Worst U.S. Disasters

Highest Death Tolls

1862, Sept. 17 - Battle of Antietam in the Civil War had the highest number of casualties in a single day, a total of 26,193 including 4710 dead and 3043 missing. Total Civil War casualties were 1,094,453 including 623,026 dead.
1918 - Spanish influenza killed 670,000 Americans during the year nation-wide. It killed 43,000 U.S. soldiers, one-third of the 116,516 U.S. military deaths in WWI. It was the world's most deadly pandemic, killing 20-40m worldwide, more than the Black Death of 1347-51.
1944, June 6, - D-Day invasion of France in World War II resulted in U.S. casualties in the first day of 6577, including 1465 dead and 1928 missing. Total World War II U. S. military casualties during its 1364 days of participation were 1,078,162. Total dead were 407,316, including 292,131 from battle and 115,185 from other causes. Death tolls in other countries were far higher: Russia lost 7m soldiers and 7m civilians (but may have been as high as 35m); Poland lost 6m or 20% of its population; Germany lost 5m; Japan lost 2m; France lost 600,000; Italy lost 330,000; Britain lost 300,000. Of the world total 50m dead, 17m were soldiers and 33m were civilians. Of the civilians, 12m died in concentrations camps (6m Jews and 6m non-Jews). The cost of the 2191 days of world war was $3 trillion.
1853 - Yellow fever killed 7,790 in New Orleans.
1916 - infantile paralysis caused over 7,000 deaths and 27,363 cases were reported nation-wide in America's worst polio epidemic.
1900, Sept. 8 - Galveston TX hurricane killed an estimated 6,000 to 8,000, from devastation due to both winds and tidal surge.
1889, May 31 - Johnstown PA flood from the collapse of South Fork Dam left more than 2,200 dead.
1865, April 27 - Memphis TN boiler explosion on Mississippi River steamboat Sultana, killed 1,547.
1871, Oct. 8- Peshtigo, Wis., forest fire killed over 1,500 people and burned 1.2 million acres.
1925, March 18 - Tri-State Tornado across Missouri and Illinois and Indiana left 689 dead and 2,000 injured.
1903, Dec. 30 - Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago killed 602.
1947, April 16-18 - Texas City TX fire destroyed most of the city and subsequent explosion on the French freighter Grandcamp, which was carrying a cargo of ammonium nitrate, killed at least 516 and injured over 3,000.
1906, April 18 - San Francisco earthquake and fire razed more than 4 sq miles, with more than 500 dead or missing.
1942, Nov. 28 - Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston MA killed 491.
1944, July 17 - Port Chicago, CA, killed 322 when ammunition ships exploded.
1907, Dec. 6 - Monongah, WV coal mine explosion killed 362 in the nation's worst mine disaster.
1979, May 25 - American Airlines DC-10 lost left engine upon take-off in Chicago and crashed seconds later, killing all 272 persons aboard and 3 on the ground in worst U.S. air disaster.
1953 - smog and air pollution kill 260 in New York, one year after the killer fog in London that killed 4000, and after the 1939 St. Louis and 1948 Denora disasters; became a new concern of the conservation movement.
1871, Oct. 8 - Great Chicago Fire burned 17,450 buildings and killed 250 people; $196 million in damage.
1981-2001 - The Centers for Disease Control reported 816,149 total AIDS cases and 467,910 total AIDS deaths in the U.S.; total world cases were 42 million; total world AIDS deaths were 27.9 million.

Power Blackouts by date

1965 - On Nov. 9, the failure of a power relay at the Sir Adam Beck Station No. 2 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, at 5:16 pm overloaded a power station in Massena, New York, which then cascaded through the rest of the northeast. The failure caused loss of power to 30 million people in Canada and the northeastern United States, covered 207,000 square kilometers and lasted more than 13 hours. This blackout inspired the 1968 hit film Where Were You When The Lights Went Out starring Doris Day and Robert Morse.
1977 - On July 13, lightning struck the Indian Point Power station at Westchester NY at 8:37 pm resulting in a cascading power failure throughout most of the state of New York for most of the night. A wave of rioting and looting caused 1,037 fires, 1,700 false alarms, 3,500 people arrested.
1996 - On Aug. 10, nine states in the western U.S. lost power to 9 million people due to heat, high demand for electricity, sagging power lines.
2003 - The largest blackout in North American history began at 4:09 pm on Thursday, August 14, cutting all power to 50 million people in 8 states and 2 Canadian provinces, causing $5 billion in direct and indirect costs, 3 deaths, 23 cases of looting in Ottawa, 700 flights cancelled, 10 major airports shut down. Satellite Photo Hoax

Storms by date

1888 Blizzard - The most severe winter storm to ever hit New England was the Blizzard of 1888, which occurred March 11-14. Snow depths measured from 30 to 50 inches where precipitation was entirely snow. Areas such as Boston received a mix of snow and rain creating up to nine inches of slush.
1900 Galveston Hurricane - On this small island off the coast of Texas, the coming storm was seen as a welcome break from the intense heat, and most residents ignored the warning to evacuate, and instead hurried down to the shore to see the waves. The first wave was the only one they saw, as the hurricane barreled ashore suddenly, triggering a huge surge of water that instantly swept the crowds away. The category 4 hurricane was fueled by 145 mph winds and killed over 8,000 people.
1912 Great Cold Wave - A record cold wave in the Mid-Atlantic region set records in Maryland that remain to the present day. It was close, but not quite cold enough to break the records in Virginia set during the February 1899 "Great Arctic Outbreak". The cold wave of 1912 hit on January 5 and continued until February 16. It was one of the most severe and longest in duration on record. Ice formed on the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. On January 13, Oakland in far western Maryland recorded the state's all time record low temperature of -40°F. On the 14th, College Park reported -26°F, Hagerstown -27°F, Frederick -21°F, Laurel -19°F, Baltimore -2°F and Washington, DC -13°F. The coldest temperatures in Virginia were -25° at Lincoln (Loudoun County) and Dale Enterprises near Harrisonburg.
1922 "Knickerbocker Storm" - Exactly 150 years after the "Washington and Jefferson Storm" in 1772 that dropped 3 feet of snow on the region, came the deepest snow of this century to the greater Washington and Baltimore region. The snow came on the heels of a cold spell. High temperatures did not climb above freezing from the 24 through the 28th and the low temperature dipped to 11°F on the 26th. Snow began at 4:30 p.m. on the Jan. 27 and continued until just past midnight on the morning of the 29th. A record 21 inches fell in a 24 hour period on the 28th. The heavy band of snow stretched across Richmond (19 inches), Washington, DC (28 inches), and Baltimore (25 inches) immobilizing the region. Strong north to northeast winds accompanied the storm drifting snow into deep banks. Roads were blocked. Main highways were the first toopen in 2 to 4 days. On the evening of the 28th, the weight of the snow became too much for the Knickerbocker Theater on 18th Street and Columbia in Northwest Washington, DC. The horrible scene was described in the Washington Post on January 29th and 30th and was reprinted in the Post on January 19, 1996 following another big snow. They described it as "the greatest disaster in Washington's History". The theater was cramped with an estimated 900 movie goers. The roof of the theater collapsed taking the balcony down with it and crushing 98 people below to death and injuring another 158. People were pulled from the rubble for hours and bodies were pulled out for days. A small boy squeezed into small holes and between crumbled cement slabs to give those injured and trapped pain pills.
1925 "Tri-State" Tornado - It started as a thunderstorm in Missouri that began developing behind a cold front that moved down from Canada. The storm moved faster than the cold air mass, and finally overtook it, creating a funnel effect of wind movement with which we are all fearfully aware. Part of the problem was that it came on so suddenly, so that people were still rushing to basements and shelters even as the broken glass was raining down on their heads from the first gusts. The tornado tore across southern Illinois and into Indiana before it finally dissipated . . . 3 and a half hours later. The F5 intensity storm was responsible for 695 deaths, 2027 injuries and a loss of property totaling $17 million dollars. That figure adjusted for inflation would total $159 million.
1935 Labor Day Hurricane - This storm has been called "the most powerful hurricane ever to strike the U.S. coastline." It was the first of three category 5 hurricanes to strike the U.S. in the 20th Century, followed by Camille in 1969 and Andrew in 1992. This hurricane had wind speeds over 200 mph and the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded. It developed in the Bahamas and didn't even look threatening until it burst onto the Florida coast. At the time of the storm, there were hundreds of unemployed veterans living in tents and shacks while they waited for work to begin on the highway. The high winds and sudden storm surge took them completely by surprise, washing away all the small shelters, their belongings, and many of the men. A train sent to rescue the workers was itself swept away by a 17-foot high surge of water, and almost all the men aboard were killed. There were 423 deaths, and $6 million in damages, which is over $71 million when adjusted for inflation.
1938 "Great New England" Hurricane - It was almost unthinkable that a hurricane could have a landfall in the New England area, and weather forecasters of the time had plenty of warning that this storm was coming. But the weathermen remained convinced that the storm would veer off into sea and could never hit, say, Long Island. But hit it did, with a vengeance. Late season beach goers were caught totally by surprise that a category 3 hurricane was bearing down on them. At the last minute, when 100 mph winds blew the water and sand right in their faces, they got the message. The human toll was 700 dead and another 700 injured. The economic toll was $306 million, which comes to $3.4 billion in today's dollars.
1950 "Appalachian Storm" - It started just before Thanksgiving 1950 as a seemingly "normal" winter storm. The snowfall began on November 25th and lasted until the 27th, dumping more snow in some areas than had ever been seen before. West Virginia and Cleveland both received over 2 feet of snow in three days. This unfortunate combination of record cold, record snowfall, and violent winds eventually claimed 160 lives.
1962 "Ash Wednesday" Storm - This "stalled" storm stayed put on the Eastern seaboard for three days in March instead of following its normal course out to sea. Those were three tough days of continuous rain and high wind. The water levels in some places rose two feet in a matter of minutes, and then still higher, eventually up to 5 feet high. The rising water and 76 mph winds eventually killed 30 people, injured over 1250, and caused $200 million in damages.
1969 Hurricane Camille - The second category 5 hurricane of the century took shape with lots of warning. The newscasters on every television and radio station were pleading with residents to flee the area, but many stayed. To some it was a game, having lived on the Gulf Coast for years and having seen countless hurricanes. But this storm was to be like no other seen before. On August 23, Camille gusted winds over 200 mph and provided surges of water which submerged two-story houses, eventually evacuating more than 150,000 residents. When it was all over, 256 people were dead and damages totaled $1.4 billion.
1972 Hurricane Agnes - It smacked the Florida panhandle on June 19, 1972, and eventually hit every state from Florida to New York. It was a minimal force hurricane, but it carried extremely high floodwaters, causing 210,000 people to leave their homes in fear for their lives. Receiving a particularly nasty blow was Pennsylvania, where Agnes' floodwaters drowned dozens and washed away thousands of homes. Hurricane Agnes eventually caused $3.1 billion in damages, and killed 120 people.
1974 Tornado Superoutbreak - Imagine, if you can, 148 tornadoes in a row powering through the Mississippi Valley along a 2500-mile stretch, one after the other. There are winds of over 260 mph at all times, tractor trailers are being flipped 150 feet in the air and landing upside down miles away, and as soon as one tornado has passed, another follows right behind it. This was the situation that followed the breakout of this storm system in Morris, Illinois. Add to that the fact that six of the 148 twisters were of F5 intensity and among the strongest ever recorded on the planet, and you can understand this powerful force of nature that killed 315 people and injured over 5000 others.
1978 Blizzard - This storm dumped 24-38 inches of snow in New England over a two-week period, closing interstate highways and causing thousands of motorists to abandon cars on roads.
1991 "Perfect Storm" - Meteorologists called the storm that hit North America's eastern seaboard in October 1991 a "perfect storm" because of the rare combination of factors that created it. For everyone else, it was perfect hell. Sebastian Junger's 1997 book became the popular Hollywood film of 2000 that told the story of the six crew members of the swordfish boat the Andrea Gail, all of whom were lost 500 miles from home beneath roiling seas and high waves. Perfect Storm web page from NWS
1992 - Hurricane Andrew - The third category 5 hurricane of the century was the most destructive on record. It blasted its way across south Florida on August 24 with a peak gust of 164 mph-measured 130 feet above the ground-while a 177 mph gust was measured at a private home. Andrew caused 23 deaths in the U.S. and 3 more in the Bahamas. It caused $26.5 billion in damage in the United States, of which $1 billion occurred in Louisiana and the rest in south Florida. The vast majority of the damage in Florida was due to the winds. 10th anniversary web page from NOAA.
1993 Superstorm - The so-called "superstorm" of March 1993 threw everything it had at the eastern third of the USA, from blizzards to tornadoes. From Alabama to New England, there were hurricane winds, record cold and over 40 inches of snow on each of seven states from a single weather system. All of the interstate highways and even secondary roads were shut down or inaccessible, and for the first time ever, every major airport on the east coast was forced to close. Millions of people were without power for over a week, and the storm ended up killing 270 people and causing damages totaling $3 billion.
2003 "Presidents Day" Snow Storm - The winter storm that moved from the Midwest to the East Coast Feb. 14-17 caused 20 deaths and dumped the most snow on the Mid-Atlantic since the record snowstorm in 1996. Snowfall ranged from 20-30 inches from Indiana to New York. In Baltimore MD the weather service recorded 26.6 inches of snow, surpassing the city's record snowfall of 26.5 inches in late January 1922. The total for the DC area was 16.2 inches, which was recorded at Washington Reagan National Airport. The storm went into Washington weather history books as the sixth largest snow total since records have been kept. Winds in Boston reached 60 mph, and hit 40 mph in nearby Providence RI. New York City endured blizzard conditions, with 35-mph winds and heavy, blowing snow that reduced visibility to near zero. Most of the major travel corridors along the East Coast, from Virginia to New York were virtually paralyzed. At least 2,000 flight cancellations were blamed on the weather. Thousands of airline passengers were stranded in Florida because their destination airports were shut down or backed up. Greyhound bus terminals affected by the storm were closed for days. Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia governments all declared states of emergency during the heaviest snowfall on Feb. 17.
2003 Hurricane Isabel - This Category 2 hurricane made landfall in eastern North Carolina in September, causing considerable storm surge damage along the coasts of NC, VA, and MD, with wind damage and some flooding due to 4-12 inch rains in NC, VA, MD, DE, WV, NJ, NY, and PA; preliminary estimate of over $4 billion in damages/costs; at least 40 deaths. NOAA damage photos
2005 Hurricane Katrina - This Category 3 hurricane had winds of 125 mph when it struck Louisiana Monday morning, August 29. Due to its very low central pressure of 27.02 in., it was the third most intense storm in American history, after the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and the 1969 hurricane Camille.

Terrorist attacks in U.S.

1920, Sept. 16 - TNT bomb planted in unattended horse-drawn wagon exploded on Wall Street opposite House of Morgan in New York City, killing 35 persons and injuring hundreds more. Bolshevist or anarchist terrorists believed responsible, but crime never solved.
1975, Jan. 24 - New York City bomb set off in historic Fraunces Tavern killed four and injured more than 50 persons. Puerto Rican nationalist group FALN claimed responsibility and police tied 13 other bombings to it.
1993, Feb. 26 - New York City bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center; killed six and injured at least 1,040 others. Six Middle Eastern men were later convicted in this act of vengeance for the Palestinian people. They claimed to be retaliating against U.S. support for the Israeli government.
1995, April 19 - Oklahoma City car bomb exploded outside federal office building, collapsing wall and floors. 168 persons were killed, including 19 children and one person who died in rescue effort. Over 220 buildings sustained damage. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols later convicted in the antigovernment plot to avenge the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Tex., exactly two years earlier.
2000, Oct. 12 - Five sailors dead, 35 injured and 12 missing following a terrorist attack Oct. 12 on the destroyer USS Cole in Aden, Yemen.
2001, Sept. 11 - Islamic al-Qaeda hijackers crashed two commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; two more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon and a field in rural PA. Total dead numbered 3,044, including the 19 hijackers.

In the past 20 years, both military installations and US embassies abroad have been targeted, frequently making civilians the victims of anti-American terrorism. In the early 1980s, embassy compounds in the Middle East were the subject of attacks. In 1983, a fundamentalist suicide bomber blew up the US embassy on the sea front in Beirut, killing 63 people, including 16 Americans. The following year, East Beirut was the target for another US embassy bombing. An explosive-packed station wagon detonated in front of the embassy, killing 11 people, including the driver.

Military personnel in civilian settings have also been the subjects of attack. Civilians at La Belle disco in West Berlin, a popular nightspot with off-duty US soldiers, were injured alongside military personnel in an explosion in 1986. The bomb, which killed two US servicemen, injured 200 other people. Washington blamed the incident on Libya.

In December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York blew up over Lockerbie in Scotland. All 259 passengers and crew were killed, as were 11 residents of Lockerbie. The US and UK later accused two Libyan agents of responsibility for the blast.

In February 1993, the first major terrorist attack on American soil took place at the World Trade Centre in New York. Six people were killed and more than 1,000 - mainly civilians - injured in the blast. The US implicated Egyptian terrorists in the plot to attack targets in the country. After the New York bomb, terrorist activity against the US returned to Middle East targets.

Seven people were injured - including five Americans - in an explosion in 1995 near a US-run military training centre in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. A year later, a huge explosion killed 19, and injured many others at a military complex housing US troops at Khobar in the east of the country. The US responded by moving their remaining troops in the region in fear of reprisals.

Undoubtedly, the incident which traumatised America was the bombing in April, 1995, of the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. A massive bomb inside a rental truck exploded, blowing half of the nine-story building into oblivion. It took nearly two weeks to recover bodies from the rubble. Eventually, the death toll stopped at 168. It was the worst terrorist attack on US soil. See History of Bombings in the United States

On Aug. 7, 2001, the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were bombed by terrorists, leaving 258 people dead (12 Americans) and more than 5,000 injured. No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's explosions in Tanzania and Kenya but it is thought that the bombs were aimed at the US embassies in each of the countries.

(compiled from AP and BBC)

Sources:

Barry, John. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1997. 524 p.
Davis, Mike. Late Victorian Holocausts: El Nino, Famines and the Making of the Third World. New York: Verso, 2001. 464 p.
Kolata, Gina. Flu: the Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. 330 p.
Penick, James L. The New Madrid Earthquakes. Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri Press, 1981. 176 p.
Scotti, R. A. Sudden Sea: the Great Hurricane of 1938. Boston : Little, Brown and Co., 2003. 279 p. This book was written by a novelist who grew up in Rhode Island hearing stories from survivors of the worst hurricane in New England history that killed 700 and destroyed entire communities in Rhode island and Long Island.