Most Devastating Natural Disasters in the United States

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The most devastating natural disaster in economic terms in the U.S. was Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which caused over 1.8 thousand deaths and $125 billion in damage. It was at the moment the costliest tropical storm on record, followed by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Nowadays, hurricanes and floods are the most destructive natural phenomena in America. The map below shows the most devastating disasters in every U.S. state.

Most Devastating Natural Disasters in the U.S.

Other natural disasters are less deadly but touch a vast amount of people. For example, one of the recent floods over the Midwest in June 2008 touched more almost 12 million people.

All U.S. states can be grouped into natural disaster regions.

The U.S. Natural Disaster Regions

Deadliest Natural Disaster in Each U.S. State

If you look back in history, hurricanes and tornadoes have always been the deadliest natural phenomena in the southern United States. In contrast, the country’s Midwest and West regions have suffered from snowstorms, fire, and temperature anomalies.

Most Frequent Cause of Weather Fatalities in the U.S.

In recent years according to NOAA, heat is the most lethal type of weather in the United States, killing 130 people each year. Heat is the top cause in central, southern, and western United States parts.

Flooding is the second most dangerous type of weather in the United States (81 deaths per year). Flooding is the most cause of death in the central and eastern parts of the United States.

Hurricanes are the third most deadly type of weather in the U.S. (70 deaths per year). Hurricanes are the most frequent cause in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

The Great Lakes, lake many other northern areas of the country have the top cause of winter weather deaths. Avalanches are the topmost cause of death in most of the Rockies.

Sorrowfully, many such losses often happen in a more common but equally deadly set of natural disasters. Cold and hot waves can worsen diseases amongst children, the aged, or the unhealthy. Such accidents can also prove more lethal to those from lower socio-economic environments as some lack the average to afford heating or air-conditioning in their houses. The most destructive of these cases was a heatwave that struck Missouri, Kansas City, and St Louis in 1980.

A meteorologist Ian Livingston compiled the most frequent cause of weather fatalities ranked by the number of reported incidents in the National Weather Service County Warning Area created an interesting map of the most frequent cause of weather fatalities in America. The map boundaries show the County Warning Area of every 122 National Weather Service offices in the United States.