List of disasters in the United States by death toll
Over 400 deaths

List of disasters in the United States by death toll

Section Title: Over 400 deaths
Table Section Text: None

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 United States history.

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+	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, Washington, D.C., and Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania	2,977 victims and 19 hijackers. Costliest disaster in United States history.

2017	Tropical cyclone	2,982	$90,000,000,000 (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.

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, Hawaii	2,403 U.S. victims and 64 Japanese attackers. Deadliest attack on U.S. soil by a foreign power 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.

1915	shipwreck, Military strike - Submarine	1,198	Sinking of the RMS Lusitania	North Atlantic Sea near the Old head of Kinsale Ireland	The RMS Lusitania was a Cruise ship sunk by a German torpedo fired from a submarine during World War One

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 – suicide	909	Jonestown	Jonestown, 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 or to inject themselves and their children with cyanide.

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.

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 onboard 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

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