Hurricane Katrina showed many Americans how tragic natural disasters can be. While Katrina caused extensive damage throughout the New Orleans area as well as Texas and Mississippi, this natural disaster was not the worst in American history. Several other natural disasters rank with Hurricane Katrina as the worst national disasters in the United States in terms of injuries, deaths and damage done.
Chicago’s Great Fire is well known throughout the country, but another lesser known fire was more devastating to the area affected. The Peshtigo Fire, as it is known, began on Oct. 8, 1871, which is the same date as the start of Chicago’s fire. A prolonged drought and the slash and burn method of land clearing used at the time contributed to several smaller fires combining into one large fire. The fires combined because of a cyclone storm that rolled through Wisconsin, near the town of Peshtigo. The fire killed between 1,200 and 2,400 people, causing millions of dollars worth of property damage, according to the Great Peshtigo Fire memorial website.
On Oct. 1 and 2, 1893, the area around present-day New Orleans, Louisiana, was hit with the deadliest hurricane in Louisiana history. The winds of this hurricane were calculated to be around 100 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The hurricane caused damage along 500 miles of the coastline of the South. The hurricane brought with it large waves, which caused some flooding in the region. Once the storm was finished, it had caused around 2,000 deaths and $5 million in property damage.
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, endured a massive flood on May 31, 1889, due to a storm that caused a weakened dam to break. This flood claimed the lives of 2,209 people within Johnstown, including 99 entire families, as noted by the Johnstown Flood Museum. Property damage from the flood was estimated to be about $17 million. Bodies of flood victims were found as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio, with some bodies not being recovered until 1911. Survivors of the flood attempted to take legal actions against the dam owners, the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, but the courts viewed the dam breaking as an act of God and no compensation was paid.
The Great Okeechobee Hurricane rates as one of the worst storms in Florida history. Though the damage done equates to around $16 million, as reported by Florida’s Sun-Sentinel newspaper, which is minimal by natural disaster standards, the death toll pushes this hurricane into a spot among the greatest U.S. disasters. The storm blew through the town on Sept. 26, 1928, killing 2,500 to 3,000 residents. The hurricane bears the nickname the Forgotten Storm because of the downplaying of severity and loss of life by officials within the county, mainly because most of the dead were black migrant workers.
Turn of the century Galveston, Texas, was a city with around 40,000 residents, earning their living mostly through the shipping industry. On Aug. 27, 1900, a storm was detected in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm went unnamed, eventually reaching south of Galveston on Sept. 8. Many citizens of Galveston ignored the weather warnings and low waves rolling in. Soon, the waves reached up to 16 feet high, completely covering Galveston Island and the houses within. CNN reports that damages to the island were around $30 million, while the death toll ranges from 6,000 to 12,000.
