Major Past HurricanesMajor Past HurricanesHurricanes have been a way of life for millions of years. There have no doubt been very intense hurricanes thousands of years ago, but the first written account of a hurricane was on Aug. 27, 1667. Settlers wrote of a hurricane in Jamestown Va. on what would become U.S. soil. Since then there have been hundreds of hurricanes. Each hurricane is rated on the Saffir-Simpson scale based on windspeed, pressure, and storm surge:
Saffir-Simpson Scale
Saffir-Simpson
Category | Maximum sustained
wind speed mph | Minimum surface
pressure (mb) | Storm surge
(m)[ft]
| | 1 | 74-96 | greater than 980 | 1.0-1.7 [3-5]
| | 2 | 97-111 | 979-965 | 1.8-2.6 [6-8]
| | 3 | 112-131 | 964-945 | 2.7-3.8 [9-12]
| | 4 | 132-155 | 944-920 | 3.9-5.6 [13-18]
| | 5 | 156+ | less than 920 | 5.7+ [19+] |
The next chart show an estimate of how much damage each type of Saffir-Simpson hurricane causes:
Damage
| Category | Level | Description | Example
| | 1 | MINIMAL | Damage mostly to shrubs, trees, foliage, and homes without foundations. Not a large amount of damage to other buildings. Some poorly constructed sighns are blown over and/or destoryed. Low-lying coastal roads are flooded, small damage to docks, some small craft torn from anchors and other moorings.
| Hurricane Jerry (1989)
| | 2 | MODERATE | Considerable damage to shrubs, trees, and other plants; some trees blown down. Major damage to mobile homes. Extensive damage to poorly constructed signs. Some roofing materials are blown away, some window and door damage. No major damage to buildings. Coast roads and low-lying escape routes inland totally flooded 2 to 4 hours before arrival of hurricane center.
Considerable damage to docks. Marinas flooded. Small boats in torn from anchors totally. Evacuation of some shoreline houses and low-lying areas required. | Hurricane
Bob (1991)
| | 3 | EXTENSIVE | Leaves torn from trees; large trees blown down. Practically all poor signs blown down. Some damage to roofs; some window and door damage. Some structural damage to small buildings. Mobile homes destroyed. Serious flooding at coast and many smaller homes and buildings located near the coast are destroyed; Larger structures near ocean damaged by storm surge and floating debris. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Flat terrain 5 feet of less above sea level flooded inland 8 miles or more. Evacuation of homes on low land within several blocks of shoreline possibly required.
| Hurricane Gloria (1985)
| | 4 | EXTREME | Shrubs and trees blown down along with all other plants; all signs down. Lare amount of damage to roofs, windows and doors. Someroofs totally blown away on small residences. All mobile homes destroyed. Low-lyingland 10 feet or less above sea level flooded inland as far as 6 miles. Major damage to lower floors of structures near shore due to flooding and storm surges. Low-lying scape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Beaches are eroded. Massive evacuation of all residences within 500 yards of shore possibly required, and of single-story residences within 2 miles of shore. | Hurricane Andrew
(1992)
| | 5 | CATASTROPHIC | Shrubs and trees blown down; considerable damage to
roofs of buildings; all signs down. Very severe and extensive damage
to windows and doors. Complete failure of roofs on many residences and industrial buildings. Glass shattered on windows and doors. Some complete building failures. Small buildings overturned or blown away. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Major damage to lower floors of all structures less than 15 feet above sea level within 500 yards of shore. Low-lying escape routes inland cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before hurricane center arrives. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5 to 10 miles of shore possibly required. | Hurricane Camille (1969)
|
There have been many past hurricanes. Following is a list of the worst hurricanes and typhoons.
Past Storms
| Date | Name/Type | Category | Death/Damages/Cost (if possible) | Location
| | Aug. 27, 1967 | Hurricane | Unknown | First written acount of hurricane. Death rate unknown. | Jamestown, VA
| | Oct. 7, 1737 | Typhoon | Unknown | Typhoon sank 20,00 ships along the mouth of Hooghly River near Calcutta. 300,000 died. | Bay of Bengal
| | Oct. 10-12, 1780 | Hurricane | Probably a type 5 | Deadliest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded cut from Barbados to Puerto Rico; virtually destroyed British, Spanish, and French fleets in the area. 20,000 to 30,000 died. | Caribbean
| | Sept. 23, 1815 | Hurricane | Unknown | "Great September Gale" reshaped shoreline. Death rate unknown. | New England
| | Oct. 5, 1864 | Typhoon | Unknown | Typhoon in bay rushed up Hooghly River and destroyed much of Calcutta. 50,000 to 70,000 drowned. | Bay of Bengal
| | 1876 | Typhoon | Unknown | Typhoon struck the coast of Bengal near mouth of Meghna River; damaged offshore islands of Chittagong. 100,000 died immediatly; 100,00 more died later due to starvation | Bengal, India
| | 1881 | Typhoon | Unknown | Typhoon smashed into Gulf of Tonkin. 300,000 died immediately, many more later due to disease and starvation. | Haiphong, Indochina
| | June 6, 1882 | Tropical Cyclone | Unknown | Cyclone in Arabian Sea flooded Bombay harbor. 100,000 drowned. | Bombay, India
| | Aug. 19, 1886 | Hurricane | Unknown | Hurricane razed or damaged nearly every house; town permanently abandoned. 250 dead. | Indianola, Tex.
| | Oct. 1, 1893 | Hurricane | Unknown | Hurricane originating in Gulf of Mexico moved ashore near Fort Eads and moved into Mississippi coastal regions. 1,800 dead. | New Orleans, La.
| | August 1899 | Hurricane San Ciriaco | Unknown | Hurricane raved much of the carribean. More than 3,000 dead. | Puerto Rico
| | Sept. 8, 1900 | Hurricane | Unknown | Hurricane originating in the Caribbean moved ashore at Galveston, wiping out much of the city; Galveston was later rebuilt and raised 17 ft above high-tide level. 6,000 dead. | Galveston, Tex.
| | 1906 | Hurricane | Unknown | 6,000 died | Hong Kong
| | 1928 | Hurricane | Unknown | 10,000 died | Carribbean, Florida
| | 1930 | Hurricane | Unknown | 2,000 dead | Santo Domingo
| | 1934 | Typhoon | Unknown | 4,000 dead | Honshu, Japan
| | 1938 | Hurricane | Unknown | 600 died; 306 million dollars in damages | New England
| | 1942 | Hurricane | Unknown | 40,000 died | Bengal, India
| | 1954 | Hurricane Hazel | Unknown | 1,173 died; 281 million dollars in damages | North and South Carolina
| | 1955 | Hurricane Diane | Unknown | 390 died; 1,7 billion dollars in damages | North Carolina and New England
| | 1957 | Hurricane Audrey | Unknown | 7,000 died, 150 million dollars in damages | Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama were all hit
| | 1963 | Hurricane Flora | Unknown | 7,190 people died | Haiti and Cuba (Trinidad and Tabago)
| | 1965 | Hurricane Betsey | Category 4 | 75 people died; 1.42 billion dollars worth of damages! | Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in a row
| | 1969 | Hurricane Camille | Very strong Category 5 | 256 people died, 1.42 billion dollars in wrected houses, buildings, signs and other constructions. Wind speeds were over 200 miles per hour | Mississippi and Louisiana.
| | Sept. 19-20, 1974 | Hurricane Fifi | Category 3 | 8,000 dead; 60,000 homeless. $1 billion dollars in damages | Honduras
| | Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 1979 | Hurricane David | Category 3 | 1,200 died; $1 billion in damages. Dominican Republic and Dominica were demolished | Caribbean, southeast U.S.
| | Sept. 2-3 1984 | Typhoon Ike | Category 5 | Typhoon Ike swept across the Philippines, becoming the worst storm to hit the country in the century. More than 1,200 died; I million were homless | Southern Philippines
| | 1985 | Hurricane Gloria | Category 2 | Not Availiable | Long Island, New England
| | 1988 | Hurricane Gilbert | Unavailable | 800 died, 10 billion dollars in damages | Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico
| | Sep. 16-22, 1989 | Hurricane Hugo | Category 4 | Hugo wreaked a path of destruction through Caribbean islands from Guadeloupe to Puerto Rico before lashing North and South Carolina. More than 500 dead, Billion+ dollars in damages. | Caribbean, southeast U.S.
| | 1992 | Hurricane Andrew | Category 4 | Andrew virtually destroyed the Florida towns of Homestead and Florida City and the Louisiana cities of Morgan City and Lafayette. About 40 dead, estimated 20 billion in property damages. | The Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana
| | 1996 | Hurricane Fran | Category 3 | Destroyed a lot of the the North Carolina shore. 35 deaths and 2 billion in damages | North Carolina
|
Back to |