Hurricane Harvey continues to pound East Texas, and while the damage appears to be widespread, there have been surprisingly few deaths so far. The death toll stands at five now and is likely to climb as authorities are able to access all areas once the storm passes.
Harvey may turn out to be one of the most expensive hurricanes in U.S. history, after dropping more than one trillion gallons of water over Texas, but will it be among the deadliest?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1900 was the deadliest, with more than 8,000 deaths. Some put the figure at 12,000. Hurricanes were not named until the National Hurricane Center started it in 1950.
In 1928, another storm hit southeast Florida, killing around 2,500.
This combination of Aug. 30, 2005 and July 29, 2015 aerial photos shows downtown New Orleans and the Superdome flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the same area a decade later. Katrina’s powerful winds and driving rain bore down on Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005. The storm caused major damage to the Gulf Coast from Texas to central Florida while powering a storm surge that breached the system of levees that were built to protect New Orleans from flooding. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Gerald Herbert)
Katrina is the most recent of the deadliest storms, having caused around 1,200 deaths when it slammed into New Orleans in 2005 wiping out huge swaths of the city.
Two unnamed hurricanes in 1893 round out the deadliest five. One storm slammed Louisiana killing between 1,100 and 1,400. The other hit Georgia and South Carolina, killing 1,000 to 2,000, according to NOAA.
While most of the deadliest storms were some time ago, the cost of these storms has been increasing along with population density along the coasts.
FILE – This Aug. 25, 1992 file photo shows the water tower, a landmark in Florida City, Fla. still standing over the ruins of the Florida coastal community that was hit by the force of Hurricane Andrew. Several days after it almost dissipated, Andrew rapidly strengthened and was a Category 4 storm at landfall in Homestead, Fla. The Hurricane Center measured a peak wind gust of 164 mph. Andrew continued into the Gulf of Mexico before reaching the central Louisiana coast as a Category 3 hurricane. Andrew was blamed for 23 deaths in the U.S. and three deaths in the Bahamas and caused an estimated $26.5 billion in damage in the United States. (AP Photo, File)
Katrina is considered the costliest hurricane of all time, according to NOAA, which put the cost of damages at $108 billion.
Ike, which hit Texas and Louisiana in 2008, cost an estimated $29.5 billion.
Andrew, which hit both Florida and Louisiana in 1992 caused damages of about $26.5 billion.
Damage is seen to airplanes and to facilities at Boca Raton Airport Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005. Some commercial air travel in South Florida resumed Wednesday after being halted for much of the week because of Hurricane Wilma _ a delay that has stranded passengers and has cost the beleaguered airlines millions of dollars. Airports in Miami and Palm Beach were operating, but Fort Lauderdale International Airport was still closed. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
In 2005, Wilma battered south Florida causing around $21 billion in damage.
Rounding out the costliest five is Ivan, which hit northern Florida and Alabama in 2004 bringing with it damages costing around $18.8 billion.
Piles of debris from Hurricane Ivan remain scattered about Pensacola Beach, Fla., on Friday, June 10, 2005 as Tropical Storm Arlene headed for the northern Gulf Coast. In Pensacola Beach, many residents are still living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers because of damage caused by last year’s Hurricane Ivan. (AP Photo/Bill Kaczor)
NOAA says the United States averages 5.4 hurricanes per year, based on data from 1851 to 2010.
