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A list of the most deadly hurricanes and cyclones in recorded history:
The Bhola cyclone struck East Pakistan in 1970, drowning half a million people in a single night. It was the deadliest cyclone in recorded history. It ignited outrage at the government's negligent response and led to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan.
The 1881 Haiphong Typhoon claimed 300,000 lives in Vietnam. Notorious for its 40-foot storm surge—powerful enough to hurl anchored ships three miles inland. It destroyed the port city and the surrounding Red River Delta.
In October 1780, some insane 200 mph winds hit the Caribbean and turned into a war zone as the Great Hurricane obliterated over 50 warships and 20 French supply vessels carrying precious flour. The storm killed more people in six days than any Atlantic hurricane in recorded history.
A devastating cyclone struck Calcutta in 1737, killing about 300,000 people. Ships were catapulted three miles inland—so powerful that it was like tossing 140-ton objects the length of 50 football fields.
Hurricane Mitch obliterated entire Honduran villages in 1998. It hovered over Central America for days, dumping so much rain that mudslides physically erased landmarks off the maps. Eyewitness accounts say the storm's ferocious winds stripped bark from trees, and the rainfall was so intense it altered the actual topography of Honduras—carving new valleys and triggering nearly 75,000 landslides.
The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history struck when category-4 Galveston Hurricane slammed into Galveston's barrier island with 145 mph winds. Sadly, the residents had ignored the Cuban Weather Service's storm warnings and paid with their lives as a 15-foot wall of seawater pulverized their homes into smithereens.
In 1991, Bangladesh's deadliest cyclone unleashed 155 mph winds and a 20-foot storm surge that killed approximately 138,000 people. Many of the victims were found clutching their children in bamboo shelters that had been advertised as "cyclone-proof" by local officials.
The 1974 Hurricane Fifi unleashed devastating mudslides across Honduras. The storm buried entire communities beneath 20 feet of mud. Up to 10,000 folks died—including the burial of a school where children were found still sitting at their desks.
A savage wall of ocean water swept 40 miles inland from the Bay of Bengal in 1839, swallowing up to 300,000 people in the Indian port of Coringa and erasing it so completely that its ruins have never been resettled.
The 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane destroyed a 6-foot earthen dike around Florida's largest lake, unleashing a 20-foot wall of water that drowned thousands of Black migrant farmworkers who were denied evacuation warnings. They were buried in unmarked mass graves.
In 1899, Puerto Rico was devastated when the San Ciriaco hurricane stalled over the island for nearly a month. It created massive floods that killed over 3,000 people and destroyed 250,000 homes—making it the longest-lasting Atlantic hurricane in recorded history. It's a weather event so extraordinary that modern meteorologists struggle to explain its 28-day duration.
The San Zenón Hurricane's catastrophic 1930 pressure drop shattered buildings across Santo Domingo like bursting balloons. The storm's unprecedented 936 millibar low literally exploded structures from within.
In October 1963, Hurricane Flora stalled for four devastating days over Cuba and Haiti, dumping 100 inches of rain. It was the equivalent of eight years of normal rainfall. The cyclone triggered massive flash floods that drowned over 7,000 people.
Hurricane Pauline pushed catastrophic flash floods on Acapulco in October 1997, sending entire neighborhoods careening into the Pacific Ocean while many residents slept. Two hundred thirty people were killed in a single night.
The Category 5 Hurricane Katrina breached New Orleans' century-old levee system in 53 places in 2005. It submerged entire neighborhoods beneath 20 feet of water.
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, unleashing catastrophic flooding and 155 mph winds that left the island in darkness for over 300 days. It was the longest blackout in U.S. history. Many elderly and disabled residents died after their medical equipment lost power.
The 1942 Bay of Bengal cyclone killed up to 60,000 people in British-controlled Bengal. Colonial officials actively suppressed news coverage to prevent Japanese forces from exploiting signs of infrastructure weakness.
On August 8, 1975, Typhoon Nina triggered China's deadliest dam disaster when the Banqiao Dam's collapse unleashed a 20-foot-high wall of water moving at 30 mph. It destroyed 62 other dams like dominoes and created a temporary lake spanning 4,500 square miles—nearly the size of Connecticut!
The catastrophic 1935 Labor Day Hurricane is the most intense Atlantic storm to strike U.S. soil. It battered Florida's Keys with 185+ mph winds and an 18-foot storm surge, where it derailed a rescue train trying to evacuate World War I veterans from New Deal work camps. About 400 people tragically passed away.
After Cyclone Nargis killed over 138,000 people in Myanmar, the military junta blocked international aid ships—including a fully loaded U.S. Navy vessel carrying critical medical supplies. It led to countless preventable deaths as survivors drank coconut juice to stay alive.
Hurricane Jeanne's devastating 2004 floods in Haiti's Gonaïves killed over 3,000 people when torrential waters breached local cemeteries. Jeanne buried corpses to the surface and floated alongside the newly deceased.
In 1979, Hurricane David's 175 mph winds acted like a giant belt sander across the Dominican Republic's forests. The storm stripped trees of their bark and led to over 2,000 deaths.
Hurricane Stan in 2005 triggered Guatemala's deadliest modern landslide when torrential rains destabilized volcanic slopes packed with ancient ash layers. It caused entire Mayan villages to vanish beneath 20-foot-deep mudflows that moved faster than a person could run.
In September 2008, Hurricane Ike demolished the Bolivar Peninsula with 110-mph winds and a 15-foot storm surge that carried houses off their foundations and scattered them across Texas bays. An intact vacation home was found floating 20 miles from its original location.
The catastrophic Great Hurricane of 1878 claimed up to 2,000 lives across the southeastern United States. The storm severed all telegraph communication with Florida, leaving the state completely isolated from the rest of the country for several weeks.
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