The Five Most Costly Hurricanes in US History

In this article I will give a brief overview of the top five most costly and devistating hurricanes seen in the US.

1. Hurricane Katrina (LA, MI, AL) 2005 Category 5, Estimated Damage $76,000,000,000

Who would forget the lethal and the most destructive storms in American history occurred during the 2005 hurricane season? This flooded up 80% of the major coastal cities and claimed the lives of 1,604 people making it one of the deadliest in history.. This Category 5 storm hit Louisiana and accounts for most of the damage.

2. (FL, LA) 1992 Category 5, Estimated Damage $45,000,000,000

Another severe was Hurricane Andrew which started off by striking southern Florida and raging through the Miami area Andrew, made path through Florida and then entered the Gulf of Mexico where it fed off of the warmer waters before striking Louisiana with renewed force. After Katrina it is ranked second in terms of the destruction done. Fortunately the death toll was fairly low considering the damage it caused.

3. Hurricane Charley (SW FL) 2004 Category 4, Estimated Damage $15,400,000,000

The third major natural calamity when we talk of hurricanes is Charley which made landfall in Florida on August 13, 2004 just north of Fort Myers with winds of up to 150 mph. Charley was the second tropical storm to hit Florida that day as tropical storm Bonnie hit the northern panhandle near Apalachicola. The storm loosely followed the path of Interstate-4 before leaving land near Daytona Beach. The storm then moved up the east coast of the United States before breaking up. Ten deaths in the United States were attributed to Charley.

4. Hurricane Ivan (AL, NW FL) 2004 Category 3 Estimated Damage $17,700,000,000

Other hurricane which took lives of nearly 92 people and had winds blowing at the rate of 130 miles per hour is Ivan, which made its first landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama and moved north-east through the southern United States. Ivan then looped around and crossed back through Florida to cross the Gulf of Mexico a second time and moved onto hit Louisiana and Texas. While its trail across Florida the storm caused several large tornadoes with tore several cities apart and caused 14 of the deaths.

5. Hurricane Hugo (SC, NC) 1989 Category 2, Estimated Damage $15,600,000,000

September 21, 1989, was another unfortunate day in the history of hurricanes which started off by making landfall in South Carolina on and moving in a northern direction to rage through North Carolina, Hugo was one of the most destructive on record. Approximately 70-100 people had lost their lives to the storm and the actual number cannot be determined since there were several mass graves dug on St. Croix and accurate records were not kept. Most heavily hit were the coastal areas of South Carolina.