Top 5 Most Destructive Hurricanes in History and Their Consequences

The United States stands still, bracing for the most massive hurricane, Milton, approaching the coast of Florida. According to meteorological experts, Milton has every chance of becoming the hurricane of the century. In just three days, it has intensified to a Category 5 storm, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale (Category 5 means wind speeds in the eye of the hurricane exceed 250 km/h), and, according to some reports, may even reach a Category 6, which has never existed before.

By definition, a hurricane is a tropical type of cyclone, characterised by relatively small size and immense destructive power. Hurricanes typically originate near North and South America. Their Asian and Far Eastern counterparts are called typhoons and are usually much weaker.

In light of the approaching disaster, which could become the most destructive in the history of observations, threatening floods and complete destruction of buildings and infrastructure, on 8 October, U.S. President Joe Biden postponed his visit to Germany, where a 'Ramstein' meeting of top leaders of the anti-Putin coalition countries was due to take place on 12 October.

It is important to emphasise that the White House's decision is not a signal of a weakening of military support for Ukraine and does not affect the level of relations between the countries. In addition to his participation in the 'Ramstein' meeting, Biden also cancelled his visit to Angola, which was no less important for U.S. global policy due to the strategic significance of this country in the region and its attempts to break away from China's sphere of influence with the help of Western partners. In both cases, it is not a matter of changing the political landscape—irresistible forces have intervened in international politics, so we must wish the American people a safe passage through the storm of the century, with no casualties or losses. Meanwhile, let's remember other, equally destructive hurricanes that humanity has faced.

San Calixto, 1780

Also known as the Great Hurricane of 1780, this is the deadliest and most destructive in the history of observations. San Calixto, which lasted for six days, claimed the lives of about 30,000 inhabitants of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Precise data on this hurricane has not survived, as comprehensive study and classification of such natural disasters only began a century later. However, judging by the extent of the destruction and eyewitness accounts, the wind speed that struck Barbados exceeded 320 km/h (survivors described how the wind stripped bark from trees before uprooting them). The hurricane swept through several other islands, completely destroying all structures and causing the deaths of thousands of locals, while the giant storm surge raised by San Calixto washed away entire coastal villages on the islands. The hurricane occurred during the American War of Independence and, to some extent, proved to be a 'black swan' similar to what Hurricane Milton might become—part of the French and British fleets, which were anchored, were driven aground, and some ships were completely lost, significantly affecting the course of the conflict.

Galveston Hurricane, 1900

On 8 September 1900, a Category 4 hurricane (with wind speeds up to 214 km/h) struck the Texas city of Galveston, becoming the deadliest hurricane in the United States of the 20th century. Back then, hurricanes and typhoons were not given female names, so it went down in history as the Great Storm of 1900. As a result of the natural disaster, the city was wiped off the map, with a death toll of 12,000 people (initially, the deceased were buried, but eventually, they had to be burned), and more than 30,000 were left homeless. At the time of the hurricane’s arrival, the highest point in Galveston was only 2.7 metres above sea level, which led to the entire island being flooded by storm surge (high and intense storm waves) driven by the winds, destroying more than 3,600 buildings. Only a few buildings in the Strand district were spared and remain a tourist attraction to this day. The storm, in its final breath on 12 September, reached New York, where it claimed its last victim—a young man killed when an informational road sign fell and crushed his head.

Source: Freepik

Camille, 1969

The most powerful tropical storm of 1969 in the Atlantic, Camille was the second of three Category 5 hurricanes that year. It began on 14 August, rapidly gaining the strength of a Category 3 hurricane, swept along the coast of Cuba, where it had already intensified to Category 5, and entered the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, causing massive landslides and destruction at the mouth of the Mississippi River. At its peak, Camille's wind speeds reached 310 km/h, and the waves raised by the hurricane reached heights of 7 metres. Several states—Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Virginia—were affected by the hurricane, with 259 people losing their lives and about 120 bridges and thousands of residential buildings destroyed. The reasons behind Camille's unusually rapid development into a Category 5 hurricane remain unclear, as data on the hurricane is incomplete—all meteorological instruments in Alabama and Mississippi were destroyed as the storm passed.

Bhola, 1970

The victims of the above hurricanes pale in comparison to the casualties caused by the Bhola cyclone of 1970, which struck East Pakistan and West Bengal on 12 November. Although Bhola reached only Category 3, the storm surge it triggered, flooding numerous islands in the Ganges Delta, claimed the lives of about half a million people, with another 4.7 million severely affected by the disaster. In Tazumuddin, the country's worst-hit district, 45% of the 167,000 inhabitants perished. Bhola, like San Calixto, not only devastated infrastructure and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives but also significantly altered the political landscape of the region. The Pakistani government's incompetence in preparing for and dealing with Bhola’s aftermath led to the opposition Awami League party’s victory in parliamentary elections, sparking a political conflict that escalated into the Bangladesh Liberation War, resulting in the separation of the Republic of Bangladesh in 1971.

Nina, 1975

Super Typhoon Nina in 1975, despite its short lifespan, caused catastrophic destruction and loss of life in China by breaching the Banqiao Dam and several others. A flood 10 km wide poured across the plains, travelling 50 km per hour, destroying another 60 dams and flooding seven provinces. Torrential rains inundated 1 million hectares of farmland in Henan and Hubei provinces (within six hours, Chinese meteorological stations recorded 83 mm of rainfall). The floods triggered by the rains and dam breaches claimed 26,000 lives (some villages, with populations of 10,000, were completely wiped off the map), and 10 million Chinese people were left homeless. In refugee camps, another 100,000 perished due to the rapid onset of famine and epidemics. The damage caused by the super typhoon was estimated at $6.7 billion.