SOME OF THE WORST HURRICANES THAT

HAVE HIT THE UNITED STATES

GALVESTON HURRICANE 1990

• The storm reached the Texas coast south of Galveston late on September 8, it was a Category 4 hurricane.

• Storm tides of 8 to 15 feet.

• 6,000 to 12,000 deaths and cost $30 million.

HURRICANE HAZEL 1954

• On October 15, making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near the North Carolina-South Carolina border.

• Responsible for 95 deaths and $281 million in damage in the United States, 100 deaths and $100 million in damage in Canada, and an estimated 400 to 1000 deaths in Haiti.

HURRICANE CAMILLE 1969

• Made landfall along the Mississippi coast late on the August 17th as a Category 5.

• The combination of winds, surges, and rainfalls caused 256 deaths (143 on the Gulf Coast and 113 in the Virginia floods) and $1.421 billion in damage.

HURRICANE HUGO 1989

• Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina on September 22 as a Category 4.

• Responsible for 21 deaths in the mainland United States. Damage estimates are $7 billion in the mainland United States.

HURRICANE ANDREW 1992

• Andrew regained Category 4 status as it blasted its way across south Florida on August 24.

• Andrew moved to the central Louisiana coast on August 26 as a Category 3 hurricane.

• Andrew is responsible for 23 deaths in the United States and caused $26.5 billion in damage in the United States.

HURRICANE OPAL 1995

• Opal was a Category 3 hurricane when it made landfall near Pensacola Beach, Florida late on the 4th of August.

• Opal was responsible for 9 deaths in the United States, including 8 from falling trees and one from a tornado and cause $3 billion.

HURRICANE FLOYD 1999

• Floyd made landfall near the center of the North Carolina coast near Cape Fear on September 16 as a Category 2 hurricane.

• It caused heavy rainfall and flooding to a large area.

• Caused 3 to 6 billion dollars in damage and 56 deaths.

HURRICANE ISABEL 2003

• Isabel’s large eye pushed ashore just after the noon hour on September 18th near Drum Inlet along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

• The most intense hurricane of the 2003 season directly resulted in 17 deaths and more than 3 billion dollars in damages. The large wind field toppled trees and cut power to more than four million customers.

HURRICANE CHARLY 2004• Charley made landfall with

maximum winds near 150 m.p.h. on the southwest coast of Florida just north of Captiva Island.

• Charley produced 16 tornadoes in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

• The total U. S. damage is estimated to be near $15 billion, making Charley the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history.

HURRICANE KATRINA 2005• Katrina made landfall near

Buras, Louisiana August 29 with maximum winds estimated at 125 mph (Category 3).

• Katrina is responsible for approximately 1200 reported deaths, including about 1000 in Louisiana and 200 in Mississippi.

• The surge overtopped and breached levees in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

• The dollar amount of damage is still being calculated.

For more information please visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/history.shtml

Retired Names: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/retirednames.shtml

For information to prepare for a hurricane please visit:http://www.commerceinsurance.com/documents/CIC_Hurricane_Checklist.pdf

http://www.weather.com/ready/supplykit.html?from=hurricane_tracker

Submitted by Andrew "ANDY" Norris, Resident Advisor, East Carolina University