Wonder what the deadliest hurricane is to hit the United States? How about the costliest? Check out these facts about monster storms:
Deadliest Hurricane: More than 8,000 people perished Sept. 8, 1900, when a category 4 hurricane barreled into Galveston, Texas. Waves were higher than 15 feet and winds howled at 130 mph, destroying more than half of the island's homes. Scroll further down for a list of the top 10 fatal storms.
Costliest Hurricane: Andrew, a ferocious category five storm that is the third-strongest hurricane on record to hit the U.S. mainland, left a $25 billion trail of damage in southeast Florida and then caused another $1 billion in damage in Louisiana. The storm is considered the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. It damaged 100,000 homes, wiped out 102 miles of power lines and destroyed 90 percent of small businesses. It killed 23 people. Scroll further down for a list of the top 10 most expensive storms.
Most Intense Hurricane: An unnamed storm slammed into the Florida Keys during Labor Day, 1935. Forecasters estimated the winds hit 150-to-200 mph with wind gusts likely exceeding 200 mph. The storm killed an estimated 408 people.
Longest Hurricane: Hurricane/Typhoon John lasted 31 days in August and September 1994. It is known as both a hurricane and a typhoon because it moved through both the eastern and western parts of the Pacific Ocean.
Greatest Storm Surge: In 1969, Hurricane Camille produced a 25-foot storm surge in Mississippi. Camille, a category five storm, was the strongest storm of any kind to ever strike mainland America. When the eye hit Mississippi, winds gusted up to 200 mph and water rose 24 feet above normal high tides. The hurricane caused the deaths of 143 people along the coast from Alabama into Louisiana and led to another 113 deaths as the weakening storm moved inland.
Deadliest Storms -- The Top 10
1. Galveston, Texas, 1900, 8,000 to 12,000 dead.
2. Lake Okeechobee, Fla., 1928, 1,836.
3. Florida Keys and South Texas, 1919, more than 600 to 900.
4. New England, 1938, 600.
5. Florida Keys, 1935, 408.
6. Audrey, Southwest Louisiana and North Texas, 1957, 390.
7. Northeast U.S., 1944, 390.
8. Grand Isle, La., 1909, 350.
9. New Orleans, 1915, 275.
10. Galveston, Texas, 1915, 275.
Costliest Storms -- The Top 10
1. Andrew, Florida and Louisiana, 1992, $35 billion.
2. Hugo, South Carolina, 1989, $7 billion.
3. Floyd, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, 1999, $4.5 billion.
4. Fran, North Carolina, 1996, $3.2 billion.
5. Opal, Florida and Alabama, 1995, $3 billion.
6. Georges, Florida Keys, Mississippi and Alabama, 1998, $2.31 billion.
7. Frederic, Alabama and Mississippi, 1979, $2.3 billion.
8. Agnes, Florida, Northeast U.S., 1972, $2.1 billion.
9. Alicia, Texas, 1983, $2 billion.
10. Bob, North Carolina and Northeast U.S., 1991, $1.5 billion.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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