List of United States disasters by death toll

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List of United States disasters by death toll is a list of notable disasters which occurred in the United States or involved US citizens, in a definable incident.

Due to inflation, the monetary damage estimates are not comparable. Unless otherwise noted, the year given is the year in which the currency's valuation was calculated to.

This list is not comprehensive in general, and epidemics are not yet included at all.

Year Type Fatalities Damage (US$) Article Location Comments
1939-1945 War 62,000,000 World War II Fatalities worldwide including civilians (25,000,000 were military). Approximately 405,000 Americans killed.
1914-1918 War 15,000,000-66,000,000 World War I Fatalities worldwide (higher figure includes Spanish Flu deaths). Approximately 116,000 Americans killed.
1950-1953 War 2,300,000-2,600,000 Korean War Approximately 36,000 Americans killed
1959-1975 War 1,900,000 Vietnam War Worldwide fatalities approximate, includes civilians. U.S. fatalities were approximately 58,000.
1861-1865 War 618,000 American Civil War
1775-1783 War 77,300 American Revolutionary War Fatality estimate includes foreign troops and soldiers who died of disease
1846-1848 War 38,000 Mexican-American War Fatality figure may include some wounded
1990-1991 War 25,400 Gulf War 378 American fatalities.
1812-1815 War 24,000 War of 1812 Fatality figure may include some wounded
1900 Cyclone 6,000-12,000 Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Texas Fatalities estimated
1906 Earthquake and Fire (urban conflagration) 3,000-6,000 1906 San Francisco Earthquake California Conflagration followed quake; fatalities estimated
2001 Terrorism 2,992 September 11, 2001 attacks New York City, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, U.S. airspace
1928 Cyclone 2,500-4,078 $800,000,000 (2005) 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane Florida, Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida Fatalities estimated
1763-1766 War 2,450 Pontiac's Rebellion
1960 Tsunami 2,290-6,000 $3,500,000,000 (2005) Great Chilean Earthquake Hawaii, Alaska Worldwide statistics; 61 were killed in Hilo, Hawaii, $500,000 in U.S. property damage
1889 Accident - Dam burst 2,209 Johnstown Flood Pennsylvania Much Rain, deforestation and the dam breaking
1893 Cyclone 2,000 1893 Cheniere Caminada Hurricane Louisiana Fatalities estimated
2005 Cyclone 1,836 $84,000,000,000 (2006) Hurricane Katrina Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
1865 Accident - Shipwreck 1,700 Sultana (steamboat) Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee Steamboat sank due to boiler explosion; fatalities estimated
1980 Heat wave 1,700 1980 United States heat wave Central and southern states Official death toll, may have been higher
1912 Accident - Shipwreck 1,490-1,522 RMS Titanic Atlantic Ocean Bound for New York City
1871 Fire (urban conflagration) 1,200-2,500 Peshtigo Fire Peshtigo, Wisconsin Fatalities estimated
1904 Accident - Shipwreck 1,021 General Slocum East River near New York City Steamship sank due to fire onboard
1893 Cyclone 1,000-2,000 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane Georgia, South Carolina Fatalities estimated
1915 Accident - Shipwreck 845 S.S. Eastland Chicago, Illinois
1995 Heat wave 739 Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 Chicago, Illinois
1925 Tornado 695-727 $1,650,000,000 (2005) Tri-State Tornado Missouri, Illinois and Indiana (Kentucky, Tennessee) Lower number is for single 3-state tornado; higher number is for 5-state outbreak
1903 Fire (building) 602 Iroquois Theater Fire Chicago, Illinois
1919 Cyclone 600 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane Florida, Texas
1928 Accident - Dam failure 600 St. Francis Dam Santa Clarita, California (Greater Los Angeles area)
1938 Cyclone 600 Great New England Hurricane
1977 Accident - Aircraft 583 Tenerife disaster Canary Islands, Spain Pan Am jet from New York was involved
1947 Accident - Explosion 581 Texas City Disaster Texas City, Texas Ammonium nitrate onboard ship
1942 Fire (building) 492 Cocoanut Grove fire Nightclub
1918 Fire (rural) 453 $7,300,000 1918 Cloquet Fire Minnesota
1935 Cyclone 423 Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 Florida
1860 Accident - Shipwreck 400 Lady Elgin (steamship) Chicago, Illinois
1888 Blizzard 400 Great Blizzard of 1888 Northeast Fatalities estimated
1894 Fire (rural) 400 Great Hinckley Fire Hinckley, Minnesota and vicinity
1937 Flood 385 $500,000,000 Ohio River flood of 1937 Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois
1907 Accident - Coal mine 362 Monongah Mining disaster Monongah, West Virginia
1950 Blizzard 353 $66,700,000 (1950) Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950 Eastern states
1944 Accident - Explosion 320 Port Chicago disaster Port Chicago, California (San Francisco Bay Area) WWII ammunition ignited
1974 Tornado 315 Super Outbreak Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and New York 148 tornadoes
1865 Accident - Explosion 300 Mobile magazine explosion Mobile, Alabama Civil War ammunition
1937 Accident - Explosion 296-319 $13,000,000 (2003) New London School explosion New London, Texas Gas leak
1881 Fire (rural) 282 $2,347,000 Thumb Fire Michigan
1979 Accident - Aircraft 273 American Airlines Flight 191 Chicago, Illinois
1965 Tornado 271 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana 78 tornadoes
1999 Heat wave 271 Midwest and Northeast
1988 Terrorism 270 Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie, Scotland
2001 Accident - Aircraft 265 American Airlines Flight 587 Queens, New York
1913 Accident - Coal mine 263 Dawson, New Mexico
1909 Accident - Coal mine 259 Cherry Mine Disaster Cherry, Illinois
1937 Accident - Coal mine 257 Grundy, Virginia
1969 Cyclone 256 Hurricane Camille Mississippi, Alabama and Virginia
1896 Tornado 255-400 $2,900,000,000 (1997) St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado Missouri
1913 Blizzard 250 Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Fatalities estimated
1913 Storm 250 $5,000,000 (1913) Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Great Lakes area Financial impact for lost vessels and cargo only
1927 Flood 246 $400,000,000 Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee
1972 Flood 238 $160,000,000 (1972) $664,000,000 (2002) Rapid City Flood Rapid City, South Dakota Average rainfall over an area of 60 mi² measured at 10 inches, up to 15 inches in some places, over the course of 6 hours in the middle of the night between June 9-10, 1972.
1996 Accident - Aircraft 230 TWA Flight 800 Atlantic Ocean near Long Island, New York
1871 Fire (urban conflagration) 200-300 Great Chicago fire Chicago, Illinois Fatalities estimated; 125 bodies recovered
1900 Accident - Coal mine 200 Scofield mine disaster Scofield, Utah
1995 Terrorism 168 Oklahoma City bombing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1946 Tsunami and Earthquake 165 Aleutian Island earthquake Alaska and Hawaii
1976 Flood 145 Big Thompson Canyon Flood of 1976 Colorado
1985 Accident - Aircraft 135 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Texas
1960 Accident - Aircraft 134 1960 New York air disaster New York City
1944 Accident - Explosion 130 $7,000,000-$15,000,000 Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion Cleveland, Ohio
1972 Accident - Dam burst 125 Buffalo Creek Flood Logan County, West Virginia
2004 Cyclone 124 $19,000,000,000 (2005) Hurricane Ivan Texas, Florida, East Coast
2005 Cyclone 120 $10,000,000,000 (2005) Hurricane Rita Louisiana
1938 Flood 115 Los Angeles Flood of 1938 Los Angeles, California
1964 Tsunami and Earthquake 115 $1,800,000,000 (2006) Good Friday Earthquake Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, California, British Columbia
1981 Accident - collapse 114 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse Kansas City, Missouri
1947 Accident - Coal mine 111 Centralia Mine Disaster Centralia, Illinois
1989 Accident - Aircraft 111 United Airlines Flight 232 Sioux City, Iowa
1996 Accident - Aircraft 110 ValuJet Flight 592 Florida Everglades
1918 Accident - Railroad 101 Great train wreck of 1918 Nashville, Tennessee
2003 Fire (building) 100 The Station nightclub fire West Warwick, Rhode Island The fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring more than 200.
1910 Avalanche 96 Wellington avalanche Wellington, Washington
1918 Accident - Railroad 93 Malbone Street Wreck Brooklyn, New York
1876 Accident - Railroad 92 Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster Ashtabula, Ohio
1990 Fire (building) 87 Happy Land Fire New York City
1910 Fire (rural) 86 Great Fire of 1910 Washington, Idaho, Montana
1918 Accident - Railroad 86 Hammond Circus Train Wreck Hammond, Indiana
1887 Accident - Railroad 81-85 Great Chatsworth Train Wreck Chatsworth, Illinois
1963 Accident - Aircraft 81 Pan Am Flight 214 Elkton, Maryland Lightning strike
1993 Blizzard 79-300 $6,600,000,00 1993 North American storm complex East Coast of North and Central America
1936 Flood 69 $3,000,000,000 (2006) Pittsburgh Flood 1936 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area
1989 Earthquake 69 $6,000,000,000 (1989) Loma Prieta Earthquake San Francisco Bay Area, California
1971 Earthquake 65 $500,000,000 Sylmar earthquake Greater Los Angeles, California area
1856 Accident - Railroad 59-67 The Great Train Wreck of 1856 Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
2008 Tornado 59 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, and Illinois
1980 Volcano 57 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens Washington State
1994 Earthquake 57 $23,000,000,000 Northridge Earthquake Greater Los Angeles area
1896 Accident - Railroad 50 1896 Atlantic City rail crash New Jersey
1993 Flood 50 $15,000,000,000 Great Flood of 1993 Midwest
2004 Cyclone 49 $9,000,000,000 Hurricane Frances Florida
2006 Accident - Aircraft 49 Comair Flight 5191 Lexington, Kentucky
1999 Tornado 48 $1,500,000,000 (2005) 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Tennessee 66 tornadoes
1993 Accident - Railroad 47 Big Bayou Canot train disaster Alabama
1977 Accident - Dam failure 39 Kelly Barnes Dam
1937 Accident - Aircraft 36 LZ 129 Hindenburg Manchester, New Jersey Hydrogen-filled zeppelin
1969 Accident - Aircraft 35 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 Lone Pine, California
1967 Accident - Aircraft 34 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 Blossburg, Pennsylvania
1998 Blizzard 30 North American ice storm of 1998 Canada and Northeast
1951 Flood 28 $7,000,000,000 (2005) Great Flood of 1951 Kansas and Missouri
1988 Accident - Automobile 27 Carrollton bus disaster Carrollton, Kentucky
1991 Fire (building) 25 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire Hamlet, North Carolina Workers trapped behind locked doors
1991 Fire (rural) 25 $1,500,000,000 1991 Oakland firestorm Oakland, California and vicinity
2005 Tornado 25 $92,000,000 Evansville Tornado of November 2005 Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio 7 tornadoes
1977 Blizzard 23 $56,250,000 (1977) Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 New York and Ontario (esp. Buffalo, New York)
1989 Accident - Explosion 23 $715,000,000 capital + $700,000,000 business disruption (1990) Phillips Disaster Pasadena, Texas 314 people injured
1992 Cyclone 23 $25,000,000,000 Hurricane Andrew Florida and Louisiana
1919 Accident - Explosion 21 $6,600,000,000 (2005) Boston molasses disaster Boston, Massachusetts Damages are out-of-court settlements only; repairs took 133 man-months
1872 Fire (urban conflagration) 20 $73,500,000 (1872) Great Boston Fire of 1872 Boston, Massachusetts
2007 Fire 12 dead (expected to rise) California wildfires of October 2007 California A number of large fires that burnt out of control across the south half of California. The flames were fueled by the unusually strong Santa Ana Winds causing the blaze to get out of control. The fires caused the evacuation of just over one million people. Most of the fires were accidental however, some of the fires are suspected to be the work of arsonists. The worst fires were around the city of San Diego.
1976 Accident - Dam failure 11 $400,000,000 Teton Dam Idaho
2004 Cyclone 10 $15,000,000,000 Hurricane Charley Florida
2007 Accident - Bridge Collapse 13 dead, 111+ injured $5,000,000 I-35W Mississippi River bridge Collapse Minneapolis, Minnesota Collapsed on August 1 at 6:05 PM during rush hour traffic while resurfacing was in progress.
1996 Flood 8 $500,000,000 Willamette Valley Flood of 1996 Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California
1901 Fire (urban conflagration) 7 Great Fire of 1901 Jacksonville, Florida
1995 Flood 6 $1,360,000,000 May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood New Orleans, Louisiana area
2007 Accident - Explosion 4 T2 Laboratories Jacksonville, Florida 14 injuries
2007 Accident - Coal mine 3 dead, 6 missing, 6 injured Crandall Canyon Mine Collapse Huntington, Utah Original collapse on August 6 at 2:48 AM MDT, 6 miners listed as missing. On August 16 at 6:30 PM MDT, 9 rescue workers were caught in a second collapse while trying to get to the trapped miners. Three of the rescue workers have been pronounced dead, the other 6 injured.
1999 Accident - Explosion 2 Phillips explosion of 1999 Pasadena, Texas 4 injuries
1754-1763 War French and Indian War
1776 Fire (urban conflagration) Great Fire of New York (1776) Manhattan, New York City
1816 Volcano Year Without a Summer Volcanic dust caused crop failures and starvation
1835 Fire (urban conflagration) $20,000,000 (1835) Great Fire of New York
1888 Cold wave 1888 Northwest Cold Wave Northwest
1904 Fire (urban conflagration) 1 Great Baltimore Fire Baltimore, Maryland
1914 Fire (urban conflagration) $290,000,000 (2005) Great Salem Fire of 1914
1917 Fire (urban conflagration) 1 $5,500,000 (1917) Great Atlanta fire of 1917 Atlanta, Georgia
1931-1939 Drought Dust Bowl Great Plains Compounded by unsustainable agricultural techniques
1989 Cyclone $7,000,000,000 (1989) Hurricane Hugo Damage figure is for U.S. only
2000 Accident - Explosion 1 Phillips explosion of 2000 Pasadena, Texas 71 injuries
1889 Fire (urban conflagration) 0 Great Seattle Fire
1997 Flood 0 $2,000,000,000 1997 Red River Flood North Dakota, Minnesota, Southern Manitoba
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
v • d • e
Worst earthquakes by state ^
State Name (location) Date Deaths / Magnitude or Intensity
Alabama Irondale, AL October 18, 1916 0 / 5.10
Alaska Prince William Sound, AK March 28, 1964 113 / 9.2
Arizona Fredonia, AZ July 7, 1959 0 / 5.60
Arkansas Northeast Arkansas December 16, 1811 several / 8.1
California San Francisco, CA April 18, 1906 3,000 / 7.8
Colorado Denver, CO November 8, 1882 0 / 6.2
Connecticut East Haddam, CT August 9, 1878 0 / VII
Delaware Wilmington, DE October 9, 1871 0 / VII
Florida St. Augustine, FL January 13, 1879 0 / VI
Georgia Georgia March 5, 1914 0 / 4.5
Hawaii Hawaii Island April 3, 1868 77 / 7.9  %
Idaho Borah Peak, ID October 28, 1983 2 / 6.9
Illinois Illinois November 9, 1968 0 / 5.3
Indiana Wabash River Valley, Indiana September 27, 1909 0 / 5.1
Iowa Keokuk, IA April 13, 1905 0 / V
Kansas Manhattan, KS April 24, 1867 0 / 5.1
Kentucky Sharpsburg, KY July 27, 1980 0 / 5.2
Louisiana Napoleonville, LA October 19, 1930 0 / 4.2
Maine Southeast Maine March 21, 1904 0 / 5.1
Maryland Maryland January 13, 1990 0 / 2.5
Massachusetts Cape Ann, MA November 18, 1755 0 / VIII
Michigan Southern Michigan August 10, 1947 0 / 4.6
Minnesota Western Minnesota July 9, 1975 0 / 4.6
Mississippi Charleston, MS December 17, 1931 0 / 4.6
Missouri New Madrid, MO February 7, 1812 0 / 8.0
Montana Hebgen Lake, MT August 18, 1959 28 / 7.3
Nebraska Merriman, NE March 28, 1964 0 / 5.1
Nevada Cedar Mountain, NV December 21, 1932 0 / 7.2
New Hampshire Ossipee, NH December 24, 1940 0 / 5.5
New Jersey New Jersey November 30, 1783 0 / 5.3
New Mexico Socorro, NM November 15, 1906 0 / VII
New York Massena, NY September 5, 1944 0 / 5.8
North Carolina Waynesville, NC February 21, 1916 0 / 5.2
North Dakota North Dakota May 16, 1909 0 / 5.5
Ohio Western Ohio March 9, 1937 0 / 5.4
Oklahoma El Reno, OK April 9, 1952 0 / 5.5
Oregon Klamath Falls, OR September 21, 1993 2 / 6.0
Pennsylvania Meadville, PA September 25, 1998 0 / 5.2
Rhode Island Newport, RI March 11, 1976 0 / 3.5
South Carolina Charleston, SC September 1, 1886 60 / 7.3
South Dakota South Dakota June 6, 1911 0 / 4.5
Tennessee Memphis, TN August 17, 1865 0 / 5.0
Texas Valentine, TX August 16, 1931 0 / 5.8
Utah Kosmo, UT March 12, 1934 2 / 6.6
Vermont Vermont April 10, 1962 0 / 4.0
Virginia Giles County, VA May 31, 1897 0 / 5.9
Washington Puget Sound April 13, 1949 8 / 7.1
West Virginia Southern West Virginia November 20, 1969 0 / 4.5
Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI May 6, 1947 0 / V
Wyoming Wyoming February 3, 1995 1 / 5.3
Source: [1]
^ Where no deaths are reported, the strongest earthquake is listed from that state.
 % Hawaii had 159 deaths from a tsunami caused by the 1946 earthquake in Alaska.
v • d • e
Worst tornadoes or outbreaks by state
State Name (location) Date Deaths or injuries
Alabama Perry/Bibb/Chilton/Shelby/Coosa March 21, 1932 49
Alaska no deadly or injurious tornadoes
Arizona San Xavier Mission Indian Village August 27, 1964 2
Arkansas Warren, AR January 3, 1949 55
California Los Angeles, CA March 1, 1983 30 ^
Colorado Thurman, CO August 10, 1924 10
Connecticut Wallingford, CT August 9, 1878 34
Delaware Hartly, DE July 21, 1983 2
Florida Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak February 22, 1998 42
Georgia Gainesville, GA April 5, 1936 203
Hawaii Kailua-Kona, HI January 28, 1971 4 ^
Idaho Ruebens, ID June 7, 1936 2
Illinois Tri-State Tornado March 18, 1925 606
Indiana Tri-State Tornado March 18, 1925 76
Iowa Dewitt/Camanche June 3, 1860 92
Kansas Udall, KS May 25, 1955 80
Kentucky Louisville, KY March 27, 1890 76
Louisiana Gilliam, LA May 13, 1908 49
Maine Caribou, ME August 11, 1954 1
Maryland La Plata, MD November 9, 1926 17
Massachusetts Worcester, MA June 9, 1953 94
Michigan Flint, MI June 8, 1953 115
Minnesota St. Cloud/Sauk Rapids April 14, 1886 72
Mississippi Natchez, MS May 6, 1912 317
Missouri St. Louis and East St. Louis May 27, 1896 137
Montana Rivulet, MT June 10, 1923 2
Nebraska Omaha, NE March 23, 1913 101
Nevada Reno, NV July 16, 1973 1 ^
New Hampshire Corydon, NH September 9, 1821 6
New Jersey New Brunswick, NJ June 19, 1835 5
New Mexico Wagon Mound, NM May 31, 1930 2
New York Syracuse, NY September 15, 1912 3
North Carolina Philadelphia, NC February 19, 1884 23
North Dakota Fargo, ND June 20, 1957 10
Ohio Lorain and Sandusky, OH June 28, 1924 85
Oklahoma Woodward, OK April 9, 1947 113
Oregon Grant County, OR June 3, 1894 3
Pennsylvania Greene County, PA June 23, 1944 26
Rhode Island South Providence, RI August 7, 1986 20 ^
South Carolina Aiken/Timmonsville April 30, 1924 53
South Dakota Wilmot, SD June 17, 1944 8
Tennessee Henderson, TN March 21, 1952 38
Texas Waco, TX
Goliad, TX		 May 11, 1953
May 18, 1902		 114
Utah Salt Lake City, UT August 11, 1999 1
Vermont Swanton, VT August 3, 1970 7 ^
Virginia Scott County, VA May 2, 1929 13
Washington Vancouver, WA April 5, 1972 6
West Virginia Shinnston, WV June 23, 1944 100
Wisconsin New Richmond, WI June 12, 1899 117
Wyoming Cheyenne, WY July 16, 1979 1
Source: [2]


^ These states have no deaths reported; column lists highest injury total from a tornado.


[edit] See also

[edit] References

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_disasters_by_death_toll"
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