These are the deadliest hurricanes in recent history in the United States.

Milton is heading towards the west coast of Florida as a potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, just a week after the devastating passage of Helene through several southern states in the United States, where it left a toll of more than 200 deaths, making it one of the deadliest cyclones of the 21st century in that country.

The list of hurricanes that have caused the highest number of fatalities during their impact in the U.S. so far this century is led by Hurricane María in 2017; followed by Katrina in 2005, and just a few days ago, Helene entered this tragic ranking, taking the third place.

With at least 230 deaths, Helene became the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country since Hurricane Katrina.

These are the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes that have impacted the United States in this first quarter of the century:

María (2017)

In addition to leading the list of the deadliest in the last 24 years, Hurricane María is the third most costly in U.S. history and the most destructive in the recent history of the island of Puerto Rico, where it left 2,975 dead. There were also 3 fatalities recorded in the Virgin Islands and 4 on the continental territory of the U.S.

Maria struck Puerto Rico as a category 4 hurricane, according to records from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Its center crossed the island diagonally, from southeast to northwest, on September 20, 2017.

For several hours, the powerful cyclone destroyed buildings, left areas with major flooding, and knocked down 80% of the electricity poles and all transmission lines in Puerto Rico, leaving virtually all 3.4 million inhabitants of the island without electricity.

Katrina (2005)

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina fiercely struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. The powerful cyclone made landfall at Keating Beach in Florida as a category 1, and then reached Louisiana and Mississippi as a category 3, causing catastrophic flooding due to storm surges.

With 1,392 deaths - the highest number reported in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, more than 200 in Mississippi, and another 7 in Florida - Katrina is recorded as one of the five deadliest tropical cyclones in the history of the country, according to data from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

This cyclone caused catastrophic damage, estimated to be around 75 billion dollars in the New Orleans area and along the Mississippi coast.

Helene (2024)

On the night of Thursday, September 26, Helene made landfall in an area known as Big Bend, in the northwest of Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 225 km/h (140 mph). From that region, it left behind a trail of about 800 kilometers of catastrophe and death across six states in the southeastern U.S.

The number of fatalities has risen to over 200, nearly a hundred of them in North Carolina, primarily in the area south of the Appalachian Mountains. However, authorities do not rule out that the figure may increase in the coming days, according to media reports.

Ian (2022)

Like Helene, Hurricane Ian also made landfall in late September, on the west coast of Florida and as a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (with a maximum of 5).

In its progression through the U.S., it caused 156 deaths in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia, and destroyed more than 19,000 homes and buildings in Lee County, especially in Fort Myers. After its destructive escalation in the Sunshine State, the cyclone made landfall again in South Carolina.

Ian also devastated parts of the western region of Cuba, leaving thousands of collapsed houses, cities without electricity, and hundreds of thousands displaced. According to figures from the authorities, at least three people lost their lives.

Sandy (2012)

As it struck the northeastern U.S. at the end of October, the “superstorm” Sandy was responsible for the deaths of at least 147 people. Sandy made landfall along the shores of New York and New Jersey as an imposing post-tropical cyclone, triggering a catastrophic storm surge there.

Harvey (2017)

As a Category 4 hurricane, Harvey made landfall on August 25 along the central coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to record-setting rainfall in the city of Houston, the cyclone caused 103 deaths and inflicted destruction in both Texas and Louisiana.

According to a compilation published by Telemundo51 based on data from NOAA, the list of the 10 deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in the history of the U.S. includes, in addition to Maria and Katrina, several devastating cyclones that occurred in the 20th and 19th centuries.

One of them is the San Felipe-Okeechobee hurricane, which occurred in September 1928 and is considered by meteorologists to be the fourth strongest hurricane ever recorded in the U.S. due to having reached a minimum pressure of 27.43 inches in Palm Beach. According to the NHC website, the hurricane impacted Puerto Rico on September 13, at category 4, then moved west-northwest through the Bahamas and made landfall on the 16th near Palm Beach, Florida.

In its path from the Windward Islands to Florida, it caused great destruction, with property damage estimated at $50 million in Puerto Rico and $25 million in Florida. In this state, 1,836 people died, 312 on Puerto Rican soil and 18 in the Bahamas. In June 1957, the category 4 hurricane named Audrey made landfall on the coast near the Texas-Louisiana border, and was responsible for at least 400 deaths, largely due to the strong storm surges, which reached between 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.6 meters) and penetrated up to 25 miles (40 km) inland from the coast.

The Labor Day hurricane of 1935 claimed 408 lives in the Florida Keys, following a rapid strengthening that, in just 24 hours, took it from category 1 to category 5 hurricane. This tropical cyclone recorded a pressure of 26.35 inches in Long Key.

Another powerful hurricane that should be mentioned is Agnes, in 1972, which claimed the lives of 128 people, mainly in the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Maryland, where significant flooding was reported.

But the deadliest of all times in the United States occurred in 1900 and was the great hurricane of Galveston, also referred to as "The Great Storm of 1900." Considered the most devastating natural disaster in the United States, this enormous cyclone left an official toll of at least 8,000 dead.

This weather system was detected on August 27, 1900, arrived in Cuba as a tropical storm on September 3, and reached the coasts of Texas on the night of the 8th as a category 4 hurricane.

According to data from the Galveston and Texas Historic Center, more than 2,500 homes were destroyed on Galveston Island, which, along with other coastal areas of Texas, was flooded by storm surges of between 8 and 15 feet (2.5 to 4.5 meters) high. Property damage was estimated at $30 million.