List of disasters in the United States by death toll

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This list of United States disasters by death toll is a list of notable disasters which occurred either in the United States, at diplomatic missions of the United States, or incidents outside of the United States in which a number of U.S. citizens were killed. It does not include death tolls from the American Civil War. 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. This list is not comprehensive in general, and epidemics are not included.

Over 400 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
1900	Tropical cyclone	6,000 to 12,000	$28,000,000 (approximate)	1900 Galveston hurricane	Texas	Fatalities estimated. Remains the deadliest natural disaster in North American history.
1906	Earthquake and fire (urban conflagration)	More than 3,000		1906 San Francisco earthquake	San Francisco, California	Conflagration followed quake; fatalities estimated; also major casualties in Santa Rosa and San Jose
2001	Terrorism	2,996	$3,300,000,000,000 (2001)	September 11 attacks	New York City, Arlington County, Virginia, and Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania	2,977 victims and 19 hijackers. Costliest disaster in United States history.
1928	Tropical cyclone	2,812	$800,000,000 (2005)	1928 Okeechobee hurricane	Florida, Puerto Rico	4,078 believed dead total. 2500 in Florida, 312 in Puerto Rico.
1941	Military strike - bombing	2,467		Attack on Pearl Harbor	Honolulu, Hawaii	2,403 U.S. victims and 64 Japanese attackers.
1889	Accident - Dam burst	2,209		Johnstown Flood	Pennsylvania	Much rain, deforestation; dam failed
1893	Tropical cyclone	2,000		1893 Cheniere Caminada hurricane	Louisiana	Fatalities estimated
2005	Tropical cyclone	1,836	$108,000,000,000	Hurricane Katrina	Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio	Costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
1865	Accident - Shipwreck	1,700		Sultana	Marion, Arkansas / Helena, Arkansas	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
1871	Fire (rural)	1,200-2,500		Peshtigo Fire	Peshtigo, Wisconsin Upper Peninsula of Michigan	Fatalities estimated; most deaths in single fire in U.S. history
1904	Accident - Shipwreck	1,021		PS General Slocum	East River near New York City	Steamship sank due to fire on board
1893	Tropical cyclone	1,000-2,000		1893 Sea Islands hurricane	Georgia, South Carolina	Fatalities estimated
1978	Mass murder - suicide	909		Jonestown	Georgetown, Guyana	Cult leader of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, Jim Jones convinced 909 U.S. members of the group to drink grape flavor aid poisoned with cyanide, and/or inject themselves and their children with cyanide. Others were shot and killed while trying to escape.
1945	Shipwreck	879		USS Indianapolis	Philippine Sea	Largest loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy
1915	Accident - Shipwreck	844		S.S. Eastland	Chicago, Illinois
1995	Heat wave	739		Chicago Heat Wave of 1995	Chicago, Illinois
1925	Tornado	695-747	$1,650,000,000 (2005)	Tri-State Tornado	Missouri, Illinois and Indiana (Kentucky, Tennessee)	Lower number for single 3-state tornado; higher for 5-state outbreak
1903	Fire (building)	602		Iroquois Theatre fire	Chicago, Illinois
1919	Tropical cyclone	600		1919 Florida Keys hurricane	Florida, Texas
1928	Accident - Dam failure	600		St. Francis Dam	Santa Clarita, California
1938	Tropical cyclone	600		1938 New England hurricane
1947	Accident - Explosion	581		Texas City disaster	Texas City, Texas	Ammonium nitrate onboard ship
1871	Fire	500 (estimated)		Great Michigan Fire	Michigan
1942	Fire (building)	492		Cocoanut Grove fire	Boston, Massachusetts	Nightclub
1927	Exploitation, Silicosis	476-1,000+		Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster	Gauley Bridge, West Virginia	178 admitted deaths, 476 with congressional inquiry, 1,000+ by epidemiologists.
1918	Fire (rural)	453	$7,300,000	1918 Cloquet fire	Minnesota
1936	Tornado outbreak	436+		1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak	Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee	Two tornadoes in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Gainesville, Georgia, killed 233 and 203 people respectively
1913	Flood	428		1913 (Ohio) statewide flood	Ohio
1957	Tropical cyclone	416	$147,000,000 (1957)	Hurricane Audrey	Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama
1935	Tropical cyclone	408		1935 Labor Day hurricane	Florida

201 to 400 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
1857	Shipwreck	400		SS Central America, 1857	Off the coast of Georgia	Fatalities estimated
1860	Accident - Shipwreck	400		PS Lady Elgin	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	$5,000,000,000	Ohio River flood of 1937	Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois
1907	Accident - Coal mine	362		Monongah mining disaster	Monongah, West Virginia
1913	Flood	361		Great Dayton Flood	Dayton, Ohio	Flood was created by a series of three winter storms that hit the region in March, 1913
1950	Blizzard	353	$66,700,000 (1950)	Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950	Eastern U.S. States
2011	Tornado outbreak	348	~$11,000,000,000 (2011)	2011 Super Outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States, Southern Ontario	362 tornadoes, with one of the deadliest in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Alabama. 324 tornadic deaths, with another 24 from related weather.
1932	Tornado outbreak	330	$4,340,000	1932 Deep South tornado outbreak	Southern United States	At least 36 tornadoes, including 10 violent (F4 or F5) storms, resulting in 268 deaths in Alabama alone.
1930	Fire (building)	322		Ohio Penitentiary	Columbus, Ohio
1944	Accident - Explosion	320		Port Chicago disaster	Port Chicago, California	WWII ammunition ignited
1974	Tornado outbreak	319	$3,500,000,000 (2005)	1974 Super Outbreak	Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and New York	148 tornadoes
1993	Cyclonic Blizzard	318	$6,650,000,000 (2008)	1993 Storm of the Century	Ontario, Quebec, Eastern United States, Cuba
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
1876	Fire (building)	278		Brooklyn Theatre fire	Brooklyn, New York
1898	Explosion	274		USS Maine	Havana, Cuba	A major event that precipitated the Spanish–American War. Exact cause remains unknown.
1979	Accident - Aircraft	273		American Airlines Flight 191	Chicago, Illinois	Deadliest aircraft accident in U.S. history
1965	Tornado outbreak	271		Palm Sunday tornado outbreak	Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana	78 tornadoes
1999	Heat wave	271			Midwest and Northeast
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	Tropical 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	$5,000,000 (1913)	Great Lakes Storm of 1913	Great Lakes region	Fatalities estimated
1953	Tornado outbreak sequence	247		Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence	Michigan Ohio, Nebraska and Massachusetts	116 deaths in Flint, Michigan, 94 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
1927	Flood	246	$400,000,000	Great Mississippi Flood of 1927	Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee
1983	Terrorism	241		1983 Beirut barracks bombings	Beirut, Lebanon	58 French peacekeepers, six civilians and two suicide bombers also died in the attack
1912	Accident - Shipwreck	238		RMS Titanic	north Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland	Only includes U.S. victims
1972	Flood	238	$160,000,000 (1972) $664,000,000 (2002)	1972 Rapid City Flood	Rapid City, South Dakota	Average rainfall over area of 60 mi² measured at 10-15 inches (380 mm), over 6 hours in middle of night June 9–10, 1972.
1996	Accident - Aircraft	230		TWA Flight 800	Long Island, New York
1997	Accident - Aircraft	228		Korean Air Flight 801	Nimitz Hill, Guam
1998	Terrorism	223		1998 United States embassy bombings	Tanzania, Kenya	4,000+ injured
1999	Accident - Aircraft	217		EgyptAir Flight 990	Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, Massachusetts
1940	Fire (building)	209		Rhythm Club fire	Natchez, Mississippi

81 to 200 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
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
1898	Accident - Shipwreck	192		The Portland	Gloucester, Massachusetts
1863	Mass murder, Military operation	185-200		Lawrence Massacre	Lawrence, Kansas
1947	Tornado	181		1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes	Oklahoma (especially Woodward), Texas (including Glazier and Higgins), Kansas
1890	Mass murder, Military operation	178		Wounded Knee Massacre	Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota
1908	Fire (building)	174		Collinwood school fire	Cleveland, Ohio
1908	Fire (building)	171		Rhoads Opera House fire	Boyertown, Pennsylvania	Sources conflict on number of fatalities: 170 or 171.
1917	Fire (mine)	168		Speculator Mine disaster	Butte, Montana
1944	Fire (building)	168		Hartford circus fire	Hartford, Connecticut
1995	Terrorism	168		Oklahoma City bombing	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1946	Tsunami and Earthquake	165		1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake	Alaska, Hawaii
1977	Fire (building)	165		Beverly Hills Supper Club fire	Southgate, Kentucky
1944	Maritime Accident	163		West Loch disaster	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii	Classified as top secret until 1960.
2011	Tornado	158	$2,800,000,000 (2011)	2011 Joplin tornado	Joplin, Missouri	Part of the May 21–26, 2011 tornado outbreak sequence. 3 additional fatalities resulted indirectly from this tornado.
1987	Accident - Aircraft	156		Northwest Airlines Flight 255	Detroit, Michigan
1982	Accident - Aircraft	153		Pan Am Flight 759	New Orleans, Louisiana
1911	Fire (building)	146		Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire	New York City, New York
1976	Flood	145		Big Thompson Canyon Flood of 1976	Colorado
1978	Accident - Aircraft	144		PSA Flight 182	San Diego, California
1840	Accident - Shipwreck	139		Lexington	Long Island Sound	Steamship sank due to fire on board
1985	Accident - Aircraft	137		Delta Air Lines Flight 191	Dallas, Texas
1960	Accident - Aircraft	134		1960 New York mid-air collision	New York City, New York
1967	Fire	134	>$72,000,000	1967 USS Forrestal fire	Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam
1994	Accident - Aircraft	132		USAir Flight 427	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1944	Accident - Explosion	130	$7,000,000- $15,000,000	Cleveland East Ohio Gas explosion	Cleveland, Ohio
1963	Accident - Submarine	129		USS Thresher (SSN-593)	Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts	Deadliest submarine disaster in history.
1915	Incident - Maritime	128		Sinking of the RMS Lusitania	Atlantic Ocean near Kinsale, Ireland	Ship torpedoed by a German U-boat. 1,198 fatalities resulted overall; 128 of them were Americans.
1956	Accident - Aircraft	128		1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision	Grand Canyon, Arizona	Parts of wreckage still visible
1972	Accident - Dam burst	125		Buffalo Creek flood	Logan County, West Virginia
1929	Fire (building)	123		Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929	Cleveland, Ohio
1933	Earthquake	120	$50,000,000 (1933)	Long Beach earthquake	Long Beach, California
2005	Tropical cyclone	120	$12,000,000,000 (2005)	Hurricane Rita	Louisiana
1946	Fire (building)	119		Winecoff Hotel	Atlanta, Georgia
1899	Tornado	117	>$300,000 ($8,381,000 in today's dollars).	New Richmond tornado	New Richmond, Wisconsin	Tornado hit the same time the circus was in town.
1918	Earthquake	116		1918 San Fermin earthquake	Puerto Rico
1837	Accident - Shipwreck	115		Wreck of the Mexico	Long Beach, New York	Eight people rescued from shore. One hundred fifteen crew and passengers (mostly Irish immigrants, and many of them women and children) froze to death on the deck of the ship just 200 yards from shore. See book: "Water and Ice: The Tragic Wrecks of the Bristol and the Mexico on the South Shore of Long Island" @ www.Lynhistory.com The wreck of the Mexico is the subject of Walt Whitman's poem, "Sleepers" in Leaves of Grass.
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
1953	Tornado	114		1953 Waco tornado outbreak	Waco, Texas	Other tornadoes in the outbreak caused an additional 30 deaths
1981	Accident - collapse	114		Hyatt Regency walkway collapse	Kansas City, Missouri
1975	Accident - Aircraft	113		Eastern Air Lines Flight 66	New York City, New York
2008	Tropical cyclone	112	$29,500,000,000 (2008)	Hurricane Ike	Texas; Louisiana	34 people still missing as of 2013
1947	Accident - Coal mine	111		Centralia mine disaster	Centralia, Illinois
1971	Accident - Aircraft	111		Alaska Airlines Flight 1866	Juneau, Alaska
1989	Accident - Aircraft	111		United Airlines Flight 232	Sioux City, Iowa
1996	Accident - Aircraft	110		ValuJet Flight 592	Florida Everglades
1869	Accident - Coal mine	108		Avondale Mine disaster	Plymouth, Pennsylvania
1918	Accident - Railroad	101		Great Train Wreck of 1918	Nashville, Tennessee	Deadliest rail accident in U.S. history
1963	Accident - Aircraft	101		Northwest Airlines Flight 293	Near Annette Island, Alaska
1972	Accident - Aircraft	101		Eastern Air Lines Flight 401	Miami, Florida
1978	Blizzard	100	$1,075,000,000 (2010)	Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978	Northeast	Fatalities estimated
2003	Fire (building)	100		The Station nightclub fire	West Warwick, Rhode Island	4th-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring more than 200.
1890	Accident - Shipwreck	98		Sea Wing disaster	Lake Pepin near Lake City, Minnesota	Strong winds toppled the excursion vessel.
1922	Roof collapse (snow)	98		Knickerbocker Theatre	Washington, District of Columbia
1904	Accident - Railroad	97		Eden train wreck	Pueblo, Colorado
1910	Avalanche	96		Wellington avalanche	Wellington, Washington	Avalanche hit 2 trains in Tye Canyon
1954	Tropical cyclone	95		Hurricane Hazel	North Carolina; South Carolina	U.S. victims only
1958	Fire (building)	95		Our Lady of the Angels School fire	Chicago, Illinois
1962	Accident - Aircraft	95		American Airlines Flight 1	New York City, New York
1918	Accident - Railroad	93		Malbone Street Wreck	Brooklyn, New York
1876	Accident - Railroad	92		Ashtabula River railroad disaster	Ashtabula, Ohio
1974	Accident - Aircraft	92		TWA Flight 514	Berryville, Virginia
1973	Accident - Aircraft	89		Delta Air Lines Flight 723	Boston, Massachusetts
2000	Accident - Aircraft	88		Alaska Airlines Flight 261	Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California
1990	Fire (building)	87		Happy Land fire	New York City, New York
1910	Fire (rural)	86		Great Fire of 1910	Washington, Idaho, Montana
1918	Accident - Railroad	86		Hammond Circus Train Wreck	Hammond, Indiana
1993	Police raid - Fire	86		Waco siege	Branch Davidian Complex, Waco, Texas	6 Davidians and 4 police killed in initial raid, 76 Davidians died in assault weeks later when building caught fire as a result of FBI tank attack.
1951	Accident - Railroad	85		Woodbridge train wreck	Woodbridge, New Jersey
1968	Accident - Aircraft	85		United Airlines Flight 629	Dawson, Texas
1965	Accident - Aircraft	84		Eastern Air Lines Flight 663	New York City, New York
1980	Fire (building)	84		MGM Grand fire	Las Vegas, Nevada
1969	Accident - Aircraft	83		Allegheny Airlines Flight 853	Shelby County, Indiana	A Piper Cherokee 140, piloted by a student who was a week away from getting his private pilot's license, collided with an Allegheny Airlines DC-9. The flight originated in Boston and had stopped in Baltimore and Cincinnati.
1967	Accident - Aircraft	82		Piedmont Airlines Flight 22	Hendersonville, North Carolina
1986	Accident - Aircraft	82		1986 Cerritos mid-air collision	Cerritos, California
1887	Accident - Railroad	81-85		Great Chatsworth train wreck	Chatsworth, Illinois
1963	Accident - Aircraft	81		Pan Am Flight 214	Elkton, Maryland	Lightning strike

31 to 80 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
1943	Accident - Railroad	79		Frankford Junction train wreck	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1862	Accident - Explosion	78		Allegheny Arsenal	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Largest civilian death toll during American Civil War
1950	Accident - Railroad	78		Kew Gardens train crash	Kew Gardens, New York
1961	Accident - Aircraft	78		TWA Flight 529	Hinsdale, Illinois
1968	Accident - Coal mine	78		Farmington Mine disaster	Farmington, West Virginia
1976	Accident - Shipwreck	78		MV George Prince ferry disaster	Mississippi River, Louisiana	Deadliest ferry disaster in U.S. history
1982	Accident - Aircraft	78		Air Florida Flight 90	District of Columbia
1961	Accident - Aircraft	77		Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8	Richmond, Virginia
1970	Accident - Aircraft	75		Southern Airways Flight 932	Ceredo, West Virginia	Deadliest sports tragedy in U.S. history
1963	Accident - Explosion	74		Indiana State Fair Coliseum	Indianapolis, Indiana
1913	Stampede	73		Italian Hall disaster	Calumet, Michigan	Second-largest loss of life within the state of Michigan.
1933	Accident - Airship	73		USS Akron (ZRS-4)	Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New Jersey	Deadliest airship disaster in history.
1943	Accident - Railroad	72		Rennert railroad accident	Rennert, North Carolina
1957	Fire (building)	72		Warrenton Nursing Home fire	Warrenton, Missouri
1974	Accident - Aircraft	72		Eastern Air Lines Flight 212	Charlotte, North Carolina
2012	Tropical cyclone	71	$71,400,000,000	Hurricane Sandy	Most of the United States East Coast	86 indirect fatalities occurred in the United States. At least 76 additional fatalities occurred in the Caribbean and the Bahamas; 21 people are still missing in Haiti.
1985	Accident - Aircraft	70		Galaxy Airlines Flight 203	Reno, Nevada
1936	Flood	69	$3,000,000,000 (2006)	Pittsburgh Flood of 1936	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area
1989	Earthquake	69	$6,000,000,000 (1989)	Loma Prieta earthquake	San Francisco Bay Area, California
1994	Accident - Aircraft	68		American Eagle Flight 4184	Roselawn, Indiana
1888	Accident - Railroad	66		Mud Run disaster	Eastern Pennsylvania
1955	Accident - Aircraft	66		United Airlines Flight 409	Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming
1959	Accident - Aircraft	65		American Airlines Flight 320	New York City, New York
1971	Earthquake	65	$500,000,000	Sylmar earthquake	Greater Los Angeles Area, California
1903	Accident - Railroad	64		Connellsville train wreck	Connellsville, Pennsylvania
1983	Terrorism	64		1983 United States embassy bombing	Beirut, Lebanon
1960	Accident - Aircraft	63		Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710	Tell City, Indiana	Wing failure resulting from freak vibrations in clear weather turbulence was the probable cause.
1963	Fire (building)	63		Golden Age Nursing Home fire	Fitchville, Ohio
1960	Accident - Aircraft	62		Eastern Air Lines Flight 375	Boston, Massachusetts
1944	Military aircraft, Accident	61		Freckleton air disaster	Freckleton, England	An American United States Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber crashed into the centre of the village of Freckleton. It crashed into a church, 3 houses, and a pub. 38 children were killed.
1960	Tsunami	61	$500,000 (2005)	Great Chilean earthquake	Hawaii, Alaska	2,290 to 6,600 killed and $3,500,000,000 (2005) in damage worldwide. 61 killed in Hilo, Hawaii. $500,000 in U.S. property damage
1864	Accident - Railroad	60+		Shohola train wreck	Shohola, Pennsylvania
1856	Accident - Railroad	59-67		Great Train Wreck of 1856	Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
1950	Accident - Aircraft	58		Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501	Lake Michigan	Airplane wreckage never found
1964	Accident - Aircraft	58		Eastern Air Lines Flight 304	Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
1965	Accident - Aircraft	58		American Airlines Flight 383	Cincinnati, Ohio
1992	Riot	58		1992 Los Angeles riots	Los Angeles County, California
1980	Volcano	57		1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens	Washington
1984	Tornado outbreak	57		1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak	Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina
1994	Earthquake	57	$23,000,000,000	Northridge earthquake	Greater Los Angeles area, California
2008	Tornado outbreak	57		2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak	Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, and Illinois
1904	Accident - Railroad	56		New Market train wreck	New Market, Tennessee
1949	Accident - Aircraft	55		Eastern Air Lines Flight 537	Alexandria, Virginia
2016	Blizzard	55	$500,000,000, to $3,000,000,000 (2016)	January 2016 United States blizzard	Eastern United States
2004	Tropical cyclone	54	$13,000,000,000 (2004)	Hurricane Ivan	Texas, Florida	Damage and death figures are for the U.S. only. Storm caused an additional 67 deaths and ~$7 billion USD in damage across the Caribbean.
1906	Accident - Railroad	53		1906 Atlantic City train wreck	Atlantic City, New Jersey
1906	Accident - Railroad	53		1906 Washington, D.C., train wreck	Washington, D.C.
1947	Accident - Aircraft	53		Eastern Air Lines Flight 605	Near Port Deposit, Maryland
1910	Accident Railroad	52		Green Mountain train wreck	Green Mountain, Iowa
1947	Accident - Aircraft	52		United Airlines Flight 608	Bryce Canyon, Utah
1956	Accident - Shipwreck	51		SS Andrea Doria, MS Stockholm	Off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts
1978	Accident - Construction	51		Willow Island disaster	Willow Island, West Virginia	Scaffolding fell 166 feet (51 m) with insufficiently cured concrete
1896	Accident - Railroad	50		1896 Atlantic City rail crash	Atlantic City, New Jersey
1925	Accident - Railroad	50		Rockport train wreck	Hackettstown, New Jersey
1993	Flood	50	$15,000,000,000	Great Flood of 1993	Midwest
2009	Accident - Aircraft	50		Colgan Air Flight 3407	Clarence Center, New York
2016	Terrorism	50		2016 Orlando nightclub shooting	Orlando, Florida	49 victims and 1 perpetrator. Deadliest shooting in U.S. history, and deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.
1867	Accident - Railroad	49		Angola Horror	Angola, New York
1917	Accident - Railroad	49		Shepherdsville train wreck	Shepherdsville, Kentucky
1989	Tropical cyclone	49	$7,000,000,000 (1989)	Hurricane Hugo	Caribbean and Eastern North America.	Damage figure for U.S. only. At least 111 total deaths, with 37 in the continental U.S., as far north as Michigan, and 12 in the U.S. possession of Puerto Rico.
2004	Tropical cyclone	49	$9,000,000,000	Hurricane Frances	Florida
2006	Accident - Aircraft	49		Comair Flight 5191	Lexington, Kentucky
1853	Accident - Railroad	48		Norwalk rail accident	Norwalk, Connecticut
1944	Accident - Railroad	48		Bagley train wreck	West of Ogden, Utah
1958	Accident - Railroad	48		Newark Bay rail accident	Newark Bay, New Jersey
1999	Tornado outbreak	48	$1,500,000,000 (2005)	1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak	Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Tennessee	66 tornadoes
1938	Accident - Railroad	47		Custer Creek train wreck	Saugus, Montana
1944	Accident - Railroad	47		Stockton train wreck	Stockton, Georgia
1993	Accident - Railroad	47		Big Bayou Canot train disaster	Mobile, Alabama	Deadliest train crash in Amtrak history.
2011	Tropical cyclone	47	$15,800,000,000 (2011)	Hurricane Irene	Caribbean, East Coast of the United States, Eastern Canada	47 fatalities in U.S. with 10 additional fatalities elsewhere.
2016	Tropical cyclone	47	$10,000,000,000 (2016)	Hurricane Matthew	Florida, Georgia, The Carolinas	Damage and death figures are for the U.S. only. Storm caused an additional 551 deaths and $5.08 billion USD in damage across the Caribbean.
1967	Accident - Bridge collapse	46		Silver Bridge - over the Ohio River	Point Pleasant, West Virginia Gallipolis, Ohio
1927	Mass murder	45		Bath School disaster	Bath Township, Michigan
1972	Accident - Railroad	45		1972 Chicago commuter rail crash	Chicago, Illinois
1972	Accident - Aircraft	45		United Airlines Flight 553	Chicago, Illinois
1955	Accident - Aircraft	44		United Airlines Flight 629	Longmont, Colorado
1940	Accident - Railroad	43		Doodlebug disaster	Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
1963	Accident - Aircraft	43		Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705	Everglades, Florida
1971	Prison Riot	43		Attica Prison riot	Attica, New York	State troopers opened non-stop fire on pirsoners and hostages after a four-day prison uprising. It is considered the deadliest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War.
1987	Accident - Aircraft	43		PSA Flight 1771	Near Cayucos, California
2011	Tornado outbreak	43		April 14–16, 2011 tornado outbreak	Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania	162 tornadoes
2014	Mudflow	43		2014 Oso mudslide	Oso, Washington
1977	Fire (building)	42		Maury County jail fire	Maury County, Tennessee	33 prisoners and 9 visitors killed
1989	Accident - Bridge collapse	42		Cypress Street viaduct	Oakland, California
1859	Bridge washout	41		Springbrook Bridge washout	South Bend, Indiana
1950	Fire (building)	41		St. Elizabeth's Hospital fire	Davenport, Iowa
1968	Natural gas explosion	41		Richmond, Indiana explosion	Richmond, Indiana
2001	Tropical cyclone	41	$5,500,000,000	Tropical Storm Allison	Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania
1912	Accident - Railroad	39		Corning train wreck	Corning, New York
1977	Accident - Dam failure	39		Kelly Barnes Dam	Toccoa, Georgia
1997	Mass suicide	39		Heaven's Gate (religious group)	San Diego, California	Cult leaders Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles convinced followers they would join Comet Hale-Bopp to take them to another planet by swallowing poison.
1920	Terrorism	38		Wall Street bombing	Manhattan, New York
1969	Accident - Aircraft	38		United Airlines Flight 266	Santa Monica Bay, California
1883	Tornado	37	$700,000 (1883)	1883 Rochester tornado	Rochester, Minnesota	F5 tornado killed 37 and injured hundreds more. It led to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
1937	Accident - airship	36		Hindenburg disaster	Manchester, New Jersey	Hydrogen-filled zeppelin
2016	Fire (building)	36		2016 Oakland warehouse fire	Oakland, California
1969	Accident - aircraft	35		Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708	Lone Pine, California
1980	Ship – collision	35		Sunshine Skyway Bridge	St. Petersburg, Florida
1967	Accident - Aircraft	34		Mohawk Airlines Flight 40	Blossburg, Pennsylvania
2007	Mass murder - School shooting	33		Virginia Tech shooting	Blacksburg, Virginia	Armed with two semi-automatic handguns, student Seung-Hui Cho shot to death 32 people in two separate attacks on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 23 other people were wounded, 17 by gunfire. Cho committed suicide.
2015	Accident - Shipwreck	33		SS El Faro	Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas	A U.S.-flagged vessel sank during Hurricane Joaquin with all on board perishing.
1963	Accident – bus	32		1963 Chualar bus crash	Chualar, California	Deadliest road accident in U.S. history
1973	Fire (building)	32		UpStairs Lounge arson attack	New Orleans, Louisiana
1855	Bridge - Accident	31		Gasconade Bridge train disaster	Gasconade, Missouri
1981	Fire	31		Keansburg nursing home fire	Keansburg, New Jersey	Nursing home full of elderly and mentally disabled
2009	Tsunami	31		2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami	American Samoa and nearby islands	189 total deaths, with 31 in American Samoa.
2010	Flood	31	$2,300,000,000 (2010)	2010 Tennessee floods	Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi

Up to 30 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
1887	Structural failure	30		Forest Hills disaster	Boston, Massachusetts
1923	Accident – railroad	30		Glenrock train wreck	Meadow Acres, Wyoming
1956	Accident – railroad	30		Redondo Junction train wreck	Los Angeles, California
1998	Blizzard	30		North American ice storm of 1998	Canada and Northeast
1871	Accident - Railroad	29		Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871	Revere, Massachusetts
1971	Accident - Explosion	29		Thiokol-Woodbine explosion	Woodbine, Georgia
1975	Shipwreck	29		Wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald	Lake Superior
1976	Accident - school bus	29		Yuba City bus disaster	Martinez, California
1977	Accident - Aircraft	29		University of Evansville basketball team charter crash	Evansville, Indiana	The University of Evansville basketball team was traveling to Middle Tennessee State University when the plane crashed 90 seconds after takeoff from Dress Regional Airport.
1990	Tornado	29	$160,000,000	1990 Plainfield tornado	Plainfield, Illinois Crest Hill, Illinois
2010	Accident - Coal mine	29		Upper Big Branch Mine disaster	Montcoal, West Virginia
1951	Flood	28	$7,000,000,000 (2005)	Great Flood of 1951	Kansas, Missouri
2012	Mass murder - School shooting	28		Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting	Sandy Hook, Connecticut	Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother, then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he fatally shot 20 students and 6 educators before committing suicide.
1943	Accident - Railroad	27			Wayland, New York	Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad passenger train sideswiped a freight train
1958	Accident - school bus	27		Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster	Prestonsburg, Kentucky
1988	Accident - school bus	27		Carrollton bus collision	Carrollton, Kentucky
1970	Tornado	26	$1,411,900,000 (2008)	Lubbock tornado	Lubbock, Texas	F5 tornado killed 26 and wounded approximately 500
2008	Accident - Railroad	26		2008 Chatsworth train collision	Chatsworth, California
1982	Fire (building)	25		Dorothy Mae Apartments	Los Angeles, California	Arson fire killed 19 residents on scene, 6 others died later from injuries.
1986	Accident - Aircraft	25		Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6	Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona	Deadliest accident involving a helicopter in U.S. history
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
1692	Mass hysteria Execution Neglect	24		Salem witch trials	Salem, Massachusetts	21 executed for "Witchcraft"; 3 died in jail due to neglect.
1887	Bridge Railroad	24		Forest Hills disaster	Boston, Massachusetts
1991	Mass murder	24		Luby's shooting	Killeen, Texas	23 murdered, gunman committed suicide
1994	Accident - Aircraft	24		Green Ramp disaster	Fayetteville, North Carolina	Deadliest aircraft accident in the U.S. involving victims on the ground
2005	Accident - bus	24		Wilmer bus accident	Wilmer, Texas	Carrying elderly, fleeing hurricane
2013	Tornado	24		2013 Moore tornado	Moore, Oklahoma	377 people were injured
1919	Accident - Railroad	23		Onawa train wreck	Onawa, Maine
1959	Explosion - Fire	23		Meldrim, Georgia, trestle disaster	Meldrim, Georgia
1965	Accident - Aircraft	23		USAF KC-135 Wichita crash	Wichita, Kansas
1977	Blizzard	23	$56,250,000 (1977)	Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977	New York, Ontario	The brunt of the blizzard was centered around Buffalo.
1983	Accident - Aircraft	23		Air Canada Flight 797	Cincinnati, Ohio
1989	Accident - Explosion	23	$1,415,000,000 (1990)	Phillips disaster	Pasadena, Texas	314 people injured
1992	Tropical cyclone	23	$25,000,000,000 (1992)	Hurricane Andrew	Florida, Louisiana
1942	Accident - Aircraft	22		TWA Flight 3	Potosi Mountain, southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada	Among those killed were actress Carole Lombard and her mother, who were returning to Los Angeles after a war bond drive in their home state of Indiana.
1960	Accident - Aircraft	22		Cal Poly football team plane crash	Toledo, Ohio
1972	Accident - Aircraft	22		1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident	Sacramento, California
1980	Accident - tour bus	22			Jasper, Arkansas
1984	Mass murder	22		San Ysidro McDonald's massacre	San Diego, California	19 injured
1999	Accident - tour bus	22			New Orleans, Louisiana	Plunged over embankment, carrying senior citizens from casino
1910	Fire, Structural failure	21		Chicago Union Stock Yards fire	Chicago, Illinois
1910	Bombing	21		Los Angeles Times bombing	Los Angeles, California
1915	Fire (building)	21		St. Johns School fire	Peabody, Massachusetts	Schoolgirls trapped behind exit door; resulted in first city law requiring that exit doors open outward
1919	Accident - Explosion	21	$6,600,000,000 (2005)	Great Molasses Flood	Boston, Massachusetts	Damages are out-of-court settlements only; repairs took 133 man-months
1986	Accident - tour bus	21			Walker, California
1872	Fire (urban conflagration)	20	$73,500,000 (1872)	Great Boston fire of 1872	Boston, Massachusetts
1907	Accident - Railroad	20		Woodlawn derailment	Woodlawn, The Bronx, New York City	The day after the New York Central Railroad inaugurated electrical train service in New York City and suburban Westchester County, an electric engine (which had a higher center of mass than the old steam engines) jumped the tracks on a curve leading into Woodlawn Station. Wreckage was strewn over a mile (1.6 km) with 20 dead and 150 injured.
2005	Accident - Shipwreck	20		Ethan Allen boating accident	Lake George (New York)	Overloaded tour boat capsized from another boat's wake.
2010	Flood	20		June 2010 Arkansas floods	Albert Pike Recreation Area near Langley, Arkansas
1897	Accident - Railroad	19		Garrison train crash	Garrison, New York
1944	Accident - Aircraft	19		Long Creek air disaster	South Portland, Maine
2013	Wildfire	19		Yarnell Hill Fire	Yarnell, Arizona	19 firefighters were killed trapped when they became trapped in the fast-spreading fire
1861	Accident - Railroad	17 to 20		Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy	St. Joseph, Missouri
1903	Accident - Railroad	17		Purdue Wreck	Indianapolis, Indiana
2000	Terrorism	17		USS Cole bombing	Aden, Yemen
1965	Accidents - Pipeline accidents	17		Pipeline explosion and fire	Natchitoches, Louisiana
1966	Mass murder	17		University of Texas massacre	Austin, Texas
1991	Accident - Automobile	17		Dust storm accident	Coalinga, California
2002	Mass murder Serial killings	17		Beltway sniper attacks	Washington metropolitan area	3 injured in the Beltway sniper attacks and 7 in preliminary shootings
1926	Tornado	16		La Plata tornado of 1926	La Plata, Maryland	13 killed in La Plata Elementary School
1978	Accident - Railroad	16		Waverly, Tennessee, tank car explosion	Waverly, Tennessee	An additional 43 injured
1987	Accident - Railroad	16		1987 Maryland train collision	Chase, Maryland
1987	Mass Murder spree killer	16		The Dover massacre	Dover, Arkansas - Russellville, Arkansas
2015	Terrorism	16		2015 San Bernardino attack	San Bernardino, California	An additional 24 injured
2016	Accident - Hot air balloon	16		2016 Lockhart hot air balloon crash	Lockhart, Texas	Deadliest ballooning disaster in U.S. history
1954	Fire (building)	15		Cleveland Hill Middle School fire	Cheektowaga, New York
1986	Mass murder	15		Edmond post office shooting	Edmond, Oklahoma	14 victims and 1 perpetrator
1999	Mass murder	15		Columbine High School massacre	Jefferson County, Colorado	Armed with 2 sawed-off shotguns, a TEC-9 pistol and a carbine, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered their school in Littleton and opened fire at the students and staff, killing 12 students, 1 teacher and then killing themselves.
2011	Accident - tour bus	15		World Wide Tours bus crash	Bronx, New York	En route to Connecticut casino, March 12
2013	Accident - Explosion	15		West Fertilizer Company explosion	West, Texas	More than 160 people were injured.
1933	Accident - Railroad	14			Binghamton, New York	collision between Erie Railroad's Atlantic Express passenger train and milk train
1935	Bus accident	14		Appomattox River Drawbridge accident	Hopewell, Virginia	Bus drove across drawbridge when it was open.
1942	Accident - Railroad	14		Ambassador - Cleveland Express rail collision	Dickerson, Maryland	Worst accident in B&O railroad's history
1973	Accident	14		Skyline Towers collapse	Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia	74 others injured
1982	Bridge - Accident	14		Cline Avenue Bridge collapse	East Chicago, Indiana
2002	Automobile accident	14		I-40 bridge disaster	Webbers Falls, Oklahoma
2002	Accident - van	14			Saint John River (Maine)
2007	Wildfire	14		California wildfires of October 2007	California	Large fires burnt out of control across southern California, fueled by unusually strong Santa Ana winds; worst around San Diego; caused evacuation of over one million people. Most fires accidental; some arson.
2009	Mass murder	14		Binghamton shootings	Binghamton, New York
1905	Accident - Railroad	13		Ninth Avenue derailment	New York City, New York
1949	Mass murder	13		Camden massacre	Camden, New Jersey	Howard Unruh killed 13.
1963	Accident - bus	13			Hole in the Rock Trail, Utah	Bus carrying Boy Scouts overturned climbing steep hill.
1983	Mass murder	13		Wah Mee massacre	Seattle, Washington
2001	Accident - Mine disaster	13		Jim Walter Resources mine disaster	Brookwood, Alabama
2003	Accident - collapse	13		2003 Chicago balcony collapse	Chicago, Illinois
2006	Accident - Coal mine	13		Sago Mine disaster	Sago, West Virginia
2007	Accident - Bridge collapse	13	$5,000,000	I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Collapsed on August 1 at 6:05 PM during rush hour while resurfacing in progress. An additional 111+ injured.
2009	Mass murder	13		2009 Fort Hood shooting	Fort Hood, Texas
2013	Mass murder	13		Washington Navy Yard shooting	Washington, D.C.
1940	Automobile accident	12		Two-car collision	Slayton, Minnesota	The deadliest two-car auto crash in U.S. history at the time.
1959	Accident - Coal mine	12		Knox Mine disaster	Pittston, Pennsylvania
2000	Accidents - Pipeline accidents	12		Gas pipeline explosion and fire	Carlsbad, New Mexico
2012	Mass murder	12		2012 Aurora shooting	Aurora, Colorado	70 others were injured.
1976	Accident - Dam failure	11	$400,000,000	Teton Dam	Idaho
1977	Accident - Railroad	11		Chicago Loop derailment	Chicago, Illinois
1979	Stampede	11		The Who concert disaster	Cincinnati, Ohio	The Who rock concert
1981	Accident - collapse	11		Harbor Cay Condominium Collapse	Cocoa Beach, Florida	Five story flat plate condominium under construction collapsed
1996	Accident - Railroad	11		1996 Maryland train collision	Silver Spring, Maryland
1999	Accident - Railroad	11		1999 Bourbonnais, Illinois, train crash	Bourbonnais, Illinois
1999	Accident - Aircraft	11		American Airlines Flight 1420	Little Rock, Arkansas
2003	Accident - Shipwreck	11		2003 Staten Island Ferry crash	New York City, New York
2005	Mass murder - Railroad	11		2005 Glendale train crash	Los Angeles, California
2009	Mass murder	11		Geneva County massacre	Geneva County, Alabama
2010	Accident - Explosion	11		Deepwater Horizon explosion	Southeast of Louisiana coast	Caused by a blowout on April 20. 17 injuries. Subsequent oil spill regarded as worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
2011	Accident - Airshow	11		2011 Reno Air Races crash	Reno, Nevada	At least 70 people injured in the disaster. Third-deadliest airshow disaster in U.S. history.
1872	Details unknown - Maritime incident	10		Mystery of the Mary Celeste	Northern Atlantic Ocean	The American merchant brig Mary Celeste was found abandoned (with the lifeboat missing) and adrift off the Azores 29 days after departing New York Harbor. Aboard had been five Americans (including the captain and his wife and daughter), one Dane, and four Germans. The ship's log contained no explanation as to why the ship had been abandoned. No trace of the ten people aboard has ever been found.
1957	Tornado	10	$25,883,000	1957 Fargo tornado	Fargo, North Dakota
1972	Bridge - Accident	10		Sidney Lanier Bridge collapse	Brunswick, Georgia
1972	Accident - Aircraft	10		1972 Chicago–O'Hare runway collision	Chicago, Illinois
1978	Accident - Aircraft	10		United Airlines Flight 173	Portland, Oregon	While on approach to Portland International Airport, landing gear problems with this fully loaded DC-8 caused the pilot to dump excess fuel and attempt an emergency landing. But the pilot dumped too much fuel, causing the plane to lose power and belly flop short of the runway. With 189 souls aboard and only 10 deaths and 24 non-fatal injuries, this crash had one of the highest survivor-to-casualty ratios in aviation history.
1987	Bridge - Accident	10		Schoharie Creek bridge collapse	Fort Hunter, New York
1991	Accident - Aircraft	10		Deaths of Reba McEntire's band and business manager	Otay Mountain, southeast of San Diego, California	Killed in the crash were seven members of Reba McEntire's band, her business manager, and two pilots, who were headed to her next gig in Fort Wayne, Indiana. McEntire and her husband were scheduled to take a later flight.
2004	Tropical cyclone	10	$15,000,000,000	Hurricane Charley	Florida
2004	Accident - Aircraft	10		2004 Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crash	Martinsville, Virginia
2005	Mass murder	10		Red Lake shootings	Red Lake, Minnesota	5 injured
2008	Mass murder	10		Covina massacre	Covina, California
2014	Accident - tour bus	10			Glenn County, California
2015	Mass murder - School shooting	10		Umpqua Community College shooting	Roseburg, Oregon	9 victims and 1 perpetrator
1858	Structural failure - Bridge	9		Sauquoit bridge collapse	Sauquoit, New York
1888	Accident - Railroad	9		Wreck at the Fat Nancy	Orange County, Virginia
1903	Accident - Railroad	9		Wreck of the Old 97	Danville, Virginia
1920	Accident - Railroad (Trolley)	9		Bertha Trolley collision	Bertha, Oregon (A former village now incorporated into the Hillsdale district of Portland)	An engineer of the Southern Pacific Red Electric line ignored signals and plowed his train head-on into another. Eight died at the scene, one died later from injuries. 101 injured.
1977	Mass murder	9		1977 Prospect, Connecticut Massacre	Prospect, Connecticut
1989	Mass murder	9		Standard Gravure shooting	Louisville, Kentucky
1991	Mass murder	9		Waddell, Arizona Buddhist temple shooting	Waddell, Arizona	The shooting is considered the worst massacre in Arizona's history.
1993	Mass murder	9		101 California Street shooting	San Francisco, California
2005	Accident - Railroad	9		Graniteville, South Carolina, train crash	Graniteville, South Carolina
2007	Mass murder	9		Westroads Mall shooting	Omaha, Nebraska	8 victims and 1 perpetrator
2007	Fire (building)	9		Charleston Sofa Super Store fire	Charleston, South Carolina	A flashover and structural collapse contributed to the deaths of nine Charleston firefighters.
2007	Accident - Coal mine	9		Crandall Canyon Mine collapse	Huntington, Utah	Original collapse on August 6 at 2:48 AM MDT, 6 miners missing. On August 16 at 6:30 PM MDT, 9 rescue workers caught in second collapse while trying to get to trapped miners. Three rescue workers pronounced dead; other 6 injured.
2009	Accident - Railroad	9		Washington Metro subway train collision	Washington, D.C.	Approximately 80 injuries.
2010	Mass murder	9		Hartford Distributors shooting	Manchester, Connecticut
2012	Fire (building)	9		2012 Charleston house fire	Charleston, West Virginia	1 injured
2015	Mass murder	9		Charleston church shooting	Charleston, South Carolina	White supremacist Dylann Roof opened fire in an all-black church, killing nine
1982	Mass murder	8		Post Family Murders	Farwell, Michigan
1984	Fire (building)	8		Haunted Castle fire at Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson Township, New Jersey
1987	Earthquake	8	$358,000,000	Whittier Narrows earthquake	San Gabriel Valley, California	This earthquake occurred on a previously unknown, concealed thrust fault approximately 20 km east of downtown Los Angeles, California.
1989	Bridge collapse	8		Hatchie River bridge collapse	Memphis, Tennessee
1996	Flood	8	$500,000,000	Willamette Valley Flood of 1996	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California
2001	Structural failure	8		Queen Isabella Causeway collapse	Cameron County, Texas
2009	Accident - Automobile, Driving under the influence	8		2009 Taconic State Parkway crash	Mount Pleasant, New York	3 additional injuries
2009	Mass murder	8		Carthage nursing home shooting	Carthage, North Carolina
2010	Accident - Pipeline accidents	8		San Bruno pipeline explosion	San Bruno, California	58 additional injuries
2011	Mass murder	8		2011 Seal Beach shooting	Seal Beach, California	1 injured
2013	Tornado	8		2013 El Reno tornado	Canadian County, Oklahoma	Four storm chasers killed, including Tim Samaras; first tornado on record to kill storm chasers; 151 injured; Widest tornado on record with a path width of 2.6 miles (4.2 km).
2014	Accident - Explosion	8		2014 East Harlem gas explosion	New York City, New York
2015	Mass murder	8		2015 Tyrone shooting	Tyrone, Missouri
2016	Mass murder	8		2016 Pike County, Ohio, shootings	Pike County, Ohio	Perpetrator(s) remain unknown
1901	Fire (urban conflagration)	7		Great Fire of 1901	Jacksonville, Florida
1922	Accident - Railroad	7		1922 Winslow Junction train derailment	Winslow, Arizona
1976	Mass murder - School shooting	7		California State University, Fullerton massacre	Fullerton, California
1982	Mass murder - Poisoning	7		Chicago Tylenol murders	Chicago, Illinois	Investigation still underway, as of 2012
1983	Fire - Explosion	7		1983 Buffalo propane explosion	Buffalo, New York	Blast killed 5 firemen and 2 civilians
1986	Explosion Space Shuttle	7		Space Shuttle Challenger disaster	Kennedy Space Center, Florida	The first in-flight deaths in the U.S. Space Program. Faulty booster design and engineers overruled by administrators.
1993	Mass murder	7		Brown's Chicken massacre	Palatine, Illinois
1995	Bridge - Accident	7			Coalinga, California
2003	Accident - Space shuttle	7		Space Shuttle Columbia disaster	Texas, Louisiana	Heat shield damage due to debris strike during liftoff.
2006	Mass murder	7		Capitol Hill massacre	Seattle, Washington	2 injured
2011	Accident - collapse	7		Indiana State Fair stage collapse	Indianapolis, Indiana	58 injured
2012	Mass murder - School shooting	7		Oikos University shooting	Oakland, California
2012	Mass murder	7		2012 Minneapolis workplace shooting	Minneapolis, Minnesota	2 injured
2014	Mass murder	7		2014 Isla Vista killings	Isla Vista, California	Elliot Rodger killed 6, then killed himself.
1974	Mass murder	6		"Amityville murders" committed by Ronald DeFeo Jr.	Amityville, New York	"Butch" DeFeo told investigators that "voices" told him to kill his parents Louise and Ronald, Sr., and his siblings Dawn, Allison, Marc, and John Matthew. All the children were 18 and younger. The murders were exploited and fictionalized and later turned into a novel by Jay Anson called The Amityville Horror which was later turned into a popular movie.
1977	Accident - Aircraft	6		1977 Convair CV-240 crash	Amite County, Mississippi	3 members of the Southern rock group, Lynyrd Skynyrd were among the fatalities.
1987	Mass murder	6		Flint crack murders	Flint, Michigan
1991	Shipwreck	6		"Perfect Storm" sinking of the Andrea Gail	North Atlantic Ocean off Gloucester, Massachusetts	Inspiration of the 1997 book and 2000 movie titled The Perfect Storm.
1991	Mass murder - School shooting	6		University of Iowa shooting	Iowa City, Iowa
1993	Terrorism	6		1993 World Trade Center bombing	New York City, New York	At least 1,042 injured
1995	Flood	6	$1,360,000,000	May 1995 Louisiana flood	New Orleans, Louisiana area
1999	Fire (building)	6		Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire	Worcester, Massachusetts	Six firefighters lost their lives while searching for two homeless victims. They are now commonly referred to as the Worcester 6.
2006	Mass murder	6		Trolley Square shooting	Salt Lake City, Utah	4 injured
2006	Mass murder - School shooting	6		West Nickel Mines School shooting	Bart Township, Pennsylvania
2008	Mass murder	6		Atlantis Plastics shooting	Henderson, Kentucky
2008	Mass murder	6		Northern Illinois University shooting	DeKalb, Illinois	Includes the gunman who killed himself; 21 people were injured
2011	Mass murder	6		2011 Tucson shooting	Arizona	Attempted assassination of U.S. representative Gabrielle Giffords. Among the fatalities were the Chief Judge for the U.S. district court of Arizona John Roll and a ten-year-old girl.
2012	Mass murder	6		2012 Seattle cafe shooting spree	Seattle, Washington	1 injured
2013	Terrorism	6		Boston Marathon bombing	Boston, Massachusetts	3 immediate fatalities; 2 more people (including one of the perpetrators) were killed a few days later, and one other person died from their injuries the following year. An additional 264 people were injured by two separate bombings, which were 13 seconds apart. 17 others were injured in a gunfight a few days later (16 police officers and the other perpetrator).
2013	Collapse (building)	6		22nd and Market building collapse	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	14 other people were injured, 1 seriously. During the disaster, at least ten people were trapped under the rubble.
2013	Mass murder	6		2013 Santa Monica shooting	Santa Monica, California
2015	Mass murder	6		2015 Chattanooga shootings	Chattanooga, Tennessee
2016	Mass murder	6		2016 shooting of Dallas police officers	Dallas, Texas	Micah Johnson shot and killed 5 officers, then was killed the next day.
2015	Accident - Bus	5		Aurora_Bridge Ride the Duck	Seattle, Washington	September 24, 2015, five people were killed and fifty were injured when an amphibious "duck tour" vehicle crashed into a charter bus on the bridge.
1863	Mass murder	5		Wiseman massacre	Wynot, Nebraska
1946	Bridge failure Accident - Maritime	5		John P. Grace Memorial Bridge disaster	Charleston, South Carolina
1971	mass murder	5		The List family murders	Westfield, New Jersey	On November 9, 1971 John List shot and murdered his mother, wife, and three children before fleeing the murder scene. He remained a fugitive for 17 years.
1976	mass murder	5		The Bishop family murders	Bethesda, Maryland	Fomrer United States Foreign Service officer, Bradford Bishop murdered his mother, wife, and three children. He disposed of his family in a grave located in a densely wooded swamp off North Carolina Highway 94. Bishop has remained a fugitive since then and is one of the current FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
1978	Shipwreck	5		Sinking of the maritime pilot vessel Can Do	Massachusetts Bay, just off the North Shore	During the Northeastern blizzard of 1978, a Coast Guard cutter from the USCG station in Gloucester, Massachusetts, responded to a distress call from an oil tanker, only to find itself in distress. The maritime pilot vessel Can Do responded in an effort to save the cutter. While the cutter made it back to port safely, the Can Do sank with all hands lost. Inspiration for the 2005 book Ten Hours Until Dawn.
2001	Bioterrorism	5		2001 anthrax attacks	New York City, New York Boca Raton, Florida Washington, D.C.	17 others infected
2010	Accident - Explosion	5		2010 Connecticut power plant explosion	Middletown, Connecticut	12 or more injuries
2011	Mass murder	5		2011 IHOP shooting	Carson City, Nevada	7 injured
2013	Avalanche	5		2013 Loveland Pass, Colorado avalanche	Loveland Pass, Colorado
2014	Mass murder	5		Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting	Marysville, Washington
2016	Mass murder	5		2016 Cascade Mall shooting	Burlington, Washington
1959	Accident - Aircraft	4		The Day the Music Died	Clear Lake, Iowa	Musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed along with their pilot Roger Peterson.
1963	Accident - Aircraft	4		Deaths of Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins	Near Camden, Tennessee	The airplane was piloted by Cline's business manager (and Copas' son-in-law) Randy Hughes
1970	Mass murder – Military action	4		Kent State shootings	Kent, Ohio	An additional 9 injured. Students were fired upon when protesting the Vietnam War by the Ohio National Guard.
1993	Mass murder	4		Chuck E. Cheese Shooting	Aurora, Colorado	Ex-employee, 19-year old Nathan Dunlap shoots 5 Chuck E. Cheese employees, killing 4.
1998	Mass murder	4		Thurston High School shooting	Springfield, Oregon	Perpetrator, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel, shot and killed his parents in their home before driving to his high school and killing an additional 2 students in the high school cafeteria.
2014	Mass murder	4		2014 Fort Hood shooting	Fort Hood, Texas	14 injured
2014	Arson - Mass murder	4		The Petersburg family killings	Petersburg, Virginia	Alexander R. Hill Jr. allegedly set his ex-girlfriend's house on fire after murdering four generation's of the woman's family in retaliation for breaking up with him.
2016	Mass murder	4		2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Gavin Long killed 3 officers, then was shot dead by police
1967	Fire - Spacecraft	3		Apollo 1	Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, LC-34, Cape Canaveral, Florida	Fire swept through the pure-oxygen environment of the command module, killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
2001	Arson - mass murder	3		The Fisher Family murders and home explosion	Scottsdale, Arizona	Prime suspect, Robert William Fisher allegedly set his Scottsdale, Arizona home on fire after murdering his wife, son, and daughter on April 10, 2001. Fisher has never been apprehended and is one of the current FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
2007	Arson - Home Invasion	3		Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders	Cheshire, Connecticut
2011	Tornado	3		2011 Springfield tornado	Springfield, Massachusetts	F3 tornado
2012	mass murder	3		Chardon High School shooting	Chardon, Ohio
1835	Fire (urban conflagration)	2	$20,000,000 (1835)	Great Fire of New York	New York City, New York
1845	Fire (urban conflagration)	2	$267,000,000 (est., 2006)	Great Fire of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Destroyed much of city.
1891	Accident - Railroad	2		Great East Thompson Train Wreck	Thompson, Connecticut	Hundreds injured
2010	Suicide attack	2		2010 Austin suicide attack	Austin, Texas	An additional 13 injured when a man tried to crash into the field office of the Internal Revenue Service in Texas.
2013	Accident - Explosion	2		Williams Olefins Plant explosion	Geismar, Louisiana	114 injured
2014	Accident - Aircraft	2		2014 KOMO-TV news helicopter crash	Seattle, Washington
2014	Fire (building)	2		2014 Boston Brownstone fire	Boston, Massachusetts
1922	Fire (urban conflagration)	1 or 2	$15,000,000 (1922 dollars - preliminary estimate of losses)	Astoria Fire of 1922	Astoria, Oregon	Approximately 30 waterfront and downtown blocks burned in a fire that started before 2 a.m. on December 8. About 2,500 of the town's more than 14,000 residents were left homeless. The 1930 U.S. census showed that the town's population dropped by 26.1 percent after growing by 46.1 percent between 1910 and 1920. One confirmed death (heart attack); one suicide of unknown motivation.
1995	Accident - Railroad	1		1995 Palo Verde, Arizona derailment	Palo Verde, Arizona	78 injured
2000	Accident - Explosion	1		2000 Phillips explosion	Pasadena, Texas	71 injuries
2011	Tsunami	1	>$50,000,000	2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami	California, Oregon, Hawaii	7 people swept out to sea, 1 fatality. Major damage to harbors, especially in Crescent City and Santa Cruz, California, with tsunami waves reaching 8.1 feet (2.5 m). Extensive damage also reported in three Hawaiian islands, with tsunami waves up to 12 feet (3.7 m) high.
1894	Fire (urban conflagration)	0		Great Roxbury Fire of 1894, aka the Great South End Grounds Fire of 1894	Boston, Massachusetts	According to conflicting reports, either a man dropped a lit cigar between the cracks of the South End Grounds floorboards, or kids were playing with matches under the wooden grandstand. A west wind exceeding 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) quickly fanned the flames. Within an hour, the ballpark and 117 houses in the neighborhood beyond the right field fence had burned. Firefighting efforts were hindered by a lack of working hydrants in the area. About 1,900 people were made homeless by the fire. Incredibly, nobody was killed.
1940	Bridge collapse due to design defect	0	$5.2 million - 1940 value of bridge; $14 million - 1950 value of construction bonds to build the replacement	Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse	Puget Sound near Tacoma, Washington	A flaw in the design of the 5,939-foot (1,810 m) bridge made it extremely susceptible to aeroelastic flutter, earning the bridge the nickname "Galloping Gertie". Four months after opening, strong winds caused the bridge deck to twist back and forth like a torsion spring before it collapsed. The only casualty was a dog that cowered in the car it was riding in and bit people who tried to save it.
2009	Accident - Aircraft	0		US Airways Flight 1549, aka "The Miracle on the Hudson"	Hudson River between the New York City borough of Manhattan and Weehawken, New Jersey	Less than three minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport, this Airbus A310-214 experienced multiple bird strikes that disabled both engines, forcing a controlled water landing south of the George Washington Bridge. Souls aboard, 155; no fatalities; 100 injuries, 5 serious.

Unknown number of deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
1816	Famine (caused by volcano)	Unknown		Year Without a Summer		Volcanic dust from a massive eruption by Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia) in 1815 led to an abnormally cold summer in 1816 in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Cold weather inhibited crops, and frosts and snowstorms killed what did grow, leading to a localized famine.
1888	Cold wave	Unknown		1888 Northwest cold wave	Northwest
1914	Fire (urban conflagration)	Unknown	$325,000,000 (2008)	Great Salem fire of 1914	Salem, Massachusetts
1929-37	Economic	Unknown	Unknown	The Great Depression	Worldwide
1931–1939	Drought	Unknown	Unknown	Dust Bowl	Great Plains	Compounded by unsustainable agricultural techniques

See also

• List of disasters in Antarctica by death toll
• List of disasters in Australia by death toll
• List of disasters in Canada by death toll
• List of disasters in Croatia by death toll
• List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll
• List of disasters in New Zealand by death toll
• List of disasters in Poland by death toll