality from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico: a time-series analysis. The Lancet Planetary Health. 2018 Nov 1;2(11):e478-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30209-2

Hurricane Katrina, which hit Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi in 2005, was the deadliest hurricane recorded in mainland United States since 1951. It had a death toll of nearly ***** fatalities. Meanwhile, hurricane Helene, which hit the Southeastern United States in September 2024, was the second deadliest to make landfall in the continental U.S. this century.

In 2023, storms caused nearly 15,000 deaths across the globe. the third-largest figure recorded since 1990. In the past three decades, the highest annual deathtoll due to storms was registered in 1991, when storm events were responsible for the death of more than 146 thousand people worldwide. That year, a massive cyclone hit Bangladesh, becoming one of the deadliest storms of the century. The death count due to storms was also remarkably high in 2008, mainly associated with a cyclone which hit Myanmar in May.

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 &#8211 namely Katrina, which hit in 2005 &#8211 made the ranking, with about 1,200 deaths.

In order to analyse the causes and circumstances of the fatalities due to hurricane Harvey (2017), a database of reported fatalities was compiled. Information about the victim (age, gender) and the circumstances of death (location, date, cause and circumstances of death) were included. The database is limited to fatalities that occurred within the first two weeks after landfall in Texas (August 25 - September 8, 2017) and that were directly relatable to hurricane Harvey. The dataset was compiled using both official government sources and media sources.

By December 2017, the official death toll in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria was set at 64 excess deaths. To verify the validity of this death count, a study by Kishore et al used a community-based survey sampling method to compute an empirical measurement of the death count. The study sampled from approximately 3000 households, then compared the estimated deaths with the vital statistics data from 2016 through the end of December 2017. The study method estimated 4645 excess deaths with a 95% confidence interval from 793 to 8498 potential excess deaths. These estimated excess mortality shows a markedly high estimate with a wide confidence interval, but despite these issues the estimates do indicate that the official death tool is a significantly underestimate of the realistic excess deaths in the population.

Due to copy-right permissions, the article should be accessed at the source website. Please use the following reference citation and doi to redirect there: Kishore N, Marqués D, Mahmud A, Kiang MV, Rodriguez I, Fuller A, Ebner P, Sorensen C, Racy F, Lemery J, Maas L. Mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. New England journal of medicine. 2018 Jul 12;379(2):162-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1803972

Bangladesh was hit by three out of the ten deadliest tropical cyclones recorded in the past half a century. The storm that hit the country in 1970 caused the largest number of deaths in the period, with approximately 300 thousand casualties. It was followed by storm Gorsky, which hit the country two decades later, and caused roughly 140 thousand deaths. India also recorded three of the top ten deadliest cyclones of the past decades, but with a much lower death toll than the ones seen in neighboring Bangladesh.

During the start of the current decade, the number of reported deaths due to tropical cyclones worldwide amounted to 2,670. The 10-year period with the highest recorded figures was between 2000 and 2009, where 167,300 deaths were reported due to tropical cyclones. Since 1970, almost 800 thousand deaths due to cyclones have been registered across the globe. Meanwhile, the number of tropical cyclones globally has increased continuously in the past half a century.

In order to analyse the loss of life due to hurricane Katrina (2005), a database was compiled that gives information on the recovery locations and individual characteristics for 771 fatalities in the state of Louisiana. The input data that was used in this database was supplied by the LSU Hurricane Center and it includes the following information: date of recovery, recovery location (geographical coordinates, state, parish), type of facility in which the body was found, and information regarding the organizations that performed recovery and transportation.

In 2018, The George Washington University (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health, in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a number of institutions in Puerto Rico, conducted a modeling effort to approximate the estimate excess mortality due to the devastation left by Hurricane Maria. As a follow-up to the controversial official death count of 64 deaths in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, this report summarizes the methods used and the interpretations thereof for the final estimate of approximately 3000 deaths.

Please refer to the George Washington University website for the original report or any inquiries thereof: https://publichealth.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/projects/PRstudy/Acertainment%20of%20the%20Estimated%20Excess%20Mortality%20from%20Hurricane%20Maria%20in%20Puerto%20Rico.pdf

Major Hurricane Ian left a devastating mark on the state of Florida in late September 2022. From extreme wind and damaging storm surge on the southwestern peninsula to flooding rains and record flooding across central and east-central Florida, Ian's impacts were felt far and away from its core. The storm's slow movement allowed time for it to rapidly intensify over the warm eastern Gulf waters before making landfall, while also producing hours of excessive rainfall. Sadly, the storm was responsible for numerous deaths, including 18 storm-related fatalities in east-central Florida. In the NWS Melbourne forecast area, an estimated $1.1 billion dollars of damage occurred. According to the NHC's post-storm analysis, 66 direct fatalities occurred, all in the state of Florida, from storm surge (41), freshwater flooding (12), marine (8), wind (4), and rough surf (1). 90 indirect fatalities occurred from Florida to North Carolina and Virginia, with causes related to lack of access to timely medical care, accidents, and cardiac events.In total, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) estimates that total U.S. damage from Ian was around $112.9 billion dollars, the 3rd costliest U.S. hurricane on record. In Florida alone, estimated damage cost $109.5 billion dollars, making Hurricane Ian the costliest hurricane to ever affect Florida.

The United States experienced a significant surge in tornado activity in 2024, with 1,910 reported across the country. This marked a substantial increase from previous years, highlighting the unpredictable nature of these violent atmospheric phenomena. Fatalities and economic impact While tornado frequency increased, the death toll from such events remained relatively low compared to historical peaks. In 2023, 86 fatalities were reported due to tornadoes, a notable increase from the 23 deaths in 2022 but far below the 553 lives lost in 2011. Moreover, the economic impact of these storms was substantial, with tornado damage in 2023 amounting to approximately 1.38 billion U.S. dollars, nearly doubling from the previous year. However, this pales in comparison to the record-setting damage of 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. Comparison to other extreme weather events While tornadoes pose significant risks, hurricanes have historically caused more extensive damage and loss of life in the United States. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 remains the costliest tropical cyclone in recent decades, with damages totaling 200 billion U.S. dollars when adjusted to 2024 values. The impact of such extreme weather events extends beyond immediate destruction, as evidenced by the 1,518 hurricane-related fatalities recorded in 2005. As climate change continues to influence weather patterns, both tornado and hurricane activity may see further shifts in frequency and intensity in the years to come.

This statistic shows the ten natural disasters that resulted in the most fatalities in the United States from 1900 and 2016. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina (listed as storm) caused 1,833 fatalities in the United States.

There were a total of 1,033 fatalities reported due to heat waves, wildfires, and drought in the United States in 2024. In total, there were about 1,576 fatalities due to severe natural disasters in the United States that year.

This Dataset contains year wise total number of deaths/casualties due to disastrous weather events like Cold Wave, Cyclonic Storm, Dust Storm, Floods And Heavy Rains, Gale, Hail Storm, Heat Wave, Lightning, Snow Fall, Squall, Thunderstorm in India

In 2024, there were roughly 18,100 reported fatalities caused by natural disaster events worldwide. This was well below the 21st-century average and significantly lower than the fatalities recorded in 2023, which were driven by the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on February and became the deadliest catastrophes in 2023, with nearly 60,000 reported deaths. Economic losses due to natural disasters The economic losses due to natural disaster events worldwide amounted to about 368 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Although figures in recent years have remained mostly stable, 2011 remains the costliest year to date. Among the different types of natural disaster events, tropical cyclones caused the largest economic losses across the globe in 2024. What does a natural disaster cost? Hurricane Katrina has been one of the costliest disasters in the world, costing the insurance industry some 102 billion U.S. dollars. The resilience of societies against catastrophes have been boosted by insurance industry payouts. Nevertheless, insurance payouts are primarily garnered by industrialized countries. In emerging and developing regions, disaster insurance coverage is still limited, despite the need for improved risk management and resilience as a method to mitigate the impact of disasters and to promote sustainable growth.

Extreme heat was the deadliest weather condition in the United States in 2023, resulting in a total of 207 lives lost that year. This was followed by fire weather, having caused 103 fatalities. On the other side of the spectrum, only one life was lost due to ice in the North American country that year.

In 2023, a total of *** people across Mexico lost their lives due to climate change-related disasters. This was roughly double the figure recorded one year prior. Since 1990, figures reached a record high in 1998, when a total of *** people died due to storms, floods, fires and other natural disasters related to climate change. That year, the Latin American country was hit by catastrophic flooding as well as wildfires. In addition to that, hurricane Georges traversed the Gulf of Mexico in September 1998.

The dataset contains year- and state-wise historically compiled data on the number of deaths which have happened due to forces of nature/natural calamities such as Avalanche, Cyclone Earthquake, Epidemic, Exposure to Cold, Flood, Forest Fire, Heat or Sun Stroke, Landslide, Lightning, Tornado, Torrential Rain, Tsunami, Starvation or Thirst caused by calamities, and others.