Amongst the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States, the most devastating name appears to be that of Hurricane Katrina. It seems like only yesterday that his hurricane hit New Orleans, but it was originally on August 29, 2005, which is exactly 15 years ago. The chaos caused by Hurricane Katrina spread terror around the world, as people watched, read and heard about the destructive news.
What was even more shocking than the destruction itself was how the U.S. government had responded rather late to it. Hurricane Katrina caused 1800 deaths, which was a record according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, until 2017. In 2017, this sad record was broken in Puerto Rico, when it was hit by Hurricane Maria. The effects of Hurricane Maria were to such a large extent that to this day, the island is suffering. Around 2,900 people died due to it, and that is the least expected figure.
The damages that Puerto Rico still have to this date can be the consequence of the political status, as their territory is far away from getting help from the federal government. Although it has now been three years since this disaster, many roofs need to be built. Furthermore, the work has also been slowed down due to the global pandemic.
In both the above hurricane cases, the deaths have been caused rather by their effects, than directly by the storm. For instance, roofs falling off, walls crashing down, and so on. The economic damages caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria were 170 billion USD and 95 billion USD respectively. And that's not all. There are a few other hurricanes in the United States that have been the deadliest and costliest, the names and the consequences of which you can see in the infographic below.
Infographic by: Statista
