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 includes disasters that 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.

• Domestic deaths due to war are included except the American Civil War. For stats on this and U.S. military deaths in foreign locations, see United States military casualties of 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.

Over 100,000 deaths - Epidemics

• HIV/AIDS in the United States - 700,000+ as of 2021
• 1918 Spanish Flu - 675,000+
• COVID-19 pandemic in the United States - 500,000+ as of 20 February 2021
• 1957–1958 influenza pandemic - 116,000
• 1968 Hong Kong flu - 100,000

Epidemics with lower death tolls are not included below. See List of epidemics for global statistics.

Over 400 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
1900	Tropical cyclone	6,000-12,000	$28,000,000 (approximate)	1900 Galveston hurricane	Texas	Fatalities estimated. Remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.
1936	Heat wave	5,000		1936 North American heat wave	United States, Canada
1899	Tropical cyclone	3,389	$20,000,000 (1899)	1899 San Ciriaco hurricane	Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States
1906	Earthquake and fire (urban conflagration)	3,000+	$235,000,000 (1906)	1906 San Francisco earthquake	San Francisco, California	Conflagration followed quake; fatalities estimated; also major casualties in Santa Rosa and San Jose. Deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.
2001	Terrorism	2,996	$10,000,000,000 (2001)	September 11 attacks	New York City, Arlington County, Virginia, and Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania	2,977 victims and 19 hijackers. Deadliest in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
2017	Tropical cyclone	2,982 (estimated)	$94,500,000,000 (2017)	Hurricane Maria	Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, East Coast of the United States	Total includes at least 2,975 deaths based on a study by GWU on the estimated excess mortality. The official death count was previously 64. The storm caused $90 billion (2017 USD) in damage in Puerto Rico, and three deaths in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as an additional 75 deaths and $1.6 billion in damage across the rest of the Caribbean.
1928	Tropical cyclone	2,823	$800,000,000 (2005)	1928 Okeechobee hurricane	Florida, Puerto Rico	4,000+ believed dead total. Includes 2,511+ in the contiguous United States, 312 in Puerto Rico.
1941	Military strike – bombing	2,467		Attack on Pearl Harbor	Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii and nearby military installations	2,403 U.S. victims and 64 Japanese attackers. Deadliest attack on U.S. soil by a foreign government to date.
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
1865	Accident – shipwreck	1,700		Sultana	Marion, Arkansas / Helena, Arkansas	Steamboat sank due to boiler explosion; fatalities estimated. Deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history
1980	Heat wave	1,700	$20,000,000,000 (1980 USD)	1980 United States heat wave	Central and southern states	Official death toll, may have been higher
1871	Wildfire	1,500–2,500		Peshtigo Fire	Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula of Michigan	Fatalities estimated; most deaths in single fire in U.S. history
2005	Tropical cyclone	1,245–1,836	$125,000,000,000 (2005)	Hurricane Katrina	Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio	Tied with Hurricane Harvey as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
1943	Military strike – bombing	1,173		HMT Rohna	Mediterranean Sea	Luftwaffe glide bomb hit troopship causing the largest loss of U.S. soldiers (1,050) at sea due to enemy action in a single incident.
1904	Accident – shipwreck	1,021		PS General Slocum	East River near New York City	Steamship sank due to fire on board. Deadliest maritime disaster in New York City, and deadliest in city's history until 2001.
1893	Tropical cyclone	1,000–2,000		1893 Sea Islands hurricane	Georgia, South Carolina	Fatalities estimated
1918	Wildfire (rural)	1,000	$7,300,000	1918 Cloquet fire	Minnesota
1978	Mass murder	918		Jonestown	Jonestown, Guyana	Jim Jones, cult leader of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, convinced most of the group to drink grape Flavor Aid poisoned with cyanide or to inject themselves and their children with cyanide, totaling 909 deaths of U.S. nationals. A family of four other Temple members committed murder/suicide by knife in Georgetown. Five others were shot and killed while trying to escape from Jonestown, including U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan.
1945	Military strike – submarine	879		USS Indianapolis	Philippine Sea	Largest loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy at sea
1915	Accident – shipwreck	844		SS Eastland	Chicago, Illinois	Passenger ship capsized in Chicago harbor while loading charter for company picnic, causing great loss of life despite shallow water and proximity to land. Deadliest disaster in the history of Great Lakes shipping, and deadliest disaster in Chicago history.
1944	Military strike – submarine	819		SS Leopoldville	English Channel	Approximately 763 United States Army soldiers drowned.
1944	Military strike – E-boats	749		Exercise Tiger	English Channel	USS LST-289, LST-507 and LST-531 sunk during a training exercise.
1919	Tropical cyclone	745		1919 Florida Keys hurricane	Florida, Texas
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
1942	Military strike – submarine	683		USS Juneau	Guadalcanal	Sunk by submarine while retreating with damage from naval battle of Guadalcanal.
1938	Tropical cyclone	682–800		1938 New England hurricane
1943	Military strike – submarine	675		SS Dorchester	Greenland	United States troopship.
1943	Military strike – submarine	644		USS Liscombe Bay	Gilbert Islands	Submarine torpedo detonated the aircraft carrier's bomb magazine during Operation Galvanic.
1903	Fire (building)	602		Iroquois Theatre fire	Chicago, Illinois	Worst theater fire in American history; worst single-building fire.
1928	Accident – dam failure	600		St. Francis Dam	Santa Clarita, California
1947	Accident – explosion	581		Texas City disaster	Texas City, Texas	Ammonium nitrate on board ship
1871	Wildfire (rural)	500 (estimated)		Great Michigan Fire	Michigan
1942	Fire (building)	492		Cocoanut Grove fire	Boston, Massachusetts	Deadliest nightclub fire ever, and second-deadliest structure fire in U.S. history; loss of life due to blocked exits; burn victims were among the first treated with penicillin
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.
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
1894	Wildfire (rural)	418+		Great Hinckley Fire	Hinckley, Minnesota and vicinity
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	Northeastern United States	Fatalities estimated
1937	Flood	385	$5,000,000,000	Ohio River flood of 1937	Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois
1944	Accident – explosion	372		USS Mount Hood	New Guinea	Ammunition ship explosion.
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 United States
2011	Tornado outbreak	348	~$11,000,000,000 (2011)	2011 Super Outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States	360 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	World War II 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	Eastern United States
1865	Accident – explosion	300		Mobile magazine explosion	Mobile, Alabama	Civil War ammunition
1921	Race massacre	300		Tulsa race massacre	Tulsa, Oklahoma	White mob attacks affluent black neighborhood
1890	Mass murder, Mass shooting	150-300		Wounded Knee Massacre	Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota	White U.S. Cavalry troops went to a Native American reserve and shot and killed between 150 and 300 Native Americans.
1937	Accident – explosion	296–319	$13,000,000 (2003)	New London School explosion	New London, Texas	Gas leak
1960	Blizzard	286		December 1960 nor'easter	Northeastern United States
1881	Wildfire (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
1943	Military strike – submarine	272		Henry R. Mallory	North Atlantic	United States troopship.
1965	Tornado outbreak	271		Palm Sunday tornado outbreak	Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana	78 tornadoes
1999	Heat wave	271		1999 heat wave	Midwest and Northeast
1988	Terrorism	270		Pan Am Flight 103	Lockerbie, Scotland	Inflight bombing of a flight from London to New York killed all aboard, including 179 U.S. citizens, and 16 on the ground.
2001	Accident – aircraft	265		American Airlines Flight 587	Queens, New York	Second-deadliest U.S. aviation accident, and deadliest in New York City.
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
1985	Accident – aircraft	256		Arrow Air Flight 1285	Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada	Most of the passengers were members of the 101st Airborne Division.
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 Black Hills 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
1896	Hurricane	202	$9,600,000 in 1896 ($289,000,000 in 2018)	1896 Cedar Keys hurricane	Landfall at Cedar Key, Florida;	Heavy damage along much of Eastern Seaboard of U.S.
1966	Blizzard	201		North American blizzard of 1966	Eastern United States

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
1908	Fire (building)	174		Collinwood school fire	Cleveland, Ohio	Deadliest school fire in U.S. history; led to many changes in how schools were built.
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
1966	Smog incident	168		1966 New York City smog	New York City and New York metropolitan area, including parts of New Jersey and Connecticut	Fatalities estimated
1995	Terrorism	168		Oklahoma City bombing	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Deadliest act of domestic terrorism, and deadliest domestic bombing, in U.S. history
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.
1956	Blizzard	162		March 18–20, 1956 nor'easter	Northeastern United States
2011	Tornado	158	$2,800,000,000 (2011)	2011 Joplin tornado	Joplin, Missouri	Part of the tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011. Three additional fatalities resulted indirectly from this tornado.
2012	Tropical cyclone	158	$71,400,000,000	Hurricane Sandy	Most of the United States East Coast	86 indirect fatalities occurred in the United States. 76 additional fatalities occurred in the Caribbean and the Bahamas; 21 people are still missing in Haiti.
1960	Tropical cyclone	157	$491,100,000	Hurricane Donna	The Caribbean, United States East Coast	Includes 107 deaths in Puerto Rico.
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	Led to improved occupational safety standards as well as mandatory comprehensive fire safety standards
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 (ship)	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. Deadliest air disaster in U.S. at that time; led to creation of Federal Aviation Administration two years later.
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	$18,500,000,000 (2005)	Hurricane Rita	Louisiana
1946	Fire (building)	119		Winecoff Hotel	Atlanta, Georgia
1972	Tropical cyclone	119	$2,100,000,000	Hurricane Agnes	Eastern United States
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	$78 million (1938)	Los Angeles flood of 1938	Los Angeles, California	Deadliest disaster in Los Angeles history
1964	Tsunami and Earthquake	115	$1,800,000,000 (2006)	Good Friday earthquake	Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, California
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
1863	Riot	112	$1–5 million (1863)	New York City draft riots	New York City, New York	Worst civil unrest in U.S. history required diverting Union Army troops from the front to put down
2008	Tropical cyclone	112	$30,000,000,000 (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
2017	Tropical cyclone	106	$125,000,000,000 (2017)	Hurricane Harvey	Texas, Louisiana	Tied with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest natural disaster in United States history. One additional death occurred in Guyana.
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
1892	Accident-Coal mine	100			Krebs, Oklahoma (then Choctaw nation, Indian Territory)	Natural gas explosion
1978	Blizzard	100	$1,075,000,000 (2010)	Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978	Northeastern United States	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.
2017	Tropical cyclone	99	$53,400,000,000 (2017)	Hurricane Irma	Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, Eastern United States (particularly Florida)	Includes three deaths and $1 billion (2017 USD) in damage in Puerto Rico, and four deaths and $2.4 billion in damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Storm caused an additional 35 deaths and approximately US$11.4 billion in damage across the rest of the Caribbean.
1968	Accident – shipwreck	99		USS Scorpion (SSN-589)	North Atlantic Ocean off New London, Connecticut	U.S. Navy investigation of cause was inconclusive, although suggested an internal hydrogen explosion may have been followed by collapse of hull, followed by immediately sinking to ocean floor, killing all hands.
1890	Accident – shipwreck	98		Sea Wing disaster	Lake Pepin near Lake City, Minnesota	Strong winds toppled the excursion vessel.
1922	Roof collapse	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	Some accounts give death toll as 101. Deadliest accident on New York City subway, deadliest rail disaster in city's history and deadliest mass-transit accident in U.S. history.
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
2018	Forest fire	85		Camp Fire	Paradise, California	Deadliest fire in California history.
1990	Fire (building)	87		Happy Land fire	New York City, New York	Arson by disgruntled patron. Deadliest mass murder by a single person in U.S. history.
1910	Wildfire	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. Weeks later during final FBI assault, 76 Davidians died in a fire of disputed origin.
1951	Accident – railroad	85		Woodbridge train wreck	Woodbridge, New Jersey
1968	Accident – aircraft	85		Braniff Flight 352	Dawson, Texas
1980	Fire (building)	85		MGM Grand fire	Las Vegas, Nevada
1965	Accident – aircraft	84		Eastern Air Lines Flight 663	New York City, New York
1977	Flash Flood	84	$300,000,000	Johnstown flood of 1977	Johnstown, Pennsylvania	The flood occurred when an extraordinary amount of rain came down in the Conemaugh Valley in a short period of time. Nearly 12 inches were measured in 10 hours. The National Weather Service later estimated that this amount of rain in that location should happen less than once every 1,000 years.
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

41 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
1875	Fire (building)	78		Precious Blood Church fire	Holyoke, Massachusetts
1950	Accident – railroad	78		Kew Gardens train crash	Kew Gardens, New York	Deadliest surface rail accident in New York City
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
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 school, 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
1992	Tropical cyclone	61	$27,250,000,000 (1992)	Hurricane Andrew	Florida, Louisiana
1886	Earthquake	60	$5,000,000–6,000,000	1886 Charleston earthquake	South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, East coast of the United States	Massive earthquake starting in South Carolina, spreading across the East Coast of the USA.
1864	Accident – railroad	60–72		Shohola train wreck	Shohola, Pennsylvania	Train collision along upper Delaware River. Official death toll is 65.
1856	Accident – railroad	59–67		Great Train Wreck of 1856	Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
2017	Mass shooting	59		2017 Las Vegas shooting	Paradise, Nevada	58 victims and 1 perpetrator, with the perpetrator committing suicide. The deadliest mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history.
2018	Tropical cyclone	59	$25,000,000,000	Hurricane Michael	Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia	Category 5 hurricane that caused 16 direct and 43 indirect deaths in the US, as well as 15 in Central America
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	~$1,000,000,000	1992 Los Angeles riots	Los Angeles County, California
2021	Blizzard	58	$19,000,000,000	February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm	United States	Additional 12 deaths in Mexico
1980	Volcano	57	$1,100,000,000	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 ~US$7 billion in damage across the Caribbean.
2018	Tropical cyclone	54	$24,230,000,000	Hurricane Florence	Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina	Category 4 hurricane that caused major damage and 54 recorded fatalities in the US; 24 direct and 30 indirect.
1906	Accident – railroad	53		1906 Atlantic City train wreck	Atlantic City, New Jersey
1942	Military strike – bombing	53		Battle of Dutch Harbor	Unalaska, Alaska	43 American and 10 Japanese fatalities. Deadliest attack on continental U.S. by a foreign power since the Mexican–American War.
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
2003	Tropical Cyclone, Flooding	51	5,500,000,000 (2003)	Hurricane Isabel	Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Ontario	Worst hurricane to hit Virginia
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
1960	Accident – aircraft	50		Capital Airlines Flight 20	Holdcroft, Virginia
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		Orlando nightclub shooting	Orlando, Florida	49 victims and 1 perpetrator. The second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
1867	Accident – railroad	49		Angola Horror	Angola, New York
1892	Accident – explosions	49		Giant Powder Company	Albany, California	Explosion in explosives manufacturing plant destroyed facility, caused extensive damage in nearby Berkeley. Official death toll was 49, though estimates of unrecovered bodies ran higher.
1917	Accident – railroad	49		Shepherdsville train wreck	Shepherdsville, Kentucky
1989	Tropical cyclone	49	$7,000,000,000 (1989)	Hurricane Hugo	East Coast of the United States.	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
2011	Tropical cyclone	49	$15,800,000,000 (2011)	Hurricane Irene	Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States	49 fatalities in U.S., including 1 in Puerto Rico, with 10 additional fatalities elsewhere.
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
1989	Accident – explosion	47		USS Iowa turret explosion	Caribbean Sea, off Puerto Rico
1993	Accident – railroad	47		Big Bayou Canot train disaster	Mobile, Alabama	Deadliest train crash in Amtrak history.
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 US$5.08 billion in damage across the Caribbean.
1967	Accident – Bridge collapse	46		Silver Bridge – over the Ohio River	Point Pleasant, West Virginia Gallipolis, Ohio
1961	Tropical cyclone	46	$325.74 million (U.S. only)	Texas, Louisiana	Hurricane Carla	Landed Port O'Connor, Texas on September 11 as Category 4, continued northeast across U.S., dissipated in eastern Canada on September 14.
1927	Mass murder	45		Bath School disaster	Bath Township, Michigan	Deadliest act of school violence in U.S. history
1962	Terrorism	45		Continental Airlines Flight 11	Unionville, Missouri
1972	Accident – railroad	45		1972 Chicago commuter rail crash	Chicago, Illinois
1972	Accident – aircraft	45		United Airlines Flight 553	Chicago, Illinois
1915	Accident – railroad	43	$1,250,00	1915 Ardmore Gas Explosion	Ardmore, Oklahoma	Overpressured tank car filled with casing head gas exploded, causing major damage and death in the town.
1955	Accident – aircraft	44		United Airlines Flight 629	Longmont, Colorado
1940	Accident – railroad	43		Doodlebug disaster	Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
1948	Accident – aircraft	43		United Airlines Flight 624	Near Aristes, Pennsylvania
1963	Accident – aircraft	43		Northwest Airlines Flight 705	Everglades, Florida
1971	Prison riot	43		Attica Prison riot	Attica, New York	State troopers opened non-stop fire on prisoners and hostages after a four-day prison uprising, killing 29 of the former and 10 of the latter; one prison guard had also died at the beginning of the riot. 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		Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011	Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania	162 tornadoes
2012	Tornado outbreak	43	$3,500,000,000 (2019)	Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012	Southern United States, Ohio Valley	70 tornadoes, with one of the deadliest in Henryville, Indiana. 41 tornadic deaths, with another 2 from related weather.
2014	Mudflow	43		2014 Oso mudslide	Oso, Washington
2017	Wildfire	44	>$3,000,000,000	October 2017 Northern California wildfires	California	The fires killed 44, injured at least 185 people, and destroyed 5,700 homes
1929	Tornado outbreak	42	Unknown damage	1929 Rye Cove tornado outbreak	Virginia, Central and Eastern United States	13 deadliest to hit a school.
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	$8,500,000,000	Tropical Storm Allison	Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania

15 to 40 deaths

Year	Type	Fatalities	Damage (US$)	Article	Location	Comments
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.
2011	Blizzard	39		2011 Halloween nor'easter	Northeastern United States
1920	Terrorism	38		Wall Street bombing	Manhattan, New York
1969	Accident – aircraft	38		United Airlines Flight 266	Santa Monica Bay, California
2014	Tornado outbreak	38	≥$1,000,000,000 (2014)	Tornado outbreak of April 27–30, 2014	Southern United States, Central United States	84 tornadoes. 35 tornadic deaths, with another 3 from related weather.
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.
1924	Fire (building)	36	Financial damage not reported	Babbs Switch fire	Babbs Switch, Oklahoma	Christmas tree lighted with candles accidentally caught fire and destroyed school building. 37 additional people injured.
1937	Accident – airship	36		Hindenburg disaster	Manchester, New Jersey	Hydrogen-filled zeppelin exploded while trying to dock.
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	Attack - military ship	34		USS Liberty incident	Mediterranean Sea	34 deaths on military ship USS Liberty due to June 8, 1967 attack by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) aircraft and torpedo boats.
2015	Tropical cyclone, shipwreck	34	$200,000,000	Hurricane Joaquin	Southeastern United States, Bermuda, Cuba, The Caribbean	33 deaths from Cargo ship sunk by Joaquin. 1 other death on land.
1967	Accident – aircraft	34		Mohawk Airlines Flight 40	Blossburg, Pennsylvania
2019	Fire (dive boat)	34		Sinking of MV Conception	Santa Cruz Island, California
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, train	32		1963 Chualar bus crash	Chualar, California	Deadliest road accident in U.S. history, and deadliest U.S. rail accident involving a grade crossing
1973	Fire (building)	32		UpStairs Lounge arson attack	New Orleans, Louisiana	Deadliest attack on a gay bar in the U.S. until 2016; still unsolved.
1855	Bridge – accident	31		Gasconade Bridge train disaster	Gasconade, Missouri
1940	Accident – railroad	31		Little Falls Gulf Curve crash of 1940	Little Falls, New York	An additional 51 were injured
1981	Fire (building)	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
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	Deadliest disaster on the Great Lakes. Inspired hit song by Gordon Lightfoot
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
1943	Accident – railroad	29		Lackawanna Limited wreck	Wayland, New York	Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad passenger train sideswiped a freight train
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.
1958	Accident – school bus	27		Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster	Prestonsburg, Kentucky
1988	Accident – school bus	27		Carrollton bus collision	Carrollton, Kentucky
1997	Tornado	27		Jarrell tornado	Jarrell, Texas
2017	Mass shooting	27		Sutherland Springs church shooting	Sutherland Springs, Texas	26 murdered, gunman committed suicide after being mortally wounded by an armed civilian
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
1913	Accidental shipwreck – lake freighter – storm	25		SS Henry B. Smith	Lake Superior	The SS Henry B. Smith was taking iron ore from one side of Lake Superior to the other. The weather became below freezing with powerful storms which caused massive waves, which resulted in her sinking, killing all 25 crew members on the ship.
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	Wildfire (wildland-urban interface)	25	$1,500,000,000	1991 Oakland firestorm	Oakland, California, and vicinity	Burned 2,900 structures and 1,500 acres in Oakland Hills
2005	Tornado	25	$92,000,000	Evansville Tornado of November 2005	Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio	7 tornadoes
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
1976	Fire (building)	23		Pathfinder Hotel fire	Fremont, Nebraska	Explosion caused by natural gas leak in the hotel basement ignited the fire and shattered windows in neighboring buildings.
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
2016	Flood	23+		2016 West Virginia flood	West Virginia and Virginia
2019	Tornado outbreak	23		Tornado outbreak of March 3, 2019	Alabama and Georgia	3 of the deaths were children
2019	Mass shooting	23		2019 El Paso shooting	El Paso, Texas
2017	Wildfire	22		Tubbs Fire	Napa and Sonoma County, California	Wildfire burned 36,807 acres and 5,636 structures.
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 shooting, hostage taking	22		San Ysidro McDonald's massacre	San Ysidro, California	James Huberty entered a McDonald's armed with multiple Firearms, and shot dead 21 people before being killed by police.
1999	Accident – tour bus	22			New Orleans, Louisiana	Plunged over embankment, carrying senior citizens from casino
2018	Blizzard	22		January 2018 North American blizzard	Eastern United States
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
2018	Debris flow	21		2018 Southern California mudflows	Southern California	163 injured. 65 residences destroyed, 462 residences damaged, 8 commercial buildings destroyed, 20 commercial buildings damaged
1872	Fire (urban conflagration)	20	$73,500,000 (1872)	Great Boston fire of 1872	Boston, Massachusetts
1907	Accident - Explosion	20-24	$100,000 (1907)	Standard Steel Mill Explosion	Butler, Pennsylvania
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
2018	Motor vehicle accident	20		Schoharie limousine crash	Schoharie, New York	Stretch limo ran a stop sign on a three-way intersection, killing all 18 inside and two people in a parking lot
1897	Accident – railroad	19		Garrison train crash	Garrison, New York
1944	Accident – aircraft	19		Long Creek air disaster	South Portland, Maine
1974	Accident – bus	19		1974 Blythe, California bus crash	Ripley, California
2013	Wildfire	19		Yarnell Hill Fire	Yarnell, Arizona	19 firefighters were killed when they became trapped in the fast-spreading fire.
2013	Blizzard	18		Early February 2013 North American blizzard	Eastern United States
1887	Accident - mine explosion	18			Savanna, Oklahoma (then Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory)	Explosions in Savanna Coal Mining and Trading Company Mines #1 and #2 killed 6 miners and 12 rescuers.
1861	Accident – railroad	17 to 20		Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy	St. Joseph, Missouri
1903	Accident – railroad	17		Purdue Wreck	Indianapolis, Indiana
1965	Accidents – pipeline accidents	17		Pipeline explosion and fire	Natchitoches, Louisiana
1966	Mass murder – school shooting	17		University of Texas massacre	Austin, Texas
1991	Accident – automobile	17		Interstate 5 dust storm accident	Coalinga, California
2000	Terrorism	17		USS Cole bombing	Aden, Yemen
2002	Mass murder serial killings	17		Beltway sniper attacks	Washington metropolitan area	3 injured in the Beltway sniper attacks and 7 in preliminary shootings
2008	Accident – bus	17		Sherman, Texas bus accident	Sherman, Texas
2018	School shooting	17		Stoneman Douglas High School shooting	Parkland, Florida	Former student Nikolas Cruz, was dropped off by an Uber car to Stoneman Douglas High School, shot and killed 14 students and 3 staff members, left the scene and was later arrested in Coral Springs.
2018	Accident – shipwreck	17		Table Rock Lake duck boat accident	Branson, Missouri
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
2017	Blizzard	16–19		March 2017 North American blizzard	Northeastern United States, Upper Midwest, Great Plains
2003	Wildfire - Cedar Fire	15		San Diego County, California	Burned 273,246 acres and 2,820 structures
1950	Accident – aircraft	15		Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307	Minneapolis, Minnesota
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 – school shooting	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.
2005	Accident – explosion	15		Texas City Refinery explosion	Texas City, Texas
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. Several years later, investigators concluded that the fire that preceded the explosion had been deliberately set.

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