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

$178,000,000,000
(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. Deadliest in New York City.

2017

Tropical cyclone

2,982

$90,000,000,000
(2017)[1]

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.[2] The official death count was previously 64.[3] 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, Hawaii

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

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

$160,000,000,000

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[4]

Mediterranean Sea

Luftwaffe glide bomb hit troopship causing the largest loss of US 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. Others were shot and killed while trying to escape.

1945

Military strike – submarine

879

USS Indianapolis[5]

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[6]

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.[7]

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[8]

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[9]

Greenland

United States troopship.

1943

Military strike – submarine

644

USS Liscombe Bay[10]

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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