Hurricane Agnes, 1972 - Agnes caused some of the worst floods in the United States since Diane in 1955. Agnes struck the Big Bend of Florida as a weak hurricane causing relatively minor damage there. But inland, the storm teamed up with a non-tropical low and trekked slowly east-northeastward across the eastern US, dropping torrential rains over a wide swath of the country; affecting 12 states. The Chesapeake/Susquehanna watershed in Pennsylvania and nearby states suffered the most. Places there saw as much 19 inches of rain in five days. The Susquehanna River burst its banks and flooded many surrounding communities, paralyzing them. In New York, several tributaries of the Susquehanna also flooded, putting a few towns under several feet of water. The Potomac and Delaware rivers saw serious flooding as well, dumping thousands of gallons of freshwater into Chesapeake Bay to the point where the fishing industry suffered for years afterward. In Virginia the James River inundated downtown Richmond. The flooding washed away entire houses. The Ohio River valley saw rivers crest 11 feet above flood stage after just three days of Agnes. 122 people died in the United States and another seven in Cuba. Agnes left over $2 billion in damage. In some places, even Hurricane Floyd failed to match the Agnes flooding.
Hurricane Fifi, 1974 - Don't laugh, the comical name belies the terrible nature of this storm. It ranks as one of the deadliest Atlantic storms in modern history. Torrential rainfall caused catastrophic flooding in Honduras. Some of the mountainous regions saw upwards of 2 feet of rain in just 36 hours. The flash floods that followed washed away entire villages, killing thousands. Choloma, Omoa and Trujillo were all wiped out. Hundreds of people lived here. The Ulua River Valley was lake about 20 miles wide for several days. Thousands of people were never found. The country took decades to fully recover. And then, a hurricane even worse hit. At least 8,000 people died. The true number may never be known. Damages came to over $900 million in a country where some of the richest homes could be had for a few thousand dollars. By the time Honduras had somewhat recovered, it was hit by a storm even worse (see 1998 entries).
Eloise badly hurt the booming tourist industry in the Florida Panhandle.
Hurricane Eloise, 1975 - Eloise caused heavy damage to the Florida Panhandle and serious flooding in Puerto Rico. Eloise wasn't even a hurricane when it passed that island, yet it dumped unusually large amounts of rain. Parts of the island saw nearly 3 feet of rain in as many days. Severe flooding and mudslides killed 34 people. It was the island's worst flooding in many years. Hispaniola was spared the same treatment, despite suffering a more direct hit from a stronger storm. 25 were killed there. Eloise began to gather strength in the Gulf of Mexico. It hit the Panhandle of Florida as a strengthening Category 3 with 125 mph winds and a 16 foot storm surge, causing heavy destruction to a low-rise area. Thanks to evacuations, death toll in the area of landfall was just four. Inland, however, 17 people died in floods. In all, Eloise killed 80 people and caused $560 million in damage; over $2 billion in 2007. Eloise had a profound impact on the tourist industry, which was booming in the Panhandle at that time. The storm and its impact have been compared to Hurricane Opal of 1995.
Hurricane David, 1979 - David was a fearsome hurricane. It is described as the worst hurricane to hit the Dominican Republic in nearly 50 years. This includes the likes of Hurricanes Hazel, Flora and Inez. In Dominica, a small island nation in the Lesser Antilles, it was considered their worst hurricane in about a century and a half. David passed directly over the island as a Category 4 with sustained winds of 145 mph. Most of the homes on the island were either unlivable or in ruins. 75% of the population lost everything. 56 people died on Dominica. The Dominican Republic fared far worse. When David roared ashore just west of Santo Domingo, it was a monster Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 175 mph. The storm surge caused catastrophic river flooding that washed away entire communities. In the village of Padre las Casas, a flash flood washed away a church and a school where several hundred people were taking shelter. Few, if any, survived. 200,000 people lost their homes. Damage in the Dominican Republic alone is thought to approach $1 billion. David went on to rake the Florida coast as a Category 2 and hit Georgia as a 1, causing moderate damage. David remains the most recent hurricane to directly strike the latter state. David killed at least 2,078 people, most of them in the Dominican Republic, which has not since seen a worse hurricane. Damages came to at least $1.5 billion.
*A full-disk infraredimage of Hurricane David about to strike Hispaniola. Future hall-of-famer Frederic (see below) is to the right of David and Tropical Storm Elena is the blob of convection off the Texas coast at left.
Rousso's Restaurant near Mobile was flattened by Frederic.
Hurricane Frederic, 1979 - Frederic was a Category 4 hurricane that brought widespread destruction to the Gulf Coast of the United States as well as heavy rainfall in the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. Frederic was only a tropical storm when it hit the Leeward Islands but heavy rains, as much as 2 feet in 30 hours, caused localized flooding. Off St. Maarten, a fishing boat sank with the loss of seven crew. Rainfall was just as heavy in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, where moderate damage was caused. Details are unknown. After leaving Cuba, Frederic began to intensify over the central Gulf of Mexico, peaking with sustained winds of 135 mph. The storm laid waste to the Alabama coastline. A storm surge as high as 13 feet destroyed much of Dauphin Island, Fort Morgan and Gulf Shores. In Gulf Shores, 80% of buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. The bridge connecting Dauphin Island to the mainland lost huge chunks of its span. Thanks to proper evacuations, the death toll was relatively low (14), but Frederic's 2.3 billion-dollar price tag earned it a place on this list.
Hurricane Allen, 1980 - One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to roam the Atlantic, Allen left a path of destruction spanning from the Lesser Antilles to Texas. It spent more time as a Category 5 than any other Atlantic hurricane in recorded history, 72 hours (3 full days), reaching that intensity on three different occasions. The storm rolled over St. Lucia as a strong Category 3. Heavy rainfall brought flash floods that killed 18 people and caused serious damage. Heavy rains and flash floods killed 220 people in Haiti and left 835,000 homeless. The storm also caused extensive damage in Jamaica, where 8 people died. Cayman Brac was buffeted by winds in excess of 115 mph, causing no deaths but significant property damage. While passing through the Yucatan Channel, Allen reached its peak intensity of 190 mph, falling just short of Camille's record 200 mph winds. When Allen reached Category 5 strength for a third time while barely 100 miles southeast of southern Texas, residents feared the worst. Half a million people fled the coast in advance of Allen. The storm in fact weakened dramatically before landfall, striking as a Category 3. Still, a 12-foot storm surge and 130 mph wind gusts left heavy damage in Texas. Padre Island was reshaped by the storm, washing away high dunes and expanding the island westward with the deposited sand. Tornado outbreaks caused severe damage inland and 15-20 inches of rainfall in just 2 days brought heavy flooding in south Texas. Allen killed 274 people and caused at least $935 million in damage.
Gilbert has become the epitome of the powerful hurricane.
Hurricane Gilbert, 1988 - Hurricane Gilbert was Mexico's worst hurricane since Janet in 1955 and Jamaica's worst since Charlie in 1951. Gilbert also toppled the most hallowed record of the Atlantic Basin, one that had stood for over half a century: the strongest Atlantic hurricane in history (in terms of atmospheric pressure). It held the record for 17 years. Gilbert remains one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike land. Because of its evocative symmetrical appearance and the terrible damage it caused, Gilbert (like Camille, Andrew and Mitch) has come to symbolize the true power of a hurricane. The storm steamrolled Jamaica as a Category 3 with 27 inches of rain falling in just 24 hours. Devastating flash floods tore through the country, killing 45 people and causing $4 billion in damage on Jamaica alone. Mexico would only wish they got it that good. After shattering the Atlantic intensity record, Gilbert crashed into Cozumel with 160 mph winds and a 900 mbar pressure. A storm surge as high as 20 feet laid waste to the entire area. 60,000 homes were completely destroyed. Over 100 people died on the Yucatan Peninsula. Another 100+ died in flash floods in mainland Mexico after Gilbert's second landfall as a strong Category 3 near La Pesca. In all, Gilbert killed 341 people and caused $5.5 billion in damage. Most of all, it left a lasting memory, putting it into class with the all-time greatest hurricanes.
Hurricane Joan, 1988 - Joan was one of Nicaragua's worst hurricanes and probably the worst in Costa Rica's history as well. It tracked across the extreme southern Caribbean, raking the Netherlands Antilles, Venezuela and Colombia (where Joan remains probably the most severe tropical storm disaster) with heavy rains but not strengthening much. Then it exploded in the southwestern Caribbean, striking central Nicaragua as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph sustained winds. Bluefields was in shambles, with 6,000 homes in that small town alone being destroyed. Severe flooding ravaged the rural mountainous areas and crippled the nation's infrastructure. Costa Rica saw one of the worst flooding events in its history, with all the nation's major rivers bursting their banks and thousands of homes being destroyed. 334 people died and $2 billion in damage was done to predominantly poor nations. Joan had a second life as Tropical Storm Miriam in the Pacific, causing some flooding in Mexico and Guatemala.
This old brick building was wrecked by Hugo's 140 mph winds.
Hurricane Hugo, 1989 - Hugo introduced a new era of destructive hurricanes. As the coastline became more developed, the cost of hurricanes began to skyrocket. Hugo was South Carolina's worst hurricane in decades. The storm was a monster; briefly becoming a Category 5 east of the Lesser Antilles. Hugo rocked the islands with winds in excess of 140 mph. Montserrat was almost completely destroyed. 90% of the island's buildings were in ruins. Heavy rains swamped Puerto Rico, sending devastating flash floods through the streets of San Juan. 12 people were killed there. Hugo slammed into the South Carolina coast with 140 mph winds. A storm surge as high as 20 feet crashed onto the shoreline, by far the highest ever measured on the US eastern seaboard. Francis Marion National Forest looked like something out of an archival nuclear bomb video. Hugo destroyed $100 million worth of timber alone. Folly Beach was essentially in ruins. 80% of homes there were completely destroyed. Arctic Avenue, which ran parallel to the beach, had an entire section of pavement uprooted. The 13,000 square foot restaurant The Atlantic House that sat over the water was washed away; only the pilings remained. In the Sullivans Island's Dune Marina, 100 boats were thrown in a pile 50 feet high. A 40-foot span of the Ben Sawyer swing bridge was ripped from its steel battens and stood horridly askew, with one end in the water and the other high in the air. Historic Charleston was trashed; 80% of the historic buildings sustained damage. Some towns over 200 miles inland saw 100 mph wind gusts. Hugo killed 67 people, 35 in the US. The storm caused $10 billion in damage. South Carolina would be rebuilding for the next decade. The bar had been raised.
See this webpage for additional details and images, including before and after shots of The Atlantic House restaurant and the Ben Sawyer Bridge.
The Perfect Storm, 1991 - I don't know about perfect, but the Halloween Storm of 1991 was one of the strangest meteorological events of all time. Tropical cyclones had formed from multiple systems before (Hurricane Karl in 1980 is an example) but never were the systems so powerful or the resulting storm so peculiarly destructive. A deep extratropical low over the Grand Banks began to feed off of Hurricane Grace, which was a Category 2 hurricane off Bermuda. By October 27, the low had completely consumed Grace. Popular culture has turned this storm into a cataclysmically powerful hurricane, but it wasn't; it was worse. For a day or so, the gale's winds were not banded, they lay unbroken throughout the entire system raging in excess of 70 mph. Ships caught in it could be hundreds of miles from calm winds and safe seas as the gale had few lulls like a hurricane has. And they couldn't go around the storm because it essentially formed right on top of them. Those winds and the deep pressure gradient of the storm generated some of the most enormous waves ever measured in the Atlantic Ocean. A Canadian buoy off Sable Island measured a wave over 100 feet high! America remembered this storm for the tragic story of the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail, which sank in heavy seas off the Grand Banks with the loss of all six crew. New England had just gotten shelled by Hurricane Bob two months earlier. Now the area was getting pounded by 30-foot waves and hurricane force winds from a storm over 200 miles offshore. 12 people were killed and over $200 million in damage was done. Only Bob did worse that year. It has become a part of American and Canadian lore and remains the only Atlantic hurricane to be the central figure of a Hollywood feature film.
An infraredimage of the Halloween storm on October 28. Notice the storm's thick northern band that spans several hundred miles of ocean. The Andrea Gail is thought to have sunk around this time.
Andrew completely leveled entire communities.
Hurricane Andrew, 1992 - Andrew is perhaps the most legendary Atlantic hurricane of the 20th Century. Ever since August 24, 1992, its name has lived in infamy. Andrew has become part of our lexicon, both here in the States and abroad. This distinction was earned in blood. Andrew was America's greatest cataclysm since Hurricane Camille in 1969 and almost as powerful. But it was not so much the human tragedy as it was the path of ruin the storm left in its wake. Andrew made no mystery of his intentions; taking dead aim at Miami on August 23 and never flinching until it reemerged over the Gulf. That day, 'Drew rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane with 175 mph winds, but then its winds fell to 145. Just before landfall, it restrengthened and struck Elliott Key, Florida 15 miles east of Homestead with 165 mph sustained winds. Andrew was unique in that most of the damage in Florida was wind related. Its 17 foot storm surge hit a sparcely populated piece of coastline and did almost nothing. Inland, Andrew used raw wind power to destroy or severely damage 117,000 homes in Dade County alone. Residents who had lived there for years through many fierce hurricanes, including those of the 1940's, said that Andrew was more fearsome than any hurricane they'd ever experienced. It was more like a massive tornado than a hurricane. Homestead and the surrounding area look like a war zone. Miles and miles of nothing but ruins and buildings that looked like they'd been shelled by artillery. Andrew leveled entire communities and left over 160,000 people homeless. They wandered the streets for several days in 90+ degree heat desperate for food and water. Many resorted to looting. In Louisiana, where Andrew hit as a Category 4, the storm surge inundated several communites along the shoreline. Andrew killed 58 people in the United States (43 in Florida and 15 in Louisiana) and 4 in the Bahamas. The ruins took years to clean up. Fortunately the two following seasons were quiet, leaving Floridians time to piece their lives back together and wonder what the hell happened.
Hurricane Gordon, 1994 - Gordon was the deadliest hurricane to do its damage while below hurricane strength. The storm had a massive, complex circulation that dropped torrential rainfall, causing widespread flooding throughout the West Indies. Haiti suffered its worst human catastrophe since Hurricane Flora in 1963. Hillsides stripped of trees by massive logging and deforestation offered no resistance to the floodwaters, which swept unimpeded into villages expecting a minor storm event. Hundreds of homes were washed away. 1,122 people were killed in Haiti alone. 25 others were killed in Florida, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba. Total damages remain unknown but are thought to approach if not exceed $1 billion.
Opal was the Panhandle's worst hurricane in 20 years.
Hurricane Opal, 1995 - With echoes of Eloise 20 years earlier, Opal was a Category 3 hurricane that devastated the Florida Panhandle. Opal had an ominous beginning; the gathering disturbance and succeeding Tropical Storm Opal caused serious flooding in Central America that killed 50 people. After recurving in the Bay of Campeche, Opal began to bomb in the central Gulf of Mexico. It peaked with 150 mph sustained winds and, with a 916 mbar pressure, appeared on the verge of becoming a Category 5. Then, in the middle of an eyewall replacement cycle, Opal inhaled a pocket of dry air and higher wind shear and all but fell apart; making landfall in Florida as a 115-mph Category 3. The results were bad enough. Some places saw a storm surge as high as 15 feet. Entire beachfront neighborhoods were trashed by Opal, many suffering irreparable damage. Opal flattened the Panhandle's iconic sand dunes, depositing the sand in the living rooms of hundreds of ruined homes. A large chunk of Highway 98 near Eglin Air Force Base was washed away entirely. Residents had heeded the warnings and fled the coast. Only one person was killed in Florida: a young woman killed by an F2 tornado spawned by the storm. Georgia was hard hit. Many towns there were unprepared for the torrential rains and the gale-force winds. 14 people died there. Heavy rains also fell in the Carolinas. Wind driven rainfall washed out roads and triggered landslides. 20 people were killed in the United States, bringing Opal's toll to 70. The storm also caused nearly $4 billion in damage.
Hurricane Georges, 1998 - Georges was a powerful hurricane that left a path of destruction spanning from the Lesser Antilles to the US Gulf Coast. Similar to Inez in 1966, Georges raked through the Greater Antilles with destructive force. In the Leeward Islands, high winds and heavy rains brought down power lines and flooded streets, killing 7 people. Georges then thrust a 10 foot storm surge onto Puerto Rico as it crossed the island end to end. Torrential rains caused severe flooding and landslides, but fortunately no one was killed. Hispaniola was not so lucky. Some of the mountainous regions saw over 3 feet of rain in just two days. Thousands of homes were ruined or destroyed by the ensuing floods and mudslides, many with people still inside. The Dominican Republic alone saw over $1 billion in damage. 380 people died. In Haiti, it was almost as bad. The rainfall from Georges caused devastating mudslides that left many communities destroyed, 209 people dead and 167,332 people homeless. Cuba was next. The weakened Georges passed all along the northern coast, dropping as much as 24 inches of rain in a day and a half. 6 were killed and over 100,000 lost their homes. Georges regained Category 2 status as it brisked by the Florida Keys and headed for the Gulf Coast. The storm crawled onto the Mississippi coast with winds in excess of 100 mph. Torrential rains and a nine foot storm surge caused serious flooding that washed out streets and waterlogged homes and businesses. Thankfully, Georges’ rampage in the Caribbean had gotten peoples' attention and they fled the coast and no one was killed. Alabama fared the worst. A 12 foot storm surge and nearly 30 inches of rain caused severe flooding that killed one person and destroyed many homes. Florida also saw heavy rainfall. In all, Georges left 604 people dead and caused nearly $6 billion in damage. And it wasn't even the worst hurricane of the season.
Hurricane Mitch, 1998 - Hurricane Mitch was the greatest cataclysm ever wrought in the modern era by an Atlantic hurricane and the deadliest in 218 years. In that time only six natural disasters killed more people in the Western Hemisphere (1970 Ancash earthquake, 1868 Arica earthquake, 1902 Mt Peleeeruption, 1976 Guatemala earthquake, 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, and (barely) the 1939 Chillán earthquake). Few today realize the true horror of Mitch. Most think devastation on that scale is a thing of the past or stuck deep in the bowels of poor, cramped Asian countries. Mitch grew into a powerful hurricane over the western Caribbean with sustained winds of 180 mph. On October 27, a ridge of high pressure to the north of the storm cut off its steering currents and left it to drift slowly southward toward the Honduran coast. Over the next six days, torrents of rain fell on Central America. Honduras was by far the hardest hit. Some places saw over six feet of rain in five days. Others saw 18 inches in just 24 hours. Widespread catastrophic flooding tore through the entire country destroying whatever got in their way. What were once quiet mountain creeks ballooned into raging rivers up to 1/4 of a mile wide and over 40 feet deep. Honduran president Roberto Flores said the storm destroyed half a century of progress in the country. So much was destroyed that existing maps were rendered obsolete. Over 7,000 died and as many as 1.5 million lost their homes in Honduras alone. The near total devastation of crops left many villages on the verge of starvation. Nicaragua fared little better. Lake Managua burst its banks and flooded several towns along the lakeshore. The flank of the Casita Volcano gave way and turned into a cataclysmic lahar that devastated an area 10 miles long and 5 miles wide. The Casita lahar alone killed 2,000 people. Nearly 24,000 homes were completely destroyed and over 368,000 were displaced. 3,800 people died throughout the country and over $1 billion in damage was done. Flash floods and mudslides also ravaged El Salvador and Guatemala, destroying over 10,000 homes, killing a combined 519 people and leaving 789,000 homeless. Off Belize, the windjammerFantome sank with the loss of all 31 crew. The final toll from Mitch may never be known, but is probably in excess of 18,200. During the seven and a half days it affected Central America, a conservative average of 1,500 people died per day. It ranks as the 15th deadliest tropical cyclone since 1800. Damage stands at $5 billion, probably a conservative number. Honduras and Nicaragua have yet to fully recover. Only Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, India and Myanmar have seen deadlier hurricanes and only two since 1975.
Floyd left dozens of communities underwater.
Hurricane Floyd, 1999 - Hurricane Floyd was the worst cyclone-related flooding event in the United States since Agnes in 1972. Floyd was a monster storm. At peak intensity, the storm raged with 155 mph sustained winds and gale force winds that covered an area of over 300,000 square miles. Floyd lashed the Bahamas with 155 mph wind gusts, 50 foot waves and a 20 foot storm surge that completely overran many islands. Some were entirely submerged under as much as 5 feet of water. Thanks to four days of preparation, only one person was killed, but hundreds of homes were destroyed and many businesses were ruined. The hurricane turned north-northeast, along the US eastern seaboard, and weakened to a Category 2. But an already soggy North Carolina simply couldn't take another punch. Floyd came ashore at Topsail Beach with 105 mph sustained winds and down came the rain. In some places, 17-19 inches fell in less than 24 hours. It was the middle of the night when dozens of rivers and streams began to burst their banks. The Tar River crested 24 feet above flood stage. Hundreds became trapped in their homes, which were rapidly filling with water. Places futher inland were still flooding weeks after the storm. Princeville was largely destroyed when the Tar River sank the entire town under 20 feet of water. Rocky Mount was submerged for the better part of a week. In Greenville, many residents had to swim 6 feet underwater to reach their front doors. Five major rivers reached 500 year flood levels. 24,000 homes were either ruined or destroyed and 35 people were killed in North Carolina alone. In Virginia, rivers across the Chowan River basin burst their banks. The Blackwater River flooded the town of Franklin under 12 feet of water. New Jersey was also hard hit. The Raritan River burst its banks and caused record flooding in nearby towns. The river sent 12 feet of water down Main Street in Bound Brook, drowning 3 people. Floyd killed over 80 people, most of them in North Carolina, and caused $4.5 billion in damage. North Carolina was months recovering. It was the worst hurricane in state history.
Tropical Storm Allison, 2001 - Atlantic tropical cyclones are usually born as thunderstorms over Africa. This tropical birth is why with nearly all destructive storms, flooding is a major factor. Sometimes this gives weaker storms that don't have the winds or the storm surge a brutal equalizer. Storms like this are not new; Amelia in 1978, Bret in 1993 and Alberto in 1994 were all weak storms that caused severe flooding. Allison was one of the worst. The storm came out of nowhere. Few expected it to be much more than a summer rainstorm. They also weren't expecting the storm to camp over north Texas for five days. The near continuous rainfall was too much for the rivers below to handle and flash floods began to inundate the region. Houston saw well over 2 feet of rain in just 12 hours. Two thirds of the waterways in Harris County reached 500-year flood levels. 73,000 homes were flooded and over 2,700 were destroyed, leaving 30,000 people homeless. The Texas Medical Center lost decades of priceless research. 23 people died and over $5 billion in damage was done in Texas alone. Allison transitioned to a subtropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico and moved inland again over southeastern Louisiana, which also saw significant flooding. Nearly every state along Allison's strangely long path saw damaging floods. In Pennsylvania, several rivers burst their banks, destroying 241 homes and killing seven people. Allison killed 55 people in the US, more than Isabel or Charley and just seven fewer than Andrew and caused $5.5 billion in damage. All that from a storm whose winds never exceeded 60 mph.
Flooding from Isabel essentially turned Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia into a naval base.
Hurricane Isabel, 2003 - Isabel was a powerful hurricane that provided far too many memories of Hurricane Floyd just four years earlier. It would turn out to be only a prelude to two of the worst hurricane seasons in Atlantic history. The only hurricane to become a Category 5 more than once over the open Atlantic (unless you count Andrew's second foray in the Straits of Florida), Isabel's winds blew at 165 mph at peak intensity. Its winds had weakened to 105 mph at landfall on North Carolina's Outer Banks but not its punch. A wet summer had left the region vulnerable to flooding. Isabel's eight foot storm surge washed out a chunk of Hatteras Island, creating a new inlet and destroying many homes along the shoreline. Virginia saw by far the worst damage. A 10 foot storm surge and torrential rainfall caused widespread flooding that severely damaged or destroyed nearly 11,000 homes and businesses and caused over $1 billion in damage. Nearly 2 million people were left without power. The James River burst its banks, causing serious damage to surrounding neighborhoods. Torrential rains caused severe flooding throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Some places saw over 20 inches of rain. The South River put downtown Waynesboro under 3 feet of water. The Washington, D.C. area was hit with strong winds (gusts neared hurricane force) that blew down trees and power lines. Northern Virginia experienced unusually severe storm surge flooding from the Potomac River that destroyed over 200 homes in Fairfax County. Tidal flooding also caused heavy damage in Eastern Maryland. Isabel killed 50 people in the United States and 1 in Ontario. Damage came to over $3.5 billion.
Hurricane Charley, 2004 - It had been five years since a major hurricane had made landfall in the United States, ten since Florida got hit by one and 12 since a storm with winds stronger than 115 mph had struck the country. Over the next two seasons, the US would be devastated by seven major hurricanes (Charley, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma) as well as five other hurricanes, killing as many as 2,875 people and causing nearly $160 billion dollars in damage in the US alone(not counting lost business revenue). Hurricane Charley was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the US. In the past 50 years, only Andrew and Camille had more powerful winds at landfall. Audrey and Carla were of comparable intensity. Charley suddenly changed course and rapidly intensified right before landfall, taking many residents of the Port Charlotte area by surprise. Charley crossed the coast near Boca Grande on Friday, August 13 with 150 mph sustained winds. A 13 foot storm surge and winds gusting to 172 mph laid waste to the Charlotte County, where 80% of buildings were destroyed. The winds alone ripped off roofs and completely destroyed entire mobile home parks, reminding many of Andrew. Thousands of homes were left in ruins. Charley killed 35 people, all but 5 of them in the US, and caused $15 billion in damage. At the time, it was the second costliest hurricane of all time (it now ranks fourth). Florida's misery had only just begun.
Hurricane Frances, 2004 - Frances' slow crawl across the Bahamas and Florida generated devastating floods that caused unexpectedly severe damage to the Florida peninsula. Frances was a powerful Category 4 hurricane nearly as strong as Charley. The storm raked the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos as a major hurricane and nearly stalled over Grand Bahama Island as a Category 2, causing extensive damage. Frances hit Florida while crawling between 3 and 5 mph. The region had already been saturated by Hurricane Charley earlier in the year and dozens of waterways flooded during the passage of Frances. The Palm Beach area received over 13 inches of rain in three days, flooding hundreds of homes and businesses. The Orlando area was especially hard hit and many homes were destroyed. Georgia and the Carolinas also saw significant flooding with rainfall amounts reaching 23 inches in some places. Hurricane Gaston had just passed through the area a week earlier and Tropical Storm Bonnie two weeks before that. This heavy saturation led to severe flooding across the Appalachian Mountains. The over 100 tornadoes spawned by the storm caused additional damage, which all told amounted to nearly $9 billion. The devastating floods and 8 foot storm surge killed 49 people. Yet it remains in the shadow of storms like Charley, Ivan, Katrina and Wilma.
These boats in a Pensacola marina were playtoys for Ivan's storm surge.
Hurricane Ivan, 2004 - Ivan remains one of the most memorable hurricanes of the new millennium. It did several things never seen before in the Atlantic's 150 years of record and left a path of destruction in its wake. It attained major hurricane strength further south than any previous cyclone in the annals of Atlantic basin history. Grenada was hit first. The entire island was devastated by Ivan's 120 mph sustained winds. Gusts were clocked as high as 133 mph. 30% of Grenada's buildings were completely destroyed, including many that had stood centuries of hurricanes. 39 people died, 18,000 were left homeless and over $1 billion in damage was done to Grenada alone. It was the island's worst hurricane since Janet in 1955. Ivan passed just offshore of Jamaica dropping heavy rains that caused severe flooding. The floods destroyed many homes and killed 17 people and left 18,000 homeless. The storm passed almost directly over the Cayman Islands just weakened from a Category 5. Grand Cayman was completely inundated by the storm surge, which destroyed much of the island. Over a fourth of the buildings in the Caymans were in ruins. The islands were without power, running water, or sewage for months after the storm. Ivan began to lose steam as it headed for the Gulf Coast but the damage wouldn't reflect it. The hurricane laid waste to an 80-mile stretch of coastline from Dauphin Island to Navarre Beach, Florida. The 14-foot storm surge was so powerful that in Orange Beach it undermined two five story condominium buildings to the point of collapse. Both were made of steel-reinforced concrete. Large sections of Interstate-10 were washed out. In Florida, entire neighborhoods in Escambia County were devastated. Rows of beachfront homes on Navarre Beach were severely damaged or destroyed. Inland, Ivan caused severe flooding to a very saturated southeast. The Chattahoochee River just outside Atlanta saw its worst flooding in decades. Western North Carolina saw severe flash floods, one of which washed away 15 homes in the town of Franklin. In an unprecedented move, a cut-off low from Ivan's remnant looped south and back into the Gulf of Mexico, where it regenerated into a tropical storm. It would eventually drop as much as 8 inches on Louisiana and Texas. Ivan killed 124 people, most of them in the United States and Grenada. The storm also caused $13 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest hurricanes of all time.
The village of Gonaives would never be the same after Jeanne.
Hurricane Jeanne, 2004 - Hurricane Jeanne was the worst hurricane in the Caribbean since Flora in 1963. Jeanne dropped a rain of ruin on Hispaniola and became Florida's fourth billion-dollar hurricane in just six weeks. The storm crawled through the Lesser Antilles, gradually gaining strength. In Puerto Rico, torrential rains caused large landslides and flooding that killed seven people. Jeanne strengthened to a hurricane shortly before striking Hispaniola. As it did so, the mid-level remnant of Hurricane Ivan combined with a shortwave trough to erode the high pressure ridge fueling Jeanne's steering currents. This caused the storm to all but stall over the mountains of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Landslides in the Dominican Republic caused severe damage to the town of Samana and killed 18 people. Haiti fared far worse. Over 13 inches of rain fell on the mountains above the Haitian village of Gonaïves. Terrible flooding left the entire town underwater. Mudslides buried many homes where dozens were taking shelter. 2,826 died in Gonaïves alone. Another 180 died elsewhere in the country. The bodies remained unburied for weeks as the country lay on the verge of starvation thanks to the near total destruction of the nation's crops. Relief workers buried them in mass graves to prevent disease. Jeanne then drifted northward into the Atlantic, through the Turks and Caicos and appeared to turn away from land for good as it regained hurricane strength. Instead, it performed a clockwise loop and turned back toward Florida. Jeanne struck Florida as a major hurricane with 120 mph sustained winds just 3 miles north of where Frances had made landfall three weeks earlier. By the time of Jeanne's arrival, the Sunshine State was in shambles. Charlotte and Escambia counties were in ruins and waterways in and around Orlando and Port St. Lucie were still above flood stage. The damage was hard to isolate from damage already caused by Charley and Frances but is thought to be around $7 billion. Only 5 people died in the US (12 counting Puerto Rico). Jeanne had caused enough human carnage. As Jeanne exhausted itself over Virginia, Floridians were finally left to pick up the pieces of what was left of their world.
In a haunting scene, the highways and edifices of New Orleans snake in and out of the floodwaters like the ruins of some ancient city.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005 - New Orleans was the crown jewel of the American south. It was a cultural symbol steeped in history and tradition. For decades it had been one of the most vibrant cities in the country; the birthplace of jazz, blues, and a new meaning of "a good time". August 29, 2005 changed the city forever. In little more than a month, New Orleans had been turned into an Atlantean ruin. Few remember Katrina's first landfall near Hallandale Beach, Florida as a Category 1 that killed 14 people and caused over $1 billion in damage. On August 28, the storm found the Gulf of Mexico's Loop Current and exploded into a monster storm with 175 mph sustained winds. It's sobering to think that Katrina could've been worse but indeed it could have. The storm weakened dramatically before landfall, barely managing to bring Category 4 winds to the coast. Yet the tropical energy of the hurricane was much stronger than its winds. It carried a massive storm surge 31 feet high, nearly the size of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. This surge inundated hundreds of square miles of the Louisiana delta and the Mississippi coast. This massive rush of water bloated Lake Pontchartrain to its breaking point. The levees built to keep the New Orleans area dry began to break one by one. Eventually, over 280 square miles (80% of the city) were under as much as 15 feet of water. Hundreds became trapped in their homes unable to escape. Rescue workers were unprepared to deal with a disaster on this scale and it took them weeks to comb the houses by boat looking for survivors. Entire neighborhoods in Long Beach, Mississippi were destroyed. It took two months to pump the water out of New Orleans. In Mississipi, the damage was reminiscent of Camille. The 28 foot storm surge and 55 foot waves obliterated the coastline. Many neighborhoods were completely destroyed. In some, only the concrete foundations remained. The surge reached as far as six miles inland. 90% of coastal structures in Harrison County were destroyed. Long Beach and Pass Christian were in ruins. 90% of Pascagoula was underwater. Despite making landfall well over 100 miles to the west, Katrina brought a storm surge as high as 16 feet to parts of Mobile Bay. Dauphin Island saw severe damage when the surge inundated the entire island, destroying many homes and cutting a new channel through the island. The toll from Katrina stands at 1,836 with over 700 still missing nearly a year after the storm. It was the United States' worst hurricane in 77 years. The hurricane is estimated to have caused a staggering $81 billion in damages, twice Andrew's cost, even when adjusted for inflation. Katrina was the fourth deadliest hurricane in US history and the costliest of all time.
This website offers humbling aerial photos of the New Orleans flooding.
Hurricane Rita, 2005 - Rita was the second destructive hurricane to hit the US in 2005. It left severe devastation in Louisiana (still reeling from Katrina) and Texas. Like Katrina before it, Rita formed just east of the Bahamas and rapidly intensified over the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico. At peak intensity, Rita's winds raged at 180 mph and its atmospheric pressure fell to 895 mbar, making it the fourth most intense hurricane in Atlantic history. Fearing a repeat of Katrina, an evacuation of Galveston and Houston was ordered. This evacuation led to many of the fatalities associated with the storm as traffic jams trapped many in the broiling sun with little water. Rita instead slammed into the Louisiana/Texas border with 115 mph sustained winds. A storm surge as high as 20 feet struck the low-lying coastline, obliterating Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Holly Beach was completely destroyed; only the water tower remained standing. 90% of Cameron was leveled. The little community of Hackberry was also nearly flattened. Several other communities in the area were heavily damaged. Parts of crippled New Orleans were reflooded with as much as eight feet of water. In Texas, the "Golden Triangle" region in the eastern portion of the state suffered severe wind damage. Many homes had their roofs ripped off or were simply destroyed by the wind. 120 people died as a result of the storm, but only 7 of these were directly caused by Rita. The others died during the frantic evacuation, in traffic accidents, or in the fires that swept Galveston County, Texas. Rita caused enormous damage to a localized area, eventually amounting to over $11 billion.
These Key Haven residents are really going to regret leaving their car windows open.
Hurricane Wilma, 2005 - Wilma was the most intense Atlantic hurricane of all time, as measured by atmospheric pressure (882 mbar). Wilma more resembled the incredibly powerful typhoons of the Northwestern Pacific than an Atlantic hurricane. Large size, thick bands, tight circulation and very low pressure. The storm exploded from a 75 mph minimal hurricane to a monster Category 5 storm with 185 mph sustained winds in just 24 hours. In that time, the pressure fell 97 mbar, an unprecedented drop for an Atlantic storm (only Typhoon Forrest in 1983 deepened faster anywhere on the globe). Though Wilma weakened significantly before moving northwest toward the northern Yucatan peninsula, it still slammed into Cozumel with 150 mph winds. It would be Mexico's most destructive storm since Gilbert in 1988. Powerful winds tore off roofs, blew down trees and destroyed homes. Huge waves as high as 25 feet crashed onto the shore, reaching the third floors of many hotels. Storm surge flooding inundated streets and gutted homes and businesses. Torrential rains (over 5 feet in some places) caused further flooding. Damage in Mexico reached $7.5 billion and eight people died. As Wilma moved toward Florida as a weaker storm, unusually heavy storm surge flooding hit Cuba and the Florida Keys. Parts of Havana were so seriously flooded that rescuers needed scuba gear to reach those stranded. The damage in Florida was far worse than anticipated. The Miami area experienced severe wind damage, with hundreds of windows being blown out on the city's high-rises, raining glass down on the street below. Naples and Marco Island bore the brunt of the storm. Hundreds, if not thousands, in the area lost their homes. Backwash from the hurricane produced an 8-foot storm surge that inundated much of the lower Florida Keys. In Key West, 60% of homes were flooded with as much as 2 feet of water. Wilma killed 36 people in the US (more than Charley) and 62 overall. Damage eventually came to over $29 billion, making it the second costliest hurricane of all time, behind Katrina earlier that same year.
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