Here’s a look at hurricane statistics.
Notable Hurricanes in Recent U.S. History:
October 22-29, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy
Category 3 storm. Made landfall in Cuba as a Category 2. Hit New Jersey as a Post-Tropical Cyclone.
Path included Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and New Jersey and New York coastlines.
$50 billion in preliminary damages
Death toll directly attributed to Sandy was 147: 72 in the US, 54 in Haiti, 11 in Cuba, 3 in the Dominican Republic, 2 in the Bahamas, 1 in Canada, 1 in Jamaica, 1 in Puerto Rico and 2 maritime deaths
Sandy was also responsible for at least 87 indirect deaths.
* Direct deaths are caused by the force of the storm (e.g. flooding or structural collapse from wind, etc.) whereas indirect deaths result from unsafe conditions after the storm (e.g. vehicle accidents from hazardous roads, heart attacks, accidents from downed power lines, etc.).
August 21-September 1, 2012 – Hurricane Isaac
Category 1 storm
Path included Haiti, Cuba, southern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana.
$2.35 billion in estimated damages
Death toll directly attributed to Isaac was 34: 5 in the US, 24 in Haiti and 5 in the Dominican Republic
August 20-29, 2011 – Hurricane Irene
Category 3 storm. Made landfall in eastern North Carolina as a Category 1.
$15.8 billion in estimated damages
Death toll directly attributed to Irene was 49: 41 in the US, 5 in the Dominican Republic and 3 in Haiti
October 29-November 7, 2010 – Hurricane Tomas
Category 2 storm. Hit St. Lucia as a Category 1.
Affected areas included St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, Curacao, and Haiti.
About $350 million in damages
Death toll of 44 in the Lesser and Greater Antilles
September 1-14, 2008 – Hurricane Ike
Category 4 storm. Made landfall over the Turks and Caicos Islands as a Category 4. Hit Galveston Island, Texas as a Category 2.
Path included Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
$29.5 billion in damages
Estimated death toll was 103 across Hispaniola, Cuba and the US Gulf Coast
October 15-25, 2005 – Hurricane Wilma
Category 3 storm. Made landfall over Cozumel, Mexico as a Category 4. Made landfall near Marco Island, Florida as a Category 3.
$21 billion in damages
Death toll directly attributed to Wilma was 23: 5 in the US, 12 in Haiti, 4 in Mexico, 1 in Jamaica and 1 in the Bahamas
September 20-24, 2005 – Hurricane Rita
Category 5 storm. Made landfall in Louisiana/Texas as a Category 3.
$12 billion in damages
Death toll directly attributed to Rita was 7
August 25-29, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina
Category 3 storm. Hit Florida as a Category 1. Hit Grand Isle, LA as a Category 3.
Path included Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
$108 billion in damages
Death toll in the US was 1,833
September 2-24, 2004 – Hurricane Ivan
Category 5 storm. Hit Grenada as a Category 4.
Affected areas included Grenada, Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Tobago and Barbados.
Damages over $18.8 billion
Death toll directly attributed to Ivan was 92: 25 in the US, 39 in Grenada, 17 in Jamaica, 4 in the Dominican Republic, 3 in Venezuela, 2 in the Cayman Islands, 1 in Tobago and 1 in Barbados
August 25-September 8, 2004 – Hurricane Frances
Category 2 storm
Affected areas included Florida, Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas.
Damage estimated to be $9.5 billion
Death toll directly attributed to Frances was 7: 6 in the US and 1 in the Bahamas
August 9-15, 2004 – Hurricane Charley
Category 4 storm. Made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3. Hit Florida as a Category 4.
Path included Grand Cayman Islands, Cuba, Florida and South Carolina.
Over $15 billion in damages
Death toll directly attributed to Charley was 15: 10 in the US, 4 in Cuba and 1 in Jamaica
August 16-28, 1992 – Hurricane Andrew
Category 5 storm (reclassified in 2002). Originally believed to be a Category 4.
Path included northwestern Bahamas, the southern Florida peninsula, and south-central Louisiana.
$26.5 billion in damages
Death toll directly attributed to Andrew was 26: 23 in the US and 3 in the Bahamas
September 10-22, 1989 – Hurricane Hugo
Category 5 storm. Made landfall in both the Leeward Islands and later South Carolina as a Category 4.
Path included the Caribbean Islands (Puerto Rico), South Carolina, and North Carolina.
$7 billion in damages
Death toll directly attributed to Hugo was 50: 21 in the U.S., 5 in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and 24 more in the Caribbean
DIRECT HITS BY HURRICANES TO US MAINLAND 1851-2015:
CATEGORY 5: 3
CATEGORY 4: 18
CATEGORY 3: 76
CATEGORY 2: 76
CATEGORY 1: 117
TOTAL: 290
Major hurricanes (Categories 3, 4, 5): 97
The 10 Deadliest Hurricanes in the United States – 1851-2010:
Name and/or Place – Year – Category – Deaths
1. Galveston, TX – 1900 – 4 – 8,000+
2. Southeastern FL – 1928 – 4 – 2,500
3. Hurricane Katrina – 2005 – 3 – 1,200*
4. Louisiana – 1893 – 4 – 1100-1400
5. South Carolina/Georgia – 1893 – 3 – 1000-1200
6. Georgia/South Carolina – 1881 – 2 – 700
7. Hurricane Audrey – 1957 – 4 – 416
8. Florida Keys – 1935 – 5 – 408
9. Louisiana – 1856 – 4 – 400
10. Florida – 1926 – 4 – 372
*Estimate only includes direct deaths in southeast LA and MS. FEMA estimates 1,833 total direct and indirect fatalities for AL, FL, GA, LA and MS.
The 10 Costliest Hurricanes and Tropical/Post-Tropical Storms in the United States – 1900-2013:
NOT ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION
Name – Year – Category or Type – Damage
1. Katrina – 2005 – 3 – $108 billion
2. Sandy – 2012 – Post-Tropical – $71.4 billion
3. Ike – 2008 – 2 – $29.5 billion
4. Andrew – 1992 – 5 – $26.5 billion
5. Wilma – 2005 – 3 – $20.6 billion
6. Irene – 2011 – 1 – $15.6 billion
7. Charley – 2004 – 4 – $15 billion
8. Ivan – 2004 – 3 – $14.2 billion
9. Rita – 2005 – 3 – $10 billion
10. Frances – 2004 – 2 – $8.9 billion