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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Major U.S. Coastal Storms Since 1900." National Research Council. 2014. Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18811.

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Appendix A

Major U.S. Coastal Storms Since 1900

Table A-1 provides information on major coastal storms that have impacted the United States since 1900. The committee primarily utilized information compiled by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service and included storms from those compilations that were reported to have caused over $200 million in damages (in 2013 dollars) or over 200 deaths, although the list is not exhaustive. Most of the storms included on this list are tropical cyclones, which may be due in part to the relatively localized geographic impacts of these storms and the focus of post-event analyses. Extratropical storms, exemplified by two notable storms in this list, tend to affect much larger areas of the coast and produce waves and surges that usually persist for much longer than tropical systems. For this reason, they produce much more destruction to natural coastal defenses (primarily the dune system and their fronting beaches). The lack of careful post-event analyses of these storms makes it very difficult to find accurate estimates of the total damages; however, it should be recognized that they occur much more frequently than tropical cyclones along most East Coast areas and play a large role in changing the vulnerability and resilience of coastal communities.

The Saffir-Simpson scale is included in Table A-1 only to provide a concept of storm intensity as the storms struck the U.S. coast. Many other factors influence storm surge and coastal damages. The Saffir-Simpson scale was abandoned by the National Hurricane Center as an indicator of storm surge/coastal inundation in 2010 (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/).

Page 176 Cite

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Major U.S. Coastal Storms Since 1900." National Research Council. 2014. Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18811.

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TABLE A-1 Major U.S. Coastal Storms since 1900


Name	Year	Location	Estimated U.S. Damages (in Billions of 2013 Dollars)	Fatalities	Saffir-Simpson Category^*

Hurricane Sandy^a	2012	Florida to Maine	66	159	2
Hurricane Irene^a	2011	Puerto Rico, NC, mid-Atlantic coast, New York City, NY	14	45	1
Hurricane Ike^a	2008	Galveston Island, Texas	32	112	2
Hurricane Wilma^a	2005	Naples, FL; Upper Keys, FL; Marathon, FL	23	35	3
Hurricane Rita^a	2005	Texas, Louisiana	22	119	3
Hurricane Katrina^a	2005	Buras, LA	149	1833	3
Hurricane Dennis^a	2005	Gulf coast, FL	3	15	3
Hurricane Jeanne^a	2004	Puerto Rico, Florida	9	28	3
Hurricane Ivan^a	2004	Southeastern U.S.	25	57	4
Hurricane Frances^a	2004	Florida	12	48	2
Hurricane Charley^a	2004	Florida, New Jersey	20	35	4
Hurricane Isabel^a	2003	Mid-Atlantic	7	55	2
Tropical Storm	2001	Texas, North	11	43	Tropical
Allison^a		Carolina			storm
Hurricane Floyd^a	1999	North Carolina	9	77	2
Hurricane Opal^a	1995	Florida	5	27	3
Hurricane Andrew^a	1992	Lower east FL coast; Gulf Coast	45	61	4
Hurricane Iniki ^a	1992	Hawaii	5	7	4
The “Perfect	1991	Florida through	<1	5	Extratropical
Storm”^b		Maine			storm
Hurricane Hugo^a	1989	Puerto Rico; Charleston, SC; Hatteras, NC	17	86	4
Hurricane Alicia^a	1983	Galveston, TX	7	21	3
Tropical Storm	1979	Texas, Louisiana,	1	2	Tropical
Claudette^c		Oklahoma			storm
Hurricane Agnes^c	1972	East coast of Florida, Pennsylvania, New York	12	122	1

Page 177 Cite

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Major U.S. Coastal Storms Since 1900." National Research Council. 2014. Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18811.

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Name	Year	Location	Estimated U.S. Damages (in Billions of 2013 Dollars)	Fatalities	Saffir-Simpson Category^*

Hurricane Camille^c	1969	Gulf Coast	9	256	5
Ash Wednesday Storm^d	1962	East coast from Cape Hatteras, NC to Rhode Island	1.5	40	Extratropical Storm
Hurricane Donna^c	1960	Puerto Rico, Florida, North Carolina, New England	3	50	4
Hurricane Audrey^c	1957	Texas, Louisiana	1	390	4
Hurricanes Connie and Diane^c	1955	North Carolina	7.6	184	3 (Connie), 1 (Diane)
Hurricane Hazel^c	1954	South Carolina, North Carolina	2	95	4
Hurricane Carol^c	1954	North Carolina, Virginia, New York	4	60	3
Great Atlantic Hurricane^c	1944	North Carolina to Maine	1.3	46	3
New England Hurricane^c	1938	North Carolina, New York, Connecticut	5	600	3
Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane^c	1935	South Florida	<1	408	2
San Felipe-Lake Okeechobee Hurricane^c	1928	Puerto Rico, Florida	<1	2148	4
Great Miami Hurricane^c	1926	Miami, FL	91	373	4
Atlantic Gulf Hurricane^c	1919	Florida, Texas	<1	600-900	4
Galveston Hurricane^c	1900	Galveston, TX	<1	6,000-8,000	4

NOTES: This list is not exhaustive. *Saffir-Simpson category provided at landfall on the U.S. coast.

SOURCES:

^ahttp://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events,

^bhttp://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/cyclones/pfctstorm91/pfctstdam.html,

^chttp://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/history/,

^dhttp://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/Historic_Events/StormsOfCentury.html.

Page 178 Cite

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Major U.S. Coastal Storms Since 1900." National Research Council. 2014. Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18811.

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Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts (2014)

Chapter: Appendix A: Major U.S. Coastal Storms Since 1900

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