List_of_disasters_in_the_United_States_by_death_toll

List of disasters in the United States by death toll

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This list of United States disasters by death toll includes disasters that occurred either in the United States, at diplomatic missions of the United States, or incidents outside of the United States in which a number of U.S. citizens were killed.

Domestic deaths due to war in America are included except the American Civil War. For stats on this and U.S. military deaths in foreign locations, see United States military casualties of war and list of battles with most United States military fatalities.
Due to inflation, the monetary damage estimates are not comparable. Unless otherwise noted, the year given is the year in which the currency's valuation was calculated.

Steamboat boiler explosions were a common cause of 19th-century mass-casualty events in the United States

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Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Comments
700,000^[2]	1981 – present	HIV/AIDS in the United States	Pandemic	Nationwide	Fatalities estimated. Second-deadliest disaster in United States history.
675,000^[3]	1918 – 1920	1918 influenza pandemic	Pandemic	Nationwide	Fatalities estimated. Third-deadliest disaster in United States history.
116,000^[4]	1957 – 1958	1957–1958 influenza pandemic	Pandemic	Nationwide	Fatalities estimated. Fourth-deadliest disaster in United States history.
100,000^[5]	1968	1968 influenza pandemic	Pandemic	Nationwide	Fatalities estimated. Fifth-deadliest disaster in United States history.

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Damage (US$)	Comments
6,000–12,000	1900	1900 Galveston hurricane	Hurricane	Texas	$34,000,000 (1900)	Fatalities estimated. The deadliest natural disaster in United States history.
5,000	1936	1936 North American heat wave	Heat wave	United States, Canada
4,000+	1862	Great Flood of 1862	Flood	Western United States	$100,000,000 (1862)
3,389	1899	1899 San Ciriaco hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States	$20,000,000 (1899)
3,000+	1906	1906 San Francisco earthquake	Earthquake and fire (urban conflagration)	San Francisco, California	$235,000,000 (1906)	Conflagration followed quake; fatalities estimated; also major casualties in Santa Rosa and San Jose. Deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.
2,996	2001	September 11 attacks	Terrorism	New York City, Arlington County, Virginia, and Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania	$10,000,000,000 (2001)	2,977 victims and 19 hijackers. Deadliest in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
2,982 (estimated)	2017	Hurricane Maria	Tropical cyclone	Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, East Coast of the United States	$94,500,000,000 (2017)^[6]	Total includes at least 2,975 deaths based on a study by GWU on the estimated excess mortality.^[7] The official death count was previously 64.^[8] The storm caused $90 billion (2017 USD) in damage in Puerto Rico, and three deaths in the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus 75 deaths and $1.6 billion in damage across the rest of the Caribbean.
2,823	1928	1928 Okeechobee hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida, Puerto Rico	$800,000,000 (2005)	4,000+ believed dead total. Includes 2,511+ in the contiguous United States, 312 in Puerto Rico.
2,467	1941	Attack on Pearl Harbor	Military strike – bombing	Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii and nearby military installations		2,403 U.S. victims and 64 Japanese attackers. Deadliest attack on U.S. soil by a foreign government.
2,209	1889	Johnstown Flood	Accident – dam failure	Pennsylvania		Much rain, deforestation; dam failed
2,000	1893	1893 Cheniere Caminada hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana		Fatalities estimated
1,836	2005	Hurricane Katrina	Tropical cyclone	Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio	$125,000,000,000 (2005)	Tied with Hurricane Harvey as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
1,700	1865	Sultana	Accident – shipwreck	Marion, Arkansas		Steamboat sank due to boiler explosion; fatalities estimated. Deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history
1,700	1980	1980 United States heat wave	Heat wave	Central and southern states	$20,000,000,000 (1980 USD)	Official death toll, may have been higher
1,500–2,500	1871	Peshtigo Fire	Wildfire	Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula of Michigan		Fatalities estimated; most deaths in one fire in U.S. history
1,500	1896	1896 Eastern North America heat wave	Heat wave	Northeastern United States, Midwestern United States		Fatalities estimated
1,173	1943	HMT Rohna^[9]	Military strike – bombing	Mediterranean Sea		Luftwaffe glide bomb hit troopship causing the largest loss of U.S. soldiers (1,050) at sea due to enemy action in a single incident.
1,021	1904	PS General Slocum	Accident – shipwreck	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.
1,000–2,000	1893	1893 Sea Islands hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Georgia, South Carolina		Fatalities estimated
1,000	1918	1918 Cloquet fire	Wildfire (rural)	Minnesota	$7,300,000
918	1978	Jonestown	Mass murder	Jonestown, Guyana		Jim Jones, cult leader of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, convinced most of the group to drink grape Flavor Aid poisoned with cyanide or to inject themselves and their children with cyanide, totaling 909 deaths of U.S. nationals. A family of four other Temple members committed murder/suicide by knife in Georgetown. Five others were shot and killed while trying to escape from Jonestown, including U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan.
879	1945	USS Indianapolis^[10]	Military strike – submarine	Philippine Sea		Largest loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy at sea
844	1915	SS Eastland	Accident – shipwreck	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.
819	1944	SS Léopoldville^[11]	Military strike – submarine	English Channel		Approximately 763 United States Army soldiers drowned.
800	1875	1875 Indianola hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana, Texas		Fatalities estimated
749	1944	Exercise Tiger	Military strike – E-boats	English Channel		USS LST-289, LST-507 and LST-531 sunk during a training exercise.^[12]
747	1925	Tornado outbreak of March 18, 1925	Tornado outbreak	Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee	$1,650,000,000 (2005)	At least 12 tornadoes, including the following: Tri-State Tornado: 695 deaths (deadliest tornado in U.S. history) Buck Lodge, Tennessee/Beaumont, Kentucky: 41 deaths
745	1919	1919 Florida Keys hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida, Texas		Including 488 deaths aboard SS Valbanera
739	1995	Chicago Heat Wave of 1995	Heat wave	Chicago, Illinois
683	1942	USS Juneau^[13]	Military strike – submarine	Guadalcanal		Sunk by submarine while retreating with damage from naval battle of Guadalcanal.
682–800	1938	1938 New England hurricane	Tropical cyclone
675	1943	SS Dorchester^[14]	Military strike – submarine	Greenland		United States troopship.
650	1913	Great Flood of 1913	Flood	Central United States, Eastern United States		Fatalities estimated
644	1943	USS Liscombe Bay^[15]	Military strike – submarine	Gilbert Islands		Submarine torpedo detonated the aircraft carrier's bomb magazine during Operation Galvanic.
602	1903	Iroquois Theatre fire	Fire (building)	Chicago, Illinois		Worst theater fire in American history; worst single-building fire.
600	1928	St. Francis Dam	Accident – dam failure	Santa Clarita, California
581	1947	Texas City disaster	Accident – explosion	Texas City, Texas		Ammonium nitrate on board ship
501+	1896	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896	Tornado outbreak sequence	Central United States, Southern United States	$2,900,000,000 (1997)	At least 38 tornadoes, including the following: 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: 255–400 deaths Sherman, Texas: 73+ deaths Ortonville–Thomas–Oakwood, Michigan: 47+ deaths Seneca–Oneida, Kansas/Falls City, Nebraska: 25+ deaths Imbs–Germantown, Illinois: 24 deaths
500+	1804	1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Southeastern United States
500	1865	American steamship General Lyon (1864)	Accident – fire, shipwreck	Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina		Fatalities estimated
500	1871	Great Michigan Fire	Wildfire (rural)	Michigan		Fatalities estimated
492	1942	Cocoanut Grove fire	Fire (building)	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
476–1,000+	1927	Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster	Industrial, silicosis	Gauley Bridge, West Virginia		178 admitted deaths, 476 with congressional inquiry, 1,000+ by epidemiologists.
454+	1936	1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee		At least 12 tornadoes, including the following: Tupelo, Mississippi: 216+ deaths Gainesville, Georgia: 203+ deaths
428	1913	1913 (Ohio) statewide flood	Flood	Ohio
418+	1894	Great Hinckley Fire	Wildfire (rural)	Hinckley, Minnesota and vicinity
416	1957	Hurricane Audrey	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama	$147,000,000 (1957)
408	1935	1935 Labor Day hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Damage (US$)	Comments
400	1857	SS Central America	Accident – shipwreck	Off the coast of Georgia		Fatalities estimated
400	1860	PS Lady Elgin	Accident – shipwreck	Chicago, Illinois
400	1888	Great Blizzard of 1888	Blizzard	Northeastern United States		Fatalities estimated
400+	1898	Portland Gale	Storm	New England
385	1937	Ohio River flood of 1937	Flood	Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois	$5,000,000,000
383+	1917	May–June 1917 tornado outbreak sequence	Tornado outbreak sequence	Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States	$6,880,000	At least 66 tornadoes, including the following: Mattoon–Charleston, Illinois: 101+ deaths Tiptonville, Tennessee/Dublin, Kentucky: 67 deaths Sumiton–Morris, Alabama: 27 deaths Cheney–Florence, Kansas: 23 deaths Blytheville, Arkansas/Como, Tennessee: 18 deaths Ellsinore–Drum, Missouri: 18 deaths
383	1950	Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950	Blizzard	Eastern United States	$66,700,000 (1950)
380+	1911	1911 Eastern North America heat wave	Heat wave	Northeastern United States
372^[16]	1926	1926 Miami hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida
372	1944	USS Mount Hood^[17]	Accident – explosion	New Guinea		Ammunition ship explosion.
371+	1909	1909 Grand Isle hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Gulf Coast of the United States
362	1907	Monongah mining disaster	Accident – coal mine	Monongah, West Virginia
361	1913	Great Dayton Flood	Flood	Dayton, Ohio		Flood was created by a series of three winter storms that hit the region in March, 1913
348	2011	2011 Super Outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States	~$11,000,000,000 (2011)	Including 24 non-tornadic deaths; 360 tornadoes, including the following: Hackleburg–Phil Campbell, Alabama: 72 deaths Tuscaloosa–Birmingham, Alabama: 64 deaths Fyffe–Rainsville–Sylvania–Ider, Alabama: 25 deaths Smithville, Mississippi: 23 deaths Shoal Creek Valley–Ohatchee–Piedmont, Alabama/Cave Spring, Georgia: 22 deaths Ringgold, Georgia/Southeast Tennessee: 20 deaths
330+	1932	1932 Deep South tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States	$4,340,000	At least 36 tornadoes, including 10 violent (F4 or F5) storms, resulting in 268 deaths in Alabama alone. Deadliest tornadoes include the following: Cox–Union Grove, Alabama: 49+ deaths Gantts Quarry–Chandler Springs, Alabama: 41 deaths Jackson County, Alabama/Jasper, Tennessee: 38+ deaths Ralph–Northport, Alabama: 37 deaths Plantersville–Sylacauga, Alabama: 31 deaths Cullman–Arab, Alabama: 18 deaths Dalton, Georgia/Conasauga, Tennessee: 15 deaths
326+	1900	1900 Hoboken Docks fire	Fire (industrial)	Hoboken, New Jersey		Including 99 deaths on SS Saale
324+	1908	1908 Dixie tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Great Plains, Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 29 tornadoes, including the following: Amite, Louisiana/Purvis, Mississippi: 143 deaths Concordia Parish, Louisiana/near Natchez, Mississippi: 91 deaths Bergens/Albertville, Alabama: 35 deaths
322	1930	Ohio Penitentiary	Fire (building)	Columbus, Ohio
320	1944	Port Chicago disaster	Accident – explosion	Port Chicago, California		World War II ammunition ignited
317+	1840	Great Natchez Tornado	Tornado	Natchez, Mississippi	$1,260,000
313^[18]	1837	Steamboat Monmouth disaster	Boat collision	Above Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River		Fatalities estimated
310	1974	1974 Super Outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and New York	$3,500,000,000 (2005)	Additional 9 deaths in Ontario; 148 tornadoes, including the following: Xenia, Ohio: 32 deaths Brandenburg, Kentucky: 31 deaths Tanner, Alabama (1st): 28 deaths Guin, Alabama: 28 deaths Otterbein–Monticello–Wolcottville, Indiana: 18 deaths Tanner, Alabama (2nd): 16 deaths
300	1865	Mobile magazine explosion	Accident – explosion	Mobile, Alabama		Civil War ammunition; fatalities estimated
300	1921	Tulsa race massacre	Race massacre	Tulsa, Oklahoma		White mob attacks affluent black neighborhood; fatalities estimated
300–400	1944	1944 Great Atlantic hurricane	Tropical cyclone	East Coast of the United States		Fatalities estimated
296–319	1937	New London School explosion	Accident – explosion	New London, Texas	$13,000,000 (2003)	Gas leak
286	1960	December 1960 nor'easter	Blizzard	Northeastern United States
283+	1859	Mendocino War	Massacre	Mendocino County, California
282	1881	Thumb Fire	Wildfire (rural)	Michigan	$2,347,000
278	1876	Brooklyn Theatre fire	Fire (building)	Brooklyn, New York
276–702^[19]	2021	February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm	Blizzard	United States	$20,400,000,000	Additional 14 deaths in Mexico
275^[16]	1915	1915 Galveston hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Texas
275	1915	1915 New Orleans hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana
274	1898	USS Maine	Explosion	Havana, Cuba		A major event that precipitated the Spanish–American War. Exact cause remains unknown.
273	1875	Pacific (1850)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Cape Flattery, Washington		Fatalities estimated
273	1979	American Airlines Flight 191	Accident – aircraft	Chicago, Illinois		Deadliest aircraft accident in U.S. history
272	1943	Henry R. Mallory^[20]	Military strike – submarine	North Atlantic		United States troopship.
271	1965	Palm Sunday tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana		78 tornadoes, including the following: Coldwater Lake–Southern Hillsdale–Manitou Beach–Devils Lake–Southern Tecumseh, Michigan: 44 deaths from two tornadoes Southern Elkhart–Dunlap, Indiana: 36 deaths Midway, Indiana: 31 deaths Crawfordsville–Southern Arcadia, Indiana: 28 deaths Toledo, Ohio/Lost Peninsula, Michigan: 18 deaths Pittsfield–Grafton–Strongsville, Ohio: 18 deaths Russiaville–Alto–Southern Kokomo–Greentown, Indiana: 17 deaths
270	1988	Pan Am Flight 103	Terrorism	Lockerbie, Scotland		Inflight bombing of a flight from London to New York killed all aboard, including 179 U.S. citizens, and 16 on the ground.
265	1913	Dawson, New Mexico	Accident – coal mine	Dawson, New Mexico		Including 263 miners and two rescuers
265	2001	American Airlines Flight 587	Accident – aircraft	Queens, New York		Second-deadliest U.S. aviation accident, and deadliest in New York City.
259	1909	Cherry Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Cherry, Illinois
257	1932	1932 San Ciprián hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Puerto Rico
256	1969	Hurricane Camille	Tropical cyclone	Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia
256	1985	Arrow Air Flight 1285	Accident – aircraft	Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada		Most of the passengers were members of the 101st Airborne Division.
250	1858	Pennsylvania (steamboat)	Accident – shipwreck	Mississippi River, near Memphis, Tennessee		Fatalities estimated
250	1913	Great Lakes Storm of 1913	Blizzard	Great Lakes region	$5,000,000 (1913)	Fatalities estimated
247	1903	Heppner flood of 1903	Flood	Heppner, Oregon
247	1953	Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence	Tornado outbreak sequence	Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska and Massachusetts		50 tornadoes, including the following: Northern Flint–Beecher, Michigan: 116 deaths Worcester, Massachusetts: 94 deaths Deshler–Fremont–Fairview Lanes–Northeastern Elyria–Western Cleveland, Ohio: 17 deaths
246	1927	Great Mississippi Flood of 1927	Flood	Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee	$400,000,000
243+	1920	April 1920 tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States		At least 17 tornadoes, including the following Aberdeen, Mississippi/Waco, Alabama: 88 deaths Bay Springs–Russell, Mississippi: 36 deaths Deemer, Mississippi: 27 deaths Lily Flagg–Brownsboro, Alabama: 27 deaths Ingomar–Glen, Mississippi: 24 deaths Carbon Hill–Lacey's Spring, Alabama: 21 deaths
241–289	1850	SS G. P. Griffith	Accident – shipwreck	Lake Erie
241+	1913	Tornado outbreak sequence of March 1913	Tornado outbreak sequence	Southern United States, Midwestern United States	$9,680,000	At least 19 tornadoes, including the following: Omaha, Nebraska: 103 deaths Fulton–Lower Peach Tree, Alabama: 27 deaths Bellevue, Nebraska/Harlan, Iowa: 25 deaths Mead, Nebraska/Logan, Iowa: 22 deaths Prairieton–Terre Haute, Indiana: 21 deaths Douglas, Nebraska/Macedonia, Iowa: 18 deaths
241	1983	1983 Beirut barracks bombings	Terrorism	Beirut, Lebanon		58 French peacekeepers, six civilians and two suicide bombers also died in the attack
239	1907	Darr Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania
238	1912	RMS Titanic^[21]	Accident – shipwreck	north Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland		Only includes U.S. victims
238	1972	1972 Black Hills flood	Flood	Rapid City, South Dakota	$160,000,000 (1972) $664,000,000 (2002)	Average rainfall over area of 60 mi² measured at 10-15 inches (380 mm), over 6 hours in middle of night June 9–10, 1972.
235	1888	Schoolhouse Blizzard	Winter storm	Midwestern United States
230	1996	TWA Flight 800	Accident – aircraft	Long Island, New York
229–600	2021	2021 Western North America heat wave	Heat wave	Pacific Northwest		At least 116 deaths in Oregon, at least 112 in Washington, and one in Idaho
228	1997	Korean Air Flight 801	Accident – aircraft	Asan-Maina, Guam
225	1865	Brother Jonathan (steamer)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Crescent City, California		Fatalities estimated
225–350^[22]	1890	Wounded Knee Massacre	Massacre	Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota		200–325 estimated Lakota fatalities,^[23] 25 U.S. Army
225	2006	2006 North American heat wave	Heat wave	Contiguous United States
223	1998	1998 United States embassy bombings	Terrorism	Tanzania, Kenya		4,000+ injured
217+	1927	Tornado outbreak of May 1927	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 34 tornadoes, including the following: Imboden, Arkansas/Poplar Bluff, Missouri: 98 deaths Strong, Arkansas: 24 deaths Nevada, Texas: 19 deaths Garland, Texas: 15 deaths
217	1999	EgyptAir Flight 990	Accident – aircraft	Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, Massachusetts
216	1902	Fraterville Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Fraterville, Tennessee
211	1906	1906 Florida Keys hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida
209	1940	Rhythm Club fire	Fire (building)	Natchez, Mississippi
209	1952	Tornado outbreak of March 21–22, 1952	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States	$285,300,000 (2019)	31 tornadoes, including the following: Kensett–Judsonia–Russell, Arkansas: 50 deaths Bolivar–Henderson–Chesterfield, Tennessee: 38 deaths Cotton Plant–Hunter, Arkansas: 29 deaths Cooter–Cottonwood Point, Missouri: 17 deaths Byhalia–Cayce, Mississippi/Williston, Tennessee: 16 deaths
208	1993	1993 Storm of the Century	Cyclonic blizzard	Eastern United States	$6,650,000,000 (2008)	Additional 110 deaths in other countries
202	1896	1896 Cedar Keys hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Landfall at Cedar Key, Florida;	$9,600,000 in 1896 ($289,000,000 in 2018)	Heavy damage along much of Eastern Seaboard of U.S.
201	1966	North American blizzard of 1966	Blizzard	Eastern United States

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Damage (US$)	Comments
200–365	1854	Powhattan (1837)	Accident – shipwreck	Harvey Cedars, New Jersey
200+	1856	1856 Last Island hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana, Mississippi
200–300	1871	Great Chicago Fire	Fire (urban conflagration)	Chicago, Illinois		Fatalities estimated; 125 bodies recovered
200	1900	Scofield Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Scofield, Utah		Fatalities estimated
195	1928	Mather Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Mather, Pennsylvania
192	1898	The Portland	Accident – shipwreck	Gloucester, Massachusetts
190–250	1847	SS Phoenix (1845)	Accident – shipwreck	Lake Michigan
187	1996	North American blizzard of 1996	Winter storm, flood	Eastern United States		Including 33 deaths due to flooding
186	2011	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011	Tornado outbreak sequence	Midwestern United States, Southern United States	$7,000,000,000 (2011)	Including the Joplin, Missouri tornado, which caused 158 direct and 8 indirect deaths, the latter of which are included here.
185–200	1863	Lawrence Massacre	Mass murder, military operation	Lawrence, Kansas
184+	1955	Hurricane Diane	Tropical cyclone	East Coast of the United States
181	1785	Faithful Steward (ship)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Cape Henlopen, Delaware Bay
181	1904	Harwick Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Cheswick, Pennsylvania		Fatalities estimated
181	1947	1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes	Tornado outbreak	Oklahoma (especially Woodward), Texas (including Glazier and Higgins), Kansas
180+	1914	Eccles mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Eccles, West Virginia
180	1985	1985 Puerto Rico floods	Flood	Puerto Rico
179+	1898	1898 Georgia hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida, Georgia
178+	1884	Tornado outbreak of February 19–20, 1884	Tornado outbreak	Southeastern United States		At least 37 tornadoes, including the following: Jacksonville, Alabama/Cave Spring, Georgia: 30 deaths Pee Dee–Rockingham–Philadelphia–Manly, North Carolina: 23 deaths Cartersville–Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia: 22 deaths
175^[24]	1837	Ben Sherrod	Fire (ship)	Near Natchez, Mississippi
175^[25]	1864	Sand Creek Massacre	Mass racial violence	Colorado Territory		Cheyenne-Arapahoe fatalities estimated, U.S. Army/Colorado militia 25 killed
175	1908	Collinwood school fire	Fire (building)	Cleveland, Ohio		Deadliest school fire in U.S. history; led to many changes in how schools were built.
172	1924	Castle Gate Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Castle Gate, Utah		171 miners and one rescue worker
171	1908	Rhoads Opera House fire	Fire (building)	Boyertown, Pennsylvania		Sources conflict on number of fatalities: 170 or 171.
169	1903	Hanna Mine disasters	Accident – coal mine	Carbon County, Wyoming
168+	1880	Tornado outbreak of April 1880	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States		At least 20 tornadoes, including the following: Boaz–Evergreen, Missouri: 99 deaths Rocky Comfort–Grovespring: 31 deaths
168	1917	Speculator Mine disaster	Fire (mine)	Butte, Montana
168	1944	Hartford circus fire	Fire (building)	Hartford, Connecticut
168	1966	1966 New York City smog	Smog incident	New York City and New York metropolitan area, including parts of New Jersey and Connecticut		Fatalities estimated
168	1995	Oklahoma City bombing	Terrorism	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma		Deadliest act of domestic terrorism, and deadliest domestic bombing, in U.S. history
165–173	1946	1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake	Earthquake, tsunami	Alaska, Hawaii
165	1977	Beverly Hills Supper Club fire	Fire (building)	Southgate, Kentucky
164+	1909	Tornado outbreak of late-April 1909	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 35 tornadoes, including the following: Horn Lake, Mississippi/Parsons, Tennessee: 29 deaths Elkmont, Alabama/Fayetteville, Tennessee: 29 deaths
163	1944	West Loch disaster	Accident - explosion	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii		Classified as top secret until 1960.
162	1956	March 18–20, 1956 nor'easter	Blizzard	Northeastern United States		^{[citation needed]}
160	1838	Moselle (riverboat)	Accident – shipwreck	Ohio River, near Cincinnati
158	2012	Hurricane Sandy	Tropical cyclone	Most of the United States East Coast	$71,400,000,000	86 indirect fatalities occurred in the United States. 76 additional fatalities occurred in six other countries and offshore; 21 people are still missing in Haiti.
157	1960	Hurricane Donna	Tropical cyclone	The Caribbean, United States East Coast	$491,100,000	Includes 107 deaths in Puerto Rico.
156	1987	Northwest Airlines Flight 255	Accident – aircraft	Detroit, Michigan
156+	2022	Hurricane Ian	Tropical cyclone	Florida, the Carolinas, Virginia		Including at least seven deaths in a migrant vessel off the coast of Florida which are counted in Monroe County's death toll; eleven others remain missing from that incident as of April 3, 2023
154	1940	1940 Armistice Day Blizzard	Winter storm, shipwrecks	Midwestern United States		Including 66 deaths in a series of shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, including the SS Anna C. Minch, the SS Novadoc, the SS William B. Davock, and others
153+	1920	1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 37 tornadoes, including the following: LaGrange, Georgia: 27 deaths Red Hill–Susanna–Red Ridge–Agricola, Alabama/West Point, Georgia: 26 deaths Ossian–Townley, Indiana/Brunersburg–Raab Corners, Ohio: 23 deaths Channahon–Troy Township–Lockport–Bellwood–Maywood–Melrose Park–Dunning, Illinois: 20 deaths West Liberty–Geneva–Ceylon, Indiana/Van Wert, Ohio: 17 deaths
153	1982	Pan Am Flight 759	Accident – aircraft	New Orleans, Louisiana
150–200	1849	Louisiana (steamboat)	Boiler explosion	New Orleans, Louisiana		Fatalities estimated
150–200	1936	1936 Northeast Flood	Flood	Northeastern United States		Fatalities estimated
150	1854	New Era (1854 ship)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Asbury Park, New Jersey		Fatalities estimated
149	1942	Tornado outbreak of March 16–17, 1942	Tornado outbreak	Central United States, Southern United States	$5,250,000	At least 28 tornadoes, including the following: Berclair–New Harmony, Mississippi: 63 deaths Bethel Springs–Beacon, Tennessee: 15 deaths
146+	1890	March 1890 middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Middle Mississippi Valley		At least 24 tornadoes, including the following: Shively, Kentucky/Jeffersonville, Indiana: 76+ deaths Kevil–West Louisville, Kentucky: 21+ deaths
146	1911	Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire	Fire (building)	New York City, New York		Led to improved occupational safety standards as well as mandatory comprehensive fire safety standards
145	1976	Big Thompson River	Flood	Colorado
144	1953	1953 Waco tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Great Plains, Midwestern United States		Including 114 deaths from an F5 tornado in Waco, Texas
144	1978	PSA Flight 182	Accident – aircraft	San Diego, California
140	2000	2000 Southern United States heat wave	Heat wave	Southern United States
139	1840	Lexington	Accident – shipwreck	Long Island Sound		Steamship sank due to fire on board
139	1874	Mill River (Northampton, Massachusetts)	Accident – dam failure	Hampshire County, Massachusetts
139	1917	Eddystone explosion	Explosion	Eddystone, Pennsylvania
138	1944	USS Turner (DD-648)	Accident – shipwreck	Lower New York Bay
137	1934	SS Morro Castle (1930)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Long Beach Island, New Jersey
137	1985	Delta Air Lines Flight 191	Accident – aircraft	Dallas, Texas
134	1906	1906 Mississippi hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Southeastern United States
134–137	1944	1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic States		At least seven tornadoes, including the following: Wyatt–Shinston–Cheat Mountain, West Virginia: 100–103 deaths Wellsburg, West Virginia/Oakland, Maryland: 30 deaths Pittsburgh–Somerset, Pennsylvania: 17 deaths
134	1960	1960 New York mid-air collision	Accident – aircraft	New York City, New York
134	1967	1967 USS Forrestal fire	Fire (ship)	Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam	>$72,000,000
132	1994	USAir Flight 427	Accident – aircraft	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
130–300	1852	Atlantic (1848)	Accident – shipwreck	Lake Erie
130	1944	Cleveland East Ohio Gas explosion	Accident – explosion	Cleveland, Ohio	$7,000,000- $15,000,000
129	1963	USS Thresher (SSN-593)	Accident – submarine	Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts		Deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history.
128	1838	Steamship Pulaski disaster	Accident – shipwreck	Off North Carolina
128–135	1901	SS City of Rio de Janeiro	Accident – shipwreck	San Francisco Bay, California
128	1911	Banner Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Alabama
128	1915	Sinking of the RMS Lusitania	Military strike – submarine	Atlantic Ocean near Kinsale, Ireland		Ship torpedoed by a German U-boat. 1,198 fatalities resulted overall; 128 of them were Americans.
128	1933	Early-May 1933 tornado outbreak sequence	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States		At least 27 tornadoes, including the following: Tompkinsville–Russell Springs, Kentucky: 36 deaths Livingston–Byrdstown, Tennessee: 35 deaths Brent–Pelham, Alabama: 21 deaths Anderson–Fountain Inn, South Carolina: 19 deaths
128	1945	Tornado outbreak of April 12, 1945	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States		Including 69 deaths from a tornado in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
128	1956	1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision	Accident – aircraft	Grand Canyon, Arizona		Parts of wreckage still visible. Deadliest air disaster in U.S. at that time; led to creation of Federal Aviation Administration two years later.
125	1972	Buffalo Creek flood	Accident – dam failure	Logan County, West Virginia
123	1923	Dawson, New Mexico	Accident – coal mine	Dawson, New Mexico
123	1929	Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929	Fire (building)	Cleveland, Ohio		Nitrate film combustion triggered the fire
123	1971	February 1971 Mississippi Delta tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States, Ohio River Valley	$45,900,000 (1971)	19 tornadoes, including the following: Fitler–Cary–Swiftown–Morgan City–Quito–Oxberry–Oxford, Mississippi/Middleton, Tennessee: 58 deaths Waverly, Louisiana/Mayersville–Delta City–Inverness–Moorehead, Mississippi: 47 deaths
121	1917	Hastings mine explosion	Accident – coal mine	Las Animas County, Colorado
120	1857	Mountain Meadows Massacre	Mass murder	Utah Territory		Mormon settlers executed between 120 and 140 men, women, and children from the Baker-Fancher party wagon train after accepting their surrender from a five-day siege and offering them safe passage through Utah Territory.
120	1933	Long Beach earthquake	Earthquake	Long Beach, California	$50,000,000 (1933)
120	2005	Hurricane Rita	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana	$18,500,000,000 (2005)	Including 23 deaths from a bus fire during evacuations in Wilmer, Texas^[26]
119	1924	Benwood mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Benwood, West Virginia
119	1946	Winecoff Hotel fire	Fire (building)	Atlanta, Georgia
119	1951	West Frankfort, Illinois	Accident – coal mine	West Frankfort, Illinois
119	1972	Hurricane Agnes	Tropical cyclone	Eastern United States	$2,100,000,000
117	1899	New Richmond tornado	Tornado	New Richmond, Wisconsin	>$300,000 ($11 million in 2023 dollars).	Tornado hit the same time the circus was in town.
116	1918	1918 San Fermín earthquake	Earthquake	Puerto Rico
115^[27]^[28]	1837	Wreck of the Mexico	Accident – shipwreck	Long Beach, New York
115	1902	Shiloh Baptist Church stampede	Stampede	Birmingham, Alabama
115	1938	Los Angeles flood of 1938	Flood	Los Angeles, California	$78 million (1938)	Deadliest disaster in Los Angeles history
115	1944	USS St. Augustine (PG-54)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Cape May, New Jersey
115	1964	Good Friday earthquake	Earthquake, tsunami	Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, California	$1,800,000,000 (2006)
114	1902	1902 Goliad, Texas tornado	Tornado	Goliad, Texas
114	1924	April 1924 tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States		Including 53 deaths from a single tornado in South Carolina
114	1981	Hyatt Regency walkway collapse	Accident – collapse	Kansas City, Missouri
113	1975	Eastern Air Lines Flight 66	Accident – aircraft	New York City, New York
112	1863	New York City draft riots	Riot	New York City, New York	$1–5 million (1863)	Worst civil unrest in U.S. history required diverting Union Army troops from the front to put down
112	1902	Rolling Mill Mine	Accident – coal mine	Johnstown, Pennsylvania
112+	1905	1905 Snyder tornado	Tornado	Snyder, Oklahoma
112	1915	Layland, West Virginia § Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Layland, West Virginia
112+	1916	June 1916 tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States		Including 25 deaths from a single tornado family in Arkansas
112	1989	United Airlines Flight 232	Accident – aircraft	Sioux City, Iowa
112	2008	Hurricane Ike	Tropical cyclone	Texas; Louisiana	$30,000,000,000 (2008)	34 people still missing as of 2013^[update]
111	1928	SS Vestris	Accident – shipwreck	Off Hampton Roads, Virginia
111	1947	Centralia mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Centralia, Illinois
111	1971	Alaska Airlines Flight 1866	Accident – aircraft	Juneau, Alaska
110	1869	Avondale Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Plymouth, Pennsylvania
110	1996	ValuJet Flight 592	Accident – aircraft	Florida Everglades
109	1891	Mammoth Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
106	2017	Hurricane Harvey	Tropical cyclone	Texas, Louisiana	$125,000,000,000 (2017)	Tied with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest natural disaster in United States history. One additional death occurred in Guyana.
103	1837	Racer's hurricane	Tropical cyclone, shipwreck	Mexico, Texas, Gulf Coast		Fatalities estimated; including 90 deaths from the wreck of SS Home off Cape Hatteras; additional two deaths occurred in the Republic of Texas
103	1884	SS City of Columbus	Accident – shipwreck	Off Aquinnah, Massachusetts
102	1955	1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Central United States		46 tornadoes, including the following: Udall, Kansas: 80 deaths Blackwell, Oklahoma: 20 deaths
101	1918	Great Train Wreck of 1918	Accident – railroad	Nashville, Tennessee		Deadliest rail accident in U.S. history
101	1963	Northwest Airlines Flight 293	Accident – aircraft	Near Annette Island, Alaska
101	1972	Eastern Air Lines Flight 401	Accident – aircraft	Miami, Florida
101+^[29]	2023	2023 Hawaii wildfires	Wildfire	Hawaii
100	1812	1812 Louisiana hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana		Fatalities estimated
100+^[30]	1850	Anglo-Norman (steamboat)	Boiler explosion	New Orleans, Louisiana		Fatalities estimated
100+	1852	Saluda (steamship)	Accident – shipwreck	Lexington, Missouri
100–125	1865	SS Pewabic	Accident – shipwreck	Lake Huron
100	1892	Krebs, Oklahoma § 1892 mining explosion	Accident – Coal mine	Krebs, Oklahoma (then Choctaw nation, Indian Territory)		Natural gas explosion
100+	1899	Great Blizzard of 1899	Winter storm, cold wave	Contiguous United States
100	1900	1900 Guam typhoon	Tropical cyclone	Guam
100	1918	T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion	Accident – explosion	Sayreville, New Jersey		Fatalities estimated
100+	1937	Elixir sulfanilamide	Mass poisoning	United States
100	1978	Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978	Blizzard	Northeastern United States	$1,075,000,000 (2010)	Fatalities estimated
100	2003	The Station nightclub fire	Fire (building)	West Warwick, Rhode Island		4th-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring more than 200.
100	2022	December 2022 North American winter storm	Winter storm	Pacific Northwest, Central United States, Eastern United States		Six additional deaths were reported in Canada
99	1968	USS Scorpion (SSN-589)	Accident – submarine	North Atlantic Ocean off New London, Connecticut		U.S. Navy investigation of cause was inconclusive, although suggested an internal hydrogen explosion may have been followed by collapse of hull, followed by immediately sinking to ocean floor, killing all hands.
99	2017	Hurricane Irma	Tropical cyclone	Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, Eastern United States (particularly Florida)	$53,400,000,000 (2017)	Includes three deaths and $1 billion (2017 USD) in damage in Puerto Rico, and four deaths and $2.4 billion in damage in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Storm caused an additional 35 deaths and approximately US$11.4 billion in damage across the rest of the Caribbean.
98	1877	USS Huron (1875)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Nags Head, North Carolina
98	1890	Sea Wing disaster	Accident – shipwreck	Lake Pepin near Lake City, Minnesota		Strong winds toppled the excursion vessel.
98	1922	Knickerbocker Theatre	Roof collapse	Washington, District of Columbia		Roof collapsed due to the eponymous Knickerbocker storm
98	2021	Surfside condominium collapse	Structural collapse	Surfside, Florida
97	1904	Eden train wreck	Accident – railroad	Pueblo, Colorado
97	1974	Pan Am Flight 806	Accident – aircraft	Pago Pago, American Samoa
96+	1875	March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southeastern United States		Including at least 28 deaths from a single tornado between Georgia and South Carolina
96	1910	Wellington avalanche	Avalanche	Wellington, Washington		Avalanche hit 2 trains in Tye Canyon
96	1977	Southern Airways Flight 242; Tornado outbreak of April 1977	Accident – aircraft; tornado outbreak	New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia; tornadoes affected Southeastern United States		Storm system caused the crash of Flight 242, killing 72 people; and spawned an outbreak of 21 tornadoes, killing 24 people, including an F5 which killed 22 people near Birmingham, Alabama
96–98	1986	Dupont Plaza Hotel arson	Mass murder - arson	San Juan, Puerto Rico
95	1954	Hurricane Hazel	Tropical cyclone	North Carolina; South Carolina		U.S. victims only
95	1958	Our Lady of the Angels School fire	Fire (building)	Chicago, Illinois
95	1962	American Airlines Flight 1	Accident – aircraft	New York City, New York
95	2021	Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States, Midwestern United States		Including 6 non-tornadic and indirect deaths; 71 tornadoes, including the following: Western Kentucky: 58 deaths (including one indirect) Bowling Green, Kentucky: 17 deaths (including one indirect)
94	1969	February 1969 nor'easter	Winter storm	Northeastern United States
93	1918	Malbone Street wreck	Accident – railroad	Brooklyn, New York		Some accounts give death toll as 101. Deadliest accident on New York City subway, deadliest rail disaster in city's history and deadliest mass-transit accident in U.S. history.
93	1939	1939 California tropical storm	Tropical cyclone	Southern California		Including 48 offshore deaths
92	1876	Ashtabula River railroad disaster	Accident – railroad	Ashtabula, Ohio		Fatalities approximated
92	1919	Tornado outbreak of April 1919	Tornado outbreak	Great Plains		At least 12 tornadoes, including the following: Mineola–Mount Pleasant, Texas: 24 deaths Blue Ridge–Ravenna, Texas: 18 deaths Eustace–Grand Saline, Texas: 17 deaths
92	1919	Baltimore Mine Tunnel disaster	Accident – coal mine	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
92	1974	TWA Flight 514	Accident – aircraft	Berryville, Virginia
92^[31]	2024	Mid-January 2024 North American winter storm	Winter storm	Contiguous United States
91	1972	Sunshine Mine	Accident – silver mine	Big Creek, Idaho		Mass carbon monoxide poisoning
90	1899	Windsor Hotel fire	Fire (building)	Manhattan, New York		Fatalities estimated
89	1973	Delta Air Lines Flight 723	Accident – aircraft	Boston, Massachusetts
88–145	1860	Pemberton Mill	Structural collapse	Lawrence, Massachusetts
88	1907	SS Columbia (1880)	Accident – shipwreck	Off Shelter Cove, California
88	2000	Alaska Airlines Flight 261	Accident – aircraft	Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California
87	1918	Columbia (collapsed paddle steamer)	Accident – shipwreck	Creve Coeur, Illinois
87	1952	1952 Moses Lake C-124 crash	Accident – aircraft	Near Moses Lake, Washington
87	1990	Happy Land fire	Mass murder - arson	New York City, New York		Deadliest mass murder by a single person in U.S. history.^{[citation needed]}
87	2021	Hurricane Ida	Tropical cyclone	Gulf Coast of the United States, Eastern United States
86	1910	Great Fire of 1910	Wildfire	Washington, Idaho, Montana
86	1918	Hammond Circus Train Wreck	Accident – railroad	Hammond, Indiana
86	1993	Waco siege	Police raid – Fire	Branch Davidian Complex, Waco, Texas		6 Davidians and 4 police killed in initial raid. Weeks later during final FBI assault, 76 Davidians died in a fire of disputed origin.
85	1878	USS Stars and Stripes (1861)	Accident – shipwreck	Currituck, North Carolina
85–90	1924	1924 Lorain–Sandusky tornado	Tornado	Lorain and Sandusky, Ohio	$12,500,000
85	1951	Woodbridge train wreck	Accident – railroad	Woodbridge, New Jersey
85	1964	Paradise Airlines Flight 901A	Accident – aircraft	Near Lake Tahoe, Nevada
85	1968	Braniff Flight 352	Accident – aircraft	Dawson, Texas
85	1980	MGM Grand fire	Fire (building)	Las Vegas, Nevada
85	2018	Camp Fire	Wildfire	Paradise, California		Deadliest fire in California history.
84	1911	Cross Mountain Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Briceville, Tennessee
84+	1916	1916 Charleston hurricane	Tropical cyclone, flood	South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia		Most deaths were due to a flood event
84+	1927	Great Vermont Flood of 1927	Flood	Vermont
84	1965	Eastern Air Lines Flight 663	Accident – aircraft	New York City, New York
84	1977	Johnstown flood of 1977	Flash flood	Johnstown, Pennsylvania	$300,000,000	The flood occurred when an extraordinary amount of rain came down in the Conemaugh Valley in a short period of time. Nearly 12 inches were measured in 10 hours. The National Weather Service later estimated that this amount of rain in that location should happen less than once every 1,000 years.
84	1999	Hurricane Floyd	Tropical cyclone	East Coast of the United States
84	2007	January 2007 North American ice storm	Winter storm	Central United States, Eastern United States		Additional three deaths in Canada
83	1966	American Flyers Flight 280	Accident – aircraft	Near Ardmore, Oklahoma
83	1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 853	Accident – aircraft	Shelby County, Indiana		A Piper Cherokee 140, piloted by a student who was a week away from getting his private pilot's license, collided with an Allegheny Airlines DC-9. The flight originated in Boston and had stopped in Baltimore and Cincinnati.^[32]
82	1930	Millfield Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Dover Township, Athens County, Ohio
82	1967	Piedmont Airlines Flight 22	Accident – aircraft	Hendersonville, North Carolina
82	1986	1986 Cerritos mid-air collision	Accident – aircraft	Cerritos, California
81–85	1887	Great Chatsworth train wreck	Accident – railroad	Chatsworth, Illinois
81	1963	Pan Am Flight 214	Accident – aircraft	Elkton, Maryland		Lightning strike
81	1963	1963 Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum gas explosion	Accident – explosion	Indianapolis, Indiana

List_of_disasters_in_the_United_States_by_death_toll

List of disasters in the United States by death toll

Over 1,000,000 deaths

Over 100,000 deaths

Over 400 deaths

201 to 400 deaths

81 to 200 deaths

41 to 80 deaths

15 to 40 deaths

See also

By type

By location

References

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