Categorically Speaking: The U.S.'s Worst Hurricanes
Hurricane Harvey has been dominating the most recent news cycle, and for good reason. It's the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Wilma in 2005, and it's dropped the most water of any of the tropical storms measured in the U.S.: up to 50 inches in some places, eclipsing Tropical Storm Amelia from 1978.
The stories of the damage Harvey has inflicted - both on lives and property - are heartbreaking. But where does Harvey stack up against other disastrous storms in American history?
For some reason Hugo is always the first name I think about when the topic of hurricanes comes up. It's probably because I was a kid when I watched it on the news, and that early impression more than anything made it Bad Hurricane #1.
Hugo formed over the eastern Atlantic in September, 1989 and hit South Carolina just above Charleston on September 21. It didn't last long but left a destructive wake, with 34 fatalities and $7 billion in damage. At the time it was the costliest storm in the U.S. until Andrew three years later.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was criticized for its response (which became a theme in subsequent storms). Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina vented on the Senate floor:
Andrew struck Florida in mid-August of 1992 as a Category 5 hurricane, causing damage to South Florida and Louisiana, and triggering two dozen tornadoes along the Gulf Coast. The storm left 65 dead and $26.5 billion in destruction, the costliest until Katrina thirteen years later.
FEMA was criticized for its response to Andrew as well. Kate Hale of Dade County Emergency Management asked:
Katrina is famous for the carnage it wrought on Louisiana, but its first landfall was in Florida on August 25, 2005. It moved over the state into the Gulf of Mexico and intensified, slamming into Louisiana and Mississippi four days later.
The damage from Katrina is the most expensive hurricane in total dollars at $108 billion, though a majority of it and the deaths it caused (out of a total of 1,245), most notably in New Orleans, were from flooding after the levees failed.
FEMA received its greatest criticism yet following Katrina, leading to the resignation of its director Michael Brown. In political parlance, "Katrina" has become a term denoting failed leadership after a natural disaster.
The Great Galveston Hurricane started near West Africa and traveled over the Atlantic Ocean to make landfall at Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. It wasn't the largest, but because of contradictory weather reports and the refusal from officials to issue a hurricane warning (to prevent panic), the hurricane holds a notorious place in history as the deadliest natural disaster in American history. Estimates range from 6,000 to 12,000 lives lost.
Thomas Edison recorded film of the aftermath.
We will see in the coming months and years where Harvey ranks in the pantheon on greatest American hurricanes. However, we have to put that analysis on hold for now.
Another storm, Hurricane Irma, is brewing.
I am currently working on a book about Ah Toy, the first Chinese brothel madam in gold rush San Francisco.
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| Aid workers rescue flooded-out residents in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. GlobalGiving |
The stories of the damage Harvey has inflicted - both on lives and property - are heartbreaking. But where does Harvey stack up against other disastrous storms in American history?
Hugo
For some reason Hugo is always the first name I think about when the topic of hurricanes comes up. It's probably because I was a kid when I watched it on the news, and that early impression more than anything made it Bad Hurricane #1.
Hugo formed over the eastern Atlantic in September, 1989 and hit South Carolina just above Charleston on September 21. It didn't last long but left a destructive wake, with 34 fatalities and $7 billion in damage. At the time it was the costliest storm in the U.S. until Andrew three years later.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was criticized for its response (which became a theme in subsequent storms). Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina vented on the Senate floor:
"[FEMA officials are] the sorriest bunch of bureaucratic jackasses I have ever known."
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| Boats rest smashed together in the Isle of Palms marina after Hurricane Hugo in September, 1989. Charlotte Observer |
Andrew
Andrew struck Florida in mid-August of 1992 as a Category 5 hurricane, causing damage to South Florida and Louisiana, and triggering two dozen tornadoes along the Gulf Coast. The storm left 65 dead and $26.5 billion in destruction, the costliest until Katrina thirteen years later.
FEMA was criticized for its response to Andrew as well. Kate Hale of Dade County Emergency Management asked:
"Where the hell is the cavalry on this one? . . . They keep saying we're going to get supplies. For God's sake, where are they?"
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| Marjorie Conklin cools off after Hurricane Andrew destroyed her mobile home in August, 1992. C.W. Griffin |
Katrina
Katrina is famous for the carnage it wrought on Louisiana, but its first landfall was in Florida on August 25, 2005. It moved over the state into the Gulf of Mexico and intensified, slamming into Louisiana and Mississippi four days later.
The damage from Katrina is the most expensive hurricane in total dollars at $108 billion, though a majority of it and the deaths it caused (out of a total of 1,245), most notably in New Orleans, were from flooding after the levees failed.
FEMA received its greatest criticism yet following Katrina, leading to the resignation of its director Michael Brown. In political parlance, "Katrina" has become a term denoting failed leadership after a natural disaster.
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| Katrina, in combination with failed levees, causes massive flooding in Louisiana. History.com |
Great Galveston Hurricane
The Great Galveston Hurricane started near West Africa and traveled over the Atlantic Ocean to make landfall at Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. It wasn't the largest, but because of contradictory weather reports and the refusal from officials to issue a hurricane warning (to prevent panic), the hurricane holds a notorious place in history as the deadliest natural disaster in American history. Estimates range from 6,000 to 12,000 lives lost.
Thomas Edison recorded film of the aftermath.
 |
| Galveston residents move bodies out of the wreckage in September, 1900. C.L. Wasson |
We will see in the coming months and years where Harvey ranks in the pantheon on greatest American hurricanes. However, we have to put that analysis on hold for now.
Another storm, Hurricane Irma, is brewing.
I am currently working on a book about Ah Toy, the first Chinese brothel madam in gold rush San Francisco.
Want to read more? Click "Subscribe." Please share this post and your comments.
And Jose ain't too far behind Irma! Even with only Irma, looks like a particularly devastating year in lives, livelihoods, and costs. Two related articles I found very interesting (both from the New York Times) were compared the cost of all natural disasters back to 1980 [1], and - bringing the topic back to politics, policy, and immigration - an article on how the immigration crackdown that the U.S. and Texas in particular is engaging in will slow down reconstruction since between 28% and 50% of Texas construction workforce is undocumented immigrants.
ReplyDelete[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/01/upshot/cost-of-hurricane-harvey-only-one-storm-comes-close.html
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/08/31/us/31reuters-storm-harvey-immigration.html