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List of disasters in the United States by death toll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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.

Over 1,000,000 deaths

[edit]
Fatalities Year Article Type Location Damage (US$) Comments
1,131,819[1] 2020–2023 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States Pandemic Nationwide see Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States Fatalities estimated. Deadliest known disaster in United States history.

Over 100,000 deaths

[edit]
Fatalities Year Article Type Location Damage (US$) Comments
725,000+[2] 1999 – present Opioid epidemic in the United States Drug Epidemic Nationwide Second-deadliest disaster in United States history. Deadliest drug epidemic in United States history.
700,000[3] 1981 – present HIV/AIDS in the United States Pandemic Nationwide Fatalities estimated. Third-deadliest disaster in United States history.
675,000[4] 1918 – 1920 1918 influenza pandemic Pandemic Nationwide Fatalities estimated. Fourth-deadliest disaster in United States history.
116,000[5] 1957 – 1958 1957–1958 influenza pandemic Pandemic Nationwide Fatalities estimated. Fifth-deadliest disaster in United States history.
100,000[6] 1968 1968 influenza pandemic Pandemic Nationwide Fatalities estimated. Sixth-deadliest disaster in United States history.

Over 400 deaths

[edit]
Fatalities Year Article Type Location Damage (US$) Comments
6,000–12,000 1900 1900 Galveston hurricane Tropical cyclone Texas $34,000,000 (1900)
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)[7]
Total includes at least 2,975 deaths based on a study by GWU on the estimated excess mortality.[8] The official death count was previously 64.[9] 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
1,700 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
1,392 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.
1,173 1943 HMT Rohna[10] 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.
1,167 1865 Sultana Accident – shipwreck Marion, Arkansas Steamboat sank due to boiler explosion; fatalities estimated. Deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history
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[11] 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[12] 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.[13]
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[14] 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[15] 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[16] 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:
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:
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

201 to 400 deaths

[edit]
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[17] 1926 1926 Miami hurricane Tropical cyclone Florida
372 1944 USS Mount Hood[18] 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; 367 tornadoes, including the following:
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:
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[19] 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:
300+ 1856 1856 Last Island hurricane Tropical cyclone Louisiana, Mississippi
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
296–319 1937 New London School explosion Accident – explosion New London, Texas $13,000,000
(2003)
Gas leak
300–400 1944 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States Fatalities estimated
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[20] 2021 February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm Blizzard United States $20,400,000,000 Additional 14 deaths in Mexico
275[17] 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[21] 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:
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:
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[22] 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
234 2024 Hurricane Helene Tropical cyclone Southeastern 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[23] 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre Massacre Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota 200–325 estimated Lakota fatalities,[24] 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

81 to 200 deaths

[edit]
Fatalities Year Article Type Location Damage (US$) Comments
200–365 1854 Powhattan (1837) Accident – shipwreck Harvey Cedars, New Jersey
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+ 1890 March 1890 middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Middle Mississippi Valley At least 24 tornadoes, including the following:
  • Shively, Kentucky/Jeffersonville, Indiana: 115 deaths
  • Kevil–West Louisville, Kentucky: 21+ deaths
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:
175[25] 1837 Ben Sherrod Fire (ship) Near Natchez, Mississippi
175[26] 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
168-169 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:
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 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:
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[27]
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[28][29] 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
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:
102+[30] 2023 2023 Hawaii wildfires Wildfire Hawaii
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
100 1812 1812 Louisiana hurricane Tropical cyclone Louisiana Fatalities estimated
100+[31] 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:
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
93 2021 Hurricane Ida Tropical cyclone Gulf Coast of the United States, Eastern United States
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[32] 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]
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.[33]
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

41 to 80 deaths

[edit]
Fatalities Year Article Type Location Damage (US$) Comments
80+ 1813 USS Hamilton (1809) and USS Scourge (1812) Accident – shipwreck Lake Ontario Two ships sank during a squall
80+ 1880 PS Alpena Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
80+[34] 1864 Washoe Boiler explosion Steamboat Slough, California
80+[35] 1910 Palos No. 3 coal mine explosion Accident – coal mine Jefferson County, Alabama
80+ 1960 March 1960 nor'easter Winter storm Northeastern United States
80 1960 World Airways Flight 830 Accident – aircraft Barrigada, Guam
79 1943 Frankford Junction train wreck Accident – railroad Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
78 1862 Allegheny Arsenal Accident – explosion Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Largest civilian death toll during American Civil War
78 1875 Precious Blood Church fire Fire (building) Holyoke, Massachusetts
78 1911 Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania) Dam failure Keating Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania
78 1950 Kew Gardens train crash Accident – railroad Kew Gardens, New York Deadliest surface rail accident in New York City
78 1961 TWA Flight 529 Accident – aircraft Hinsdale, Illinois
78 1968 Farmington Mine disaster Accident – coal mine Farmington, West Virginia
78 1976 MV George Prince ferry disaster Accident – shipwreck Mississippi River, Louisiana Deadliest ferry disaster in U.S. history
78 1982 Air Florida Flight 90 Accident – aircraft District of Columbia
77 1923 Cleveland School fire Fire (building) Camden, South Carolina
77 1947 North American blizzard of 1947 Winter storm Mid-Atlantic
77 1929 SS San Juan Accident – shipwreck Off California Collided with S.C.T. Dodd
77 1961 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 Accident – aircraft Richmond, Virginia
76 1985 1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario $1,270,000,000 (2019) Including two tornadoes which crossed the Ohio–Pennsylvania border and killed 16 and 18 people respectively; additional 14 deaths in Ontario
75 1863 Chunky Creek train wreck Accident – railroad Newton County, Mississippi Fatalities estimated
75 1943 Smith Mine disaster Accident – coal mine Between Bearcreek and Washoe, Montana 74 miners and one rescue worker
75[17] 1965 Hurricane Betsy Tropical cyclone Florida, Louisiana
75 1970 Southern Airways Flight 932 Accident – aircraft Ceredo, West Virginia Deadliest sports tragedy in U.S. history; killed virtually all of the Marshall University Thundering Herd Football team, coaches and boosters when it crashed on approach for landing in a thunderstorm.
74 1949 St. Anthony's Hospital fire Fire (building) Effingham, Illinois
74[36] 1868 United States and America steamboat disaster Boat collision Near Warsaw, Kentucky Fatalities estimated
74 1955 Hurricane Connie Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico 27 deaths in North Carolina, 14 in the Chesapeake Bay, 14 in New York, six in Pennsylvania, six in New Jersey, four in Washington, D.C., and three in Puerto Rico
74 1956 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (June 1956) Accident – aircraft Atlantic Ocean, off New Jersey
74[37] 1969 Melbourne-Evans collison Accident – maritime South China Sea
73 1913 Italian Hall disaster Stampede Calumet, Michigan Second-largest loss of life within the state of Michigan.
73 1925 1925 Florida tropical storm Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States
73 1933 USS Akron Accident – Airship Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New Jersey Deadliest airship disaster in history.
73 1990 Avianca Flight 52 Accident – aircraft Cove Neck, New York
72 1811 Richmond Theatre fire Fire (building) Richmond, Virginia
72 1886 1886 Sauk Rapids tornado Tornado Central Minnesota $400,000
72–79+ 1927 1927 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado Tornado St. Louis, Missouri $22,000,000
72 1932 Observation (steamboat) Accident – explosion East River, New York City
72 1943 Rennert railroad accident Accident – railroad Rennert, North Carolina
72 1957 Warrenton Nursing Home fire Fire (building) Warrenton, Missouri
72 1968 Tornado outbreak of May 1968 Tornado outbreak Central United States, Southern United States $52,500,000 Including a tornado which struck Jonesboro, Arkansas and killed 35 people in total
72 1974 Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 Accident – aircraft Charlotte, North Carolina
71 1878 Gale of 1878 Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States
71 1978 Great Blizzard of 1978 Winter storm Great Lakes region
70+ 1883 Newhall House Hotel Fire Fire (building) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
70 1967 TWA Flight 128 Accident – aircraft Constance, Kentucky
70 1954 Hurricane Carol Tropical cyclone Mid-Atlantic United States, New England
70 1975 Great Storm of 1975 Blizzard, tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States 58 deaths from blizzard, 12 from tornadoes
70 1985 Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 Accident – aircraft Reno, Nevada
69 1936 Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 Flood Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area $3,000,000,000
(2006)
69 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Earthquake San Francisco Bay Area, California $6,000,000,000
(1989)
Including 42 deaths due to the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct
68 1994 American Eagle Flight 4184 Accident – aircraft Roselawn, Indiana
66 1888 Mud Run disaster Accident – railroad Eastern Pennsylvania
66 1905 USS Bennington (PG-4) § Boiler explosion Accident – explosion San Diego, California
66 1955 1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash Accident – aircraft Waianae Range, Hawaii Territory
66 1955 United Airlines Flight 409 Accident – aircraft Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming
65+ 1902 Yacolt Burn Wildfires Washington, Oregon
65 1959 American Airlines Flight 320 Accident – aircraft New York City, New York
65 1971 Sylmar earthquake Earthquake Greater Los Angeles Area, California $500,000,000
65 2009 January 2009 North American ice storm Winter storm Central United States
64 1903 Connellsville train wreck Accident – railroad Connellsville, Pennsylvania
64 1983 1983 United States embassy bombing Terrorism Beirut, Lebanon
63 1940 Sonman Mine explosion Accident – coal mine Portage Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania
63 1960 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 Accident – aircraft Tell City, Indiana Wing failure resulting from freak vibrations in clear weather turbulence was the probable cause.[33]
63 1963 Golden Age Nursing Home fire Fire (building) Fitchville, Ohio
63 1992 1992 Los Angeles riots Riot Los Angeles County, California ~$1,000,000,000
62 1960 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Accident – aircraft Boston, Massachusetts
62 1985 1985 Election Day floods Flood Virginia, West Virginia
61 1944 Freckleton air disaster Military aircraft, Accident Freckleton, England An American United States Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber crashed into the center of the village of Freckleton. It crashed into a school, 3 houses, and a cafe. Sixty-one individuals, including 38 children and two teenagers, were killed. Ten American servicemen were among the fatalities.
61 1946 La Salle Hotel Fire (building) Chicago, Illinois
61 1960 Great Chilean earthquake Tsunami Hawaii, Alaska $500,000
(2005)
2,290 to 6,600 killed and $3,500,000,000 (2005) in damage worldwide. 61 killed in Hilo, Hawaii. $500,000 in U.S. property damage
61 1992 Hurricane Andrew Tropical cyclone Florida, Louisiana $27,250,000,000
(1992)
61 2017 2017 Las Vegas shooting Mass shooting[38][39] Paradise, Nevada 60 victims and 1 perpetrator, with the perpetrator committing suicide. The deadliest mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history.
60+ 1856 PS Niagara Accident – shipwreck Off Belgium, Wisconsin
60–72 1864 Shohola train wreck Accident – railroad Shohola, Pennsylvania Train collision along upper Delaware River. Official death toll is 65.
60 1886 1886 Charleston earthquake Earthquake South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, East coast of the United States $5,000,000–6,000,000 Massive earthquake starting in South Carolina, spreading across the East Coast of the US.
60 1966 Hurricane Inez Tropical cyclone Florida Keys, Gulf Coast of the United States Including 45 deaths from the capsizing of a boat in the Straits of Florida and 11 deaths from a helicopter crash in the Gulf of Mexico
60 1967 1967 Chicago blizzard Winter storm Midwestern United States 26 deaths in Chicago
59–67 1856 Great Train Wreck of 1856 Accident – railroad Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
59 1908 Hanna Mine disasters Accident – coal mine Carbon County, Wyoming
59 1957 May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence Tornado outbreak sequence Great Plains, Midwestern United States Including 44 deaths from the Ruskin Heights tornado
59 2015 December 2015 North American storm complex Tornado outbreak, winter storm, flood Southwestern, Central, and New England $1,200,000,000 (2015)
59 2018 Hurricane Michael Tropical cyclone Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia $25,000,000,000 Category 5 hurricane[40] that caused 16 direct and 43 indirect deaths in the US, as well as 15 in Central America[41]
58+[42] 1865 Yosemite explosion Boiler explosion Sacramento River
58 1896 Twin Shaft disaster Accident – coal mine Pittston, Pennsylvania
58 1905 Grover Shoe Factory disaster Accident – explosion Brockton, Massachusetts
58 1950 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 Accident – aircraft Lake Michigan Airplane wreckage never found
58 1951 1951 Miami Airlines C-46 crash Accident – aircraft Elizabeth, New Jersey First of three plane crashes in Elizabeth over three months
58 1964 Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 Accident – aircraft Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
58 1965 American Airlines Flight 383 Accident – aircraft Cincinnati, Ohio
58 1966 Tornado outbreak of March 3–4, 1966 Tornado Southeastern United States $75,500,000 All 58 deaths due to the Candlestick Park tornado
58 1967 1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Upper Midwest 45 tornadoes, including the following:
58 1979 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Southern United States Including the Wichita Falls, Texas tornado which killed 42 people
57 1903 1903 New Jersey hurricane Tropical cyclone Mid-Atlantic
57 1919 1919 Fergus Falls tornado Tornado Fergus Falls, Minnesota $4,000,000
57 1980 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens Volcano Washington $1,100,000,000
57 1984 1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina
57 1994 Northridge earthquake Earthquake Greater Los Angeles area, California $23,000,000,000
57 1999 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Tennessee $1,500,000,000
(2005)
66 tornadoes, including the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, which killed 36 people; also including seven non-tornadic deaths
57 2007 Mid-December 2007 North American winter storms Winter storm Central United States, Eastern United States Two winter storms in quick succession, the latter of which caused an additional six deaths in Canada
57 2008 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, and Illinois $1,200,000,000 Including the Castalian Springs–Lafayette, Tennessee/Tompkinsville, Kentucky tornado which killed 22 people
56 1844 Lucy Walker steamboat disaster Accident – explosion, shipwreck Ohio River, near New Albany, Indiana Exact number of fatalities unknown
56 1875 City of Waco Accident – shipwreck Off Galveston, Texas
56 1904 New Market train wreck Accident – railroad New Market, Tennessee
56 1912 Tornado outbreak of April 20–22, 1912 Tornado outbreak High Plains, Upper Midwest, Southern United States
55 1880 SS Narragansett Accident – shipwreck, fire Long Island Sound Fatalities estimated
55 1898 1898 Fort Smith, Arkansas, tornado Tornado Fort Smith, Arkansas
55+ 1905 Mataafa Storm Winter storm, shipwrecks Great Lakes region Approximately 29 vessels destroyed or damaged, including SS Mataafa and SS Ira H. Owen
55 1943 Gulf Hotel fire Fire (building) Houston, Texas
55 1949 Eastern Air Lines Flight 537 Accident – aircraft Alexandria, Virginia
55 1975 Hurricane Eloise Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico, Eastern United States
55 2016 January 2016 United States blizzard Blizzard Eastern United States $500,000,000,
to $3,000,000,000
(2016)
54 1932 1932 Moweaqua Coal Mine disaster Accident – coal mine Moweaqua, Illinois
54 2004 Hurricane Ivan Tropical cyclone Texas, Florida $13,000,000,000
(2004)
Damage and death figures are for the U.S. only. Storm caused an additional 67 deaths and ~US$7 billion in damage across the Caribbean.
54 2018 Hurricane Florence Tropical cyclone Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina $24,230,000,000 Category 4 hurricane that caused major damage and 54 recorded fatalities in the US; 24 direct and 30 indirect.
53 1906 1906 Atlantic City train wreck Accident – railroad Atlantic City, New Jersey
53 1906 1906 Washington, D.C., train wreck Accident – railroad Washington, D.C.
53 1925 Coal Glen mine disaster Accident – coal mine Farmville, Chatham County, North Carolina
53 1942 Battle of Dutch Harbor Military strike – bombing Unalaska, Alaska 43 American and 10 Japanese fatalities. Deadliest attack on continental U.S. by a foreign power since the Mexican–American War.
53 1947 Eastern Air Lines Flight 605 Accident – aircraft Near Port Deposit, Maryland
53 1949 1949 Strato-Freight Curtiss C-46A crash Accident – aircraft West of San Juan-Isla Grande Airport, Puerto Rico
53[43] 1965 1965 Searcy missile silo fire Fire – underground Searcy, Arkansas
53 2008 Hurricane Gustav Tropical cyclone Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida
53 2022 2022 San Antonio migrant deaths Suspected migrant smuggling operation San Antonio, Texas Twelve others hospitalized.
52 1910 Green Mountain train wreck Accident – railroad Green Mountain, Iowa
52 1929 SS Milwaukee (1902) Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
52 1940 Hercules Powder plant disaster Accident – explosion Roxbury, New Jersey Fatalities estimated
52 1940 1940 South Carolina hurricane Tropical cyclone Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
52 1947 United Airlines Flight 608 Accident – aircraft Bryce Canyon, Utah
52 1952 Pan Am Flight 526A Accident – aircraft Off San Juan, Puerto Rico
52 1952 1952 Mount Gannett C-124 crash Accident – aircraft Mount Gannett, Alaska Territory
51 1947 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane Tropical cyclone Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi
51 1956 SS Andrea Doria, MV Astoria Accident – shipwreck Off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts
51 1978 Willow Island disaster Accident – Construction Willow Island, West Virginia Scaffolding fell 166 feet (51 m) with insufficiently cured concrete
51 2003 Hurricane Isabel Tropical cyclone, Flooding Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Ontario 5,500,000,000

(2003)

Worst hurricane to hit Virginia
50 1852 Henry Clay (steamboat) Accident – shipwreck Riverdale, Bronx, New York Fatalities estimated
50+ 1871 Port Huron Fire of 1871 Wildfire Port Huron, Michigan
50 1896 1896 Atlantic City rail crash Accident – railroad Atlantic City, New Jersey
50–52 1918 Split Rock, New York Accident – explosion Split Rock, New York
50 1925 Rockport train wreck Accident – railroad Hackettstown, New Jersey
50 1947 Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 410 Accident – aircraft Near Charles Town, West Virginia
50 1951 United Airlines Flight 610 Accident – aircraft West of Fort Collins, Colorado
50 1951 United Airlines Flight 615 Accident – aircraft Near Decoto, California
50 1960 Capital Airlines Flight 20 Accident – aircraft Holdcroft, Virginia
50 1971 Hughes Airwest Flight 706 Accident – aircraft San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California
50 1993 Great Flood of 1993 Flood Midwest $15,000,000,000
50 2003 Tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003 Tornado outbreak sequence Great Plains, Eastern United States $4,100,000,000 Including nine non-tornadic deaths
50 2009 Colgan Air Flight 3407 Accident – aircraft Clarence Center, New York
50 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting Terrorism Orlando, Florida 49 victims and 1 perpetrator, who was shot and killed by police. The second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
49 1867 Angola Horror Accident – railroad Angola, New York
49[citation needed] 1892 Giant Powder Company Accident – explosions Albany, California Explosion in explosives manufacturing plant destroyed facility, caused extensive damage in nearby Berkeley. Official death toll was 49, though estimates of unrecovered bodies ran higher.[44][failed verification]
49 1917 Shepherdsville train wreck Accident – railroad Shepherdsville, Kentucky
49 1936 1936 Cordele–Greensboro tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States Including 23 deaths from a tornado near Cordele, Georgia
49 1953 Tornado outbreak sequence of Early-December 1953 Tornado outbreak sequence Southeastern United States $45,709,000 Including 38 deaths from the Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado
49 1958 United Airlines Flight 736 Accident – aircraft Enterprise, Nevada
49 1989 Hurricane Hugo Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States. $7,000,000,000
(1989)
Damage figure for U.S. only. At least 111 total deaths, with 37 in the continental U.S., as far north as Michigan, and 12 in the U.S. possession of Puerto Rico.
49 2004 Hurricane Frances Tropical cyclone Florida $9,000,000,000
49 2006 Comair Flight 5191 Accident – aircraft Lexington, Kentucky
49 2011 Hurricane Irene Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States $15,800,000,000
(2011)
49 fatalities in U.S., including 1 in Puerto Rico, with 10 additional fatalities elsewhere.
48 1853 Norwalk rail accident Accident – railroad Norwalk, Connecticut
48[45] 1866 Memphis massacre of 1866 Mass racial violence Memphis, Tennessee
48[46] 1924 USS Mississippi (BB-41) turret explosion San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
48 1942 Joliet Army Ammunition Plant Accident – explosion Will County, Illinois
48 1944 Bagley train wreck Accident – railroad West of Ogden, Utah
48 1958 Newark Bay rail accident Accident – railroad Newark Bay, New Jersey
48 2024 Hurricane Beryl Tropical cyclone Texas, Louisiana, Ohio Valley, Northeastern United States
47 1912 1912 United States cold wave Cold wave Midwestern United States
47+ 1917 March 1917 tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Ohio Valley Including 46 deaths from a single tornado in Indiana and Kentucky
47 1922 Argonaut Mine Accident – gold mine Jackson, California
47 1933 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States
47 1938 Custer Creek train wreck Accident – railroad Saugus, Montana
47 1944 Stockton train wreck Accident – railroad Stockton, Georgia
47 1946 Tornado outbreak of January 4–6, 1946 Tornado outbreak South—Central United States Including 15 deaths in the Log Lake–Southview–Palestine tornado, which is considered one of the worst tornadoes in the history of Texas.
47 1958 Capital Airlines Flight 67 Accident – aircraft Saginaw Bay, near Freeland, Michigan
47 1989 USS Iowa turret explosion Accident – explosion Caribbean Sea, off Puerto Rico
47 1993 Big Bayou Canot train disaster Accident – railroad Mobile, Alabama Deadliest train crash in Amtrak history.
47 2016 Hurricane Matthew Tropical cyclone Florida, Georgia, The Carolinas $10,000,000,000
(2016)
Damage and death figures are for the U.S. only. Storm caused an additional 551 deaths and US$5.08 billion in damage across the Caribbean.
46 1873 Dixon Bridge Disaster Accident – bridge collapse Dixon, Illinois
46 1886 1886 Indianola hurricane Tropical cyclone Indianola, Texas
46 1900 Red Ash Mine disasters Accident – coal mine Fire Creek, West Virginia
46 1916 Summer Street Bridge disaster Accident – railroad Boston, Massachusetts
46 1942 USS S-26 (SS-131) Accident – shipwreck Gulf of Panama
46 1953 National Airlines Flight 470 Accident – aircraft Gulf of Mexico, off Fort Morgan, Alabama
46 1961 Hurricane Carla Tropical cyclone Texas, Louisiana $325.74 million (U.S. only) Landed Port O'Connor, Texas on September 11 as Category 4, continued northeast across U.S., dissipated in eastern Canada on September 14.
46 1967 Silver Bridge collapse Accident – Bridge collapse Ohio River between Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Gallipolis, Ohio
46 1976 Air Manila Flight 702 Accident – aircraft Naval Air Station Agana, Guam
46 1983 February 1983 North American blizzard Winter storm Northeastern United States
45–91 1871 Staten Island Ferry § Staten Island Railway era Accident – explosion New York City, New York Boiler of Westfield II exploded at South Ferry in Manhattan
45–60 1871 W.R. Norman Boiler explosion Mississippi River Fatalities estimated
45+ 1912 Tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912 Tornado outbreak Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana
45 1927 Bath School disaster mass murder Bath Township, Michigan Deadliest act of school violence in U.S. history
45[47] 1938 Grundy, Virginia § Red Jacket Mine explosion Accident - coal mine Grundy, Virginia
45 1946 Naperville train disaster Accident – railroad Naperville, Illinois
45 1950 February 1950 tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Red River of the South, Lower Mississippi Valley Including 18 deaths from a tornado in northwestern Louisiana
45 1951 FV Pelican Accident – shipwreck Off Montauk, New York
45 1962 Continental Airlines Flight 11 Terrorism Unionville, Missouri
45 1972 1972 Chicago commuter rail crash Accident – railroad Chicago, Illinois
45 1972 United Airlines Flight 553 Accident – aircraft Chicago, Illinois
44 1925 Pickwick Club collapse Structural collapse Boston
44 1933 March 1933 Nashville tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Arkansas, Tennessee At least 5 tornadoes, including the following:
44 1955 United Airlines Flight 629 Accident – aircraft Longmont, Colorado
44 1957 Pan Am Flight 7 Accident – aircraft Pacific Ocean
44 1964 Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 Accident – aircraft Near Danville, California
44 2017 October 2017 Northern California wildfires Wildfire California >$3,000,000,000 The fires killed 44, injured at least 185 people, and destroyed 5,700 homes. The deadliest was the Tubbs Fire, which alone killed 22 people.
43 1900 Tacoma streetcar disaster Accident – railroad Tacoma, Washington
43 1915 1915 Ardmore gas explosion Accident – railroad Ardmore, Oklahoma $1,250,000 Overpressured tank car filled with casing head gas exploded, causing major damage and death in the town.[48]
43 1940 Doodlebug disaster Accident – railroad Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
43 1945 Tornado outbreak of February 12, 1945 Tornado outbreak Alabama, Mississippi $1.972 million Damage total not adjusted for inflation. This outbreak included a devastating tornado that struck Montgomery, Alabama and the U.S. Weather Bureau would describe this tornado as "the most officially observed one in history".[49]
43 1947 United Airlines Flight 521 Accident – aircraft LaGuardia Airport, New York
43 1948 United Airlines Flight 624 Accident – aircraft Near Aristes, Pennsylvania
43 1951 Cubana de Aviación Flight 493 Accident – aircraft Key West, Florida
43 1953 USMC R4Q NROTC crash Accident – aircraft Milton, Florida
43 1963 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 Accident – aircraft Everglades, Florida
43 1965 United Airlines Flight 227 Accident – aircraft Salt Lake City, Utah
43 1971 Attica Prison riot Prison riot Attica, New York State troopers opened non-stop fire on prisoners and hostages after a four-day prison uprising, killing 29 of the former and 10 of the latter; one prison guard had also died at the beginning of the riot. It is considered the deadliest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War.
43 1987 PSA Flight 1771 Aircraft hijacking Near Cayucos, California
43 2011 Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011 Tornado outbreak Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania $2,100,000,000 (2011) 162 tornadoes
43 2012 Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012 Tornado outbreak Southern United States, Ohio Valley $3,500,000,000 (2019) 70 tornadoes, with one of the deadliest in Henryville, Indiana. 41 tornadic deaths, with another 2 from related weather.
43 2014 2014 Oso mudslide Mudflow Oso, Washington
42 1846 1846 Havana hurricane Tropical cyclone Florida 40 in Key West, Florida, one in Savannah, Georgia, and one in South Carolina
42 1929 1929 Rye Cove tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Virginia, Central and Eastern United States Unknown damage Including the thirteenth deadliest tornado strike at a school
42 1943 USS R-12 (SS-89) Accident – shipwreck Off Florida
42 1952 February 1952 nor'easter Winter storm New England Fatalities estimated
42 1959 National Airlines Flight 967 Accident – aircraft Gulf of Mexico Disappeared; suspected bombing
42 1966 Braniff Flight 250 Accident – aircraft Richardson County, Nebraska
42 1973 1973 Staten Island gas explosion Accident – explosion Staten Island, New York
42[50] 1977 Maury County jail fire Fire (building) Maury County, Tennessee
42 1998 1998 Kissimmee tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Central Florida Including the Intercession City–Port St. John tornado, which killed 25 people
42 2022 July–August 2022 United States floods Flood Greater St. Louis, Central Appalachia, Las Vegas Valley 38 direct and two indirect in Kentucky, two direct in Missouri
41[37]–43 1916 USS Tennessee (ACR-10) § Loss Accident - rogue wave Santo Domingo harbor, Dominican Republic
41 1859 South Bend train wreck Bridge washout South Bend, Indiana
41 1909 1909 Velasco hurricane Tropical cyclone Texas
41 1914 SS Monroe (1902) Accident – shipwreck Off Virginia Capes
41 1924 Milford Mine Accident – iron mine Wolford Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota
41[51] 1950 Genesis Health System § St. Elizabeth's Fire Fire (building) Davenport, Iowa
41 1968 Richmond, Indiana explosion Natural gas explosion Richmond, Indiana
41 1998 Tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998 Tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Eastern United States Including the Birmingham Metro tornado, which killed 32 people
41 2001 Tropical Storm Allison Tropical cyclone Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania $8,500,000,000
41 2020 Hurricane Laura Tropical cyclone Louisiana, Texas, Florida

15 to 40 deaths

[edit]
Fatalities Year Article Type Location Damage (US$) Comments
40 1901 SS Islander Accident – shipwreck Lynn Canal, Alaska
40–54 1906 Dix (steamboat) Accident – shipwreck Alki Point, Seattle, Washington
40 1927 USS S-4 (SS-109) Accident – shipwreck Off Cape Cod, Massachusetts
40 1932 1932 Freeport hurricane Tropical cyclone Texas
40 1933 1933 Cuba–Brownsville hurricane Tropical cyclone South Texas
40 1953 April–May 1953 tornado outbreak sequence Tornado outbreak sequence Southeastern United States $26,713,000 Including 18 deaths from a tornado in Warner Robins, Georgia; also including four non-tornadic deaths
40 1962 Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 Winter storm East Coast of the United States
40+ 1969 Ohio Fireworks Derecho Derecho Ohio
40 1994 1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States $140,000,000 (2005) Including a single tornado which killed 22 people in northeastern Alabama
40 2008 Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill Coal ash spill Kingston, Tennessee An estimated 40 cleanup workers died due to various illnesses believed to be caused by coal ash exposure
39 1912 Corning train wreck Accident – railroad Corning, New York
39[52] 1913 Long Beach pier auditorium disaster Structural collapse Long Beach, California
39 1964 United Airlines Flight 823 Accident – aircraft Parrottsville, Tennessee
39 1968 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 Accident – aircraft Pedro Bay, Alaska
39 1970 Hurricane Creek mine disaster Accident – coal mine Hyden, Kentucky
39 1977 Kelly Barnes Dam Accident – dam failure Toccoa, Georgia
39 1997 Heaven's Gate (religious group) Mass suicide San Diego, California Cult leaders Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles convinced followers they would join Comet Hale-Bopp to take them to another planet by swallowing poison.
38+ 1815 1815 New England hurricane Tropical cyclone New England, Long Island
38 1846 John Minturn Accident – shipwreck Mantoloking, New Jersey
38 1860 SS Northerner Accident – shipwreck Centerville, Humboldt County, California
38+ 1886 January 1886 blizzard Winter storm Eastern United States
38 1887 Forest Hills disaster Accidentbridge collapse Boston, Massachusetts
38 1920 Wall Street bombing Terrorism Manhattan, New York
38 1956 Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1956 Tornado outbreak Central United States $58,000,000 Including 17 deaths from the Saugatuck–Hudsonville–Standale, Michigan tornado
38 1964 Hurricane Hilda Tropical cyclone, tornado Louisiana Including 22 deaths from a tornado near Larose, Louisiana
38 1967 Lake Central Flight 527 Accident – aircraft Marseilles Township, Wyandot County, Ohio
38 1969 United Airlines Flight 266 Accident – aircraft Santa Monica Bay, California
38 1973 Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 Accident – aircraft Normandy, Missouri
38[53] 2011 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown Military strikerocket-propelled grenade Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan
38 2014 Tornado outbreak of April 27–30, 2014 Tornado outbreak Southern United States, Central United States ≥$1,000,000,000 (2014) 84 tornadoes, including the Mayflower–Vilonia, Arkansas tornado which killed 16. 35 tornadic deaths, with another 3 from related weather.
38 2020 2020 Easter tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic $3,000,000,000 (2020) Including six non-tornadic deaths
37 1883 1883 Rochester tornado Tornado Rochester, Minnesota $700,000 (1883) F5 tornado killed 37 and injured hundreds more. It led to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.
37 1948 Northwest Airlines Flight 421 Accident – aircraft Fountain City, Wisconsin
37 1961 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 Accident – aircraft Chicago, Illinois
37 1966 Loss of MV Alva Cape Accident – shipwreck New York Harbor 33 people killed in first fire, four people killed in second fire several days later
37 1976 American Airlines Flight 625 Accident – aircraft Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
37 1994 USAir Flight 1016 Accident – aircraft Charlotte, North Carolina
36 1846 USS Somers (1842) Accident – shipwreck Off Veracruz Capsized due to a squall while chasing a blockade runner during the Mexican–American War
36–50 1887 SS Vernon Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
36[37] 1904 Missouri (BB-11) turret fire Fire (ship) Atlantic Ocean
36 1924 Babbs Switch fire Fire (building) Babbs Switch, Oklahoma Financial damage not reported Christmas tree lighted with candles accidentally caught fire and destroyed school building. 37 additional people injured.
36 1937 Hindenburg disaster Accident – airship Manchester, New Jersey Hydrogen-filled zeppelin exploded while trying to dock.
36 2002 Tornado outbreak of November 9–11, 2002 Tornado outbreak Eastern United States $160,000,000
36 2010 2010 Tennessee floods Flood, tornado outbreak Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi $2,300,000,000
(2010)
Including five tornado deaths from a related tornado outbreak
36 2016 Ghost Ship warehouse fire Fire (building) Oakland, California
35 1900 Camp Creek train wreck Accident – railroad McDonough, Georgia
35+ 1907 Naomi Mine explosion Accident – coal mine Fayette City, Pennsylvania
35 1914 Francis H. Leggett Accident – shipwreck Off Columbia Bar, Oregon
35 1919 J. A. Chanslor Accident – shipwreck Off Cape Blanco, Oregon
35 1923 Allen Street Bridge disaster Accident – bridge collapse Washington (U.S. state)
35 1949 Standard Air Lines Flight 897R Accident – aircraft Chatsworth, California
35 1969 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 Accident – aircraft Lone Pine, California
35 1980 Sunshine Skyway Bridge Ship – collision St. Petersburg, Florida
35 1991 1991 Los Angeles airport runway collision Accident – aircraft Los Angeles, California
35 2007 Tornado outbreak of February 28 – March 2, 2007 Tornado outbreak, blizzard Central United States, Southern United States $580,000,000 20 deaths from tornadoes, 15 deaths from blizzard; four other deaths occurred in Canada
35 2011 2011 Halloween nor'easter Blizzard Northeastern United States Additional four deaths in Canada
34 1878 1878 Wallingford tornado Tornado Southern Connecticut $5,300,000 (2007)
34 1893 1893 New York hurricane Tropical cyclone Eastern United States
34+ 1916 1916 Gulf Coast hurricane Tropical cyclone Gulf Coast of the United States
34 1920 1920 North Dakota blizzard Winter storm North Dakota
34 1922 Roma (airship) Accident – airship Norfolk, Virginia
34 1934 Kerns Hotel fire Fire (building) Lansing, Michigan
34 1936 SS Iowa (1920) Accident – shipwreck Columbia Bar, Washington
34 1943 USS Rogday (ID-3583) Accident – shipwreck Off South Carolina
34 1945 Michigan train wreck Accident – railroad Michigan City, North Dakota
34 1950 1950 Chicago streetcar crash Accident – railroad Chicago, Illinois
34 1959 Braniff Flight 542 Accident – aircraft Near Buffalo, Texas
34 1960 National Airlines Flight 2511 Accident – aircraft Near Bolivia, North Carolina
34 1967 USS Liberty incident Military strike - aircraft, torpedo boats Mediterranean Sea 34 deaths on military ship USS Liberty due to the June 8, 1967, attack by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) aircraft and torpedo boats.
34 1967 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 Accident – aircraft Blossburg, Pennsylvania
34 1980 Florida Commuter Airlines crash Accident – aircraft Atlantic Ocean, near West End, Bahamas
34 2015 Hurricane Joaquin Tropical cyclone, shipwreck Southeastern United States, Bermuda, Cuba, The Caribbean $200,000,000 Including 33 deaths from the sinking of SS El Faro near the Bahamas, and one other death on land.
34[54] 2019 Sinking of MV Conception Fire (dive boat) Santa Cruz Island, California
33 1858 Eliza Battle Accident – shipwreck Tombigbee River, Alabama Fatalities estimated
33 1913 Alum Chine explosion Accident – explosion Patapsco River, near Baltimore, Maryland
33 1925 USS S-51 (SS-162) Accident – shipwreck Near Block Island, Rhode Island
33 1941 USS O-9 (SS-70) Accident – shipwreck Off Portsmouth, New Hampshire
33 1952 National Airlines Flight 101 Accident – aircraft Elizabeth, New Jersey Last of three plane crashes in Elizabeth over three months
33 1958 SS Carl D. Bradley Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
33 1960 May 1960 tornado outbreak sequence Tornado outbreak sequence Midwestern United States, Southern United States $32,618,000 Including 16 deaths from a single tornado in southeastern Oklahoma
33 1973 Mississippi flood of 1973 Flood Mississippi Valley
33 1978 Tropical Storm Amelia (1978) Tropical cyclone Texas
33 1996 Humberto Vidal explosion Accident – explosion Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
33 2007 Virginia Tech shooting mass murder – school shooting Blacksburg, Virginia Armed with two semi-automatic handguns, student Seung-Hui Cho shot to death 32 people in two separate attacks on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 23 other people were wounded, 17 by gunfire. Cho committed suicide.[55]
33 2023 Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023 Tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States Including one indirect and six non-tornadic deaths
32–37[56] 1920 Ocoee massacre Mass racial violence Orange County, Florida
32–33 1858 John Milton (ship) Accident – shipwreck Off Long Island, New York
32+ 1868 Morning Star (1862 ship) Accident – shipwreck Lake Erie At least 30 deaths aboard the Morning Star, and two deaths aboard the Cortland
32 1918 USS Cherokee (ID-458) Accident – shipwreck Off Fenwick Island, Delaware Including two people who later died after being rescued by the British Admiral
32 1948 1948 Los Gatos DC-3 crash Accident – aircraft Diablo Range, west of Coalinga, California
32 1948 1948 Airborne Transport DC-3 disappearance Accident – aircraft Atlantic Ocean, off east coast of Florida Disappeared and was never recovered
32 1950 Rockville Centre train crash Accident – railroad Rockville Centre, New York
32 1962 Tornado outbreak sequence of May 14–June 1, 1962 Tornado outbreak sequence Most fatalities were due to lightning rather than tornadoes
32 1963 1963 Chualar bus crash Accident – bus, train Chualar, California Deadliest road accident in U.S. history, and deadliest U.S. rail accident involving a grade crossing
32 1968 Northeast Airlines Flight 946 Accident – aircraft Etna, New Hampshire
32 1969 1969 Hazlehurst, Mississippi tornadoes Tornado Hazlehurst, Mississippi
32 1973 UpStairs Lounge arson attack mass murder – arson New Orleans, Louisiana Deadliest attack on a gay bar in the U.S. until 2016; still unsolved.
32 1994 Tropical Storm Alberto (1994) Tropical cyclone Georgia
32 2024 Hurricane Milton Tropical cyclone Florida
31 1853 Steamboat Jenny Lind Accident – shipwreck San Francisco Bay, California
31 1855 Gasconade Bridge train disaster Bridgeaccident Gasconade, Missouri
31 1862 USS Weehawken (1862) Accident – shipwreck Morris Island, South Carolina
31 1892 SS Western Reserve Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior
31 1910 USS Nina Accident – shipwreck Off Ocean City, Maryland
31 1913 1913 Binghamton Factory fire Fire (building) Binghamton, New York
31 1940 Little Falls Gulf Curve crash of 1940 Accident – railroad Little Falls, New York An additional 51 were injured
31 1959 Capital Airlines Flight 75 Accident – aircraft Chase, Maryland
31 1970 Wichita State University football team plane crash Accident – aircraft Clear Creek County, Colorado
31 1981 Keansburg nursing home fire Fire (building) Keansburg, New Jersey Nursing home full of elderly and mentally disabled[57]
31 1983 SS Marine Electric Accident – shipwreck Off Virginia
31 1985 Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 Accident – aircraft Milwaukee, Wisconsin
31 1998 October 1998 Central Texas floods Flood Texas
31 2009 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami Tsunami American Samoa and nearby islands 189 total deaths, with 31 in American Samoa.
31 2024 Tornado outbreak sequence of May 19–27, 2024 Tornado outbreak sequence Midwestern United States, Southern United States Including ten non-tornadic deaths
30 1845 Great New York City Fire of 1845 Fire New York City, New York
30 1868 1868 Hayward earthquake Earthquake Hayward, California
30 1887 Forest Hills disaster Structural failure Boston, Massachusetts
30 1895 Osceola Mine Accident – copper mine Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan
30–38 1909 SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2 Accident – shipwreck Lake Erie
30 1923 Glenrock train wreck Accident – railroad Meadow Acres, Wyoming
30 1948 Northwest Airlines Flight 4422 Accident – aircraft Mount Sanford, Alaska Territory
30 1952 American Airlines Flight 6780 Accident – aircraft Elizabeth, New Jersey Second of three plane crashes in Elizabeth over three months
30 1955 American Airlines Flight 476 Accident – aircraft Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
30 1956 Redondo Junction train wreck Accident – railroad Los Angeles, California
30 1965 United Airlines Flight 389 Accident – aircraft Lake Michigan, near Lake Forest, Illinois
30 1982 Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982 Tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Southern United States $390,500,000
30 1987 1987 Saragosa tornado Tornado Saragosa, Texas $2,500,000
30 1989 November 1989 tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Southern United States, Eastern United States $160,000,000 (2005) 21 deaths from the Huntsville, Alabama tornado; nine others from an event in Newburgh, New York variously described as either a tornado or a downburst
30 1997 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Central Texas $126,600,000 All 27 tornadic deaths were from a single tornado in Jarrell; three other non-tornadic fatalities occurred
30 2004 Hurricane Charley Tropical cyclone Florida, Rhode Island
30 2005 Hurricane Wilma Tropical cyclone Florida
30 2013 Tornado outbreak of May 18–21, 2013 Tornado outbreak Moore, Oklahoma Including the Moore, Oklahoma tornado which killed 24; also including four non-tornadic and indirect deaths
29 1871 Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871 Accident – railroad Revere, Massachusetts
29 1910 SS Pere Marquette 18 Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan Including two crew members of sister ship Pere Marquette 17
29–42 1910 Baudette fire of 1910 Wildfire Beltrami County, Minnesota
29 1920 SS Superior City Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior Collided with SS Willis L. King
29 1933 1933 Griffith Park fire Wildfire Griffith Park, California
29 1943 Lackawanna Limited wreck Accident – railroad Wayland, New York Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad passenger train sideswiped a freight train[58]
29 1954 Hurricane Edna Tropical cyclone North Carolina, New England
29 1964 Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 Accident – aircraft Near Sloan, Nevada
29 1970 Pioneer Hotel (Tucson, Arizona) Fire (building) Tucson, Arizona
29 1971 Thiokol-Woodbine explosion Accident – explosion Woodbine, Georgia
29 1973 MV Norse Variant Accident – shipwreck Off New Jersey
29 1975 Wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior Deadliest disaster on the Great Lakes. Inspired hit song by Gordon Lightfoot
29 1976 Yuba City bus disaster Accident – school bus Martinez, California
29 1977 Air Indiana Flight 216 Accident – aircraft Evansville, Indiana The University of Evansville basketball team was traveling to Middle Tennessee State University when the plane crashed 90 seconds after takeoff from Dress Regional Airport.[59]
29 1990 1990 Plainfield tornado Tornado Plainfield, Illinois

Crest Hill, Illinois

$160,000,000
29 1997 Comair Flight 3272 Accident – aircraft Raisinville Township, Michigan
29 2006 Tornado outbreak of April 2, 2006 Tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Mississippi River Valley $1,100,000,000 Including a single tornado in western Tennessee which killed 16; also including two non-tornadic deaths
29 2007 February 2007 North American blizzard Blizzard Midwestern United States, Eastern United States, Gulf Coast of the United States $50,000,000 Including one death due to a tornado in New Orleans; at least seven other deaths also occurred in Canada
29 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster[60] Accident – coal mine Montcoal, West Virginia
28 1913 Arcadia Hotel fire Fire (building) Boston
28 1927 Pittsburgh gasometer explosion Accident – explosion Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
28 1949 American Airlines Flight 157 Accident – aircraft Dallas, Texas
28 1951 Great Flood of 1951 Flood Kansas, Missouri $7,000,000,000
(2005)
28 1953 American Airlines Flight 723 Accident – aircraft Colonie, New York
28 1958 Tornado outbreak of June 3–4, 1958 Tornado outbreak Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin $83,275,000 Including 21 deaths from a tornado that struck Colfax, Wisconsin
28+ 1959 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake Earthquake Montana
28 1961 Texas Tower 4 Structural collapse Off the coast of Long Island, New York USAF radar station which sunk due to the January 1961 nor'easter
28 1968 North Central Airlines Flight 458 Accident – aircraft Chicago, Illinois
28 1969 USS Enterprise fire Accident – fire, explosion Pacific Ocean, off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
28 1971 Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 Accident – aircraft New Haven, Connecticut
28 1977 Blizzard of 1977 Winter storm New York
28 1987 L'Ambiance Plaza collapse Structural collapse Bridgeport, Connecticut
28 1987 Continental Airlines Flight 1713 Accident – aircraft Denver, Colorado
28 1998 January 1998 North American ice storm Winter storm, flood Eastern United States Additional 28 deaths in Canada
28 2008 Tornado outbreak sequence of May 7–15, 2008 Tornado outbreak sequence Southern Plains, Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic $250,324,000 Including the Picher, Oklahoma/Neosho, Missouri tornado which killed 21 people; also including three non-tornadic deaths
28 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting mass murder – school shooting Sandy Hook, Connecticut Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother, then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he fatally shot 20 students and 6 educators before committing suicide.[61]
27 1872 1872 Owens Valley earthquake Earthquake Owens Valley, California
27 1947 West Frankfort, Illinois Accident – coal mine West Frankfort, Illinois
27 1958 Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster Accident – school bus Prestonsburg, Kentucky
27 1962 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 Accident – aircraft Honolulu, Hawaii
27 1984 Wilberg Mine Accident – coal mine Emery County, Utah
27 1988 Carrollton bus collision Accident – school bus Carrollton, Kentucky
27 1992 USAir Flight 405 Accident – aircraft Flushing Bay, near Queens, New York
27 1996 Hurricane Fran Tropical cyclone The Carolinas, the Virginias, Pennsylvania
27 1997 March 1997 tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee $115,000,000 Including a single tornado which killed 15 people near Little Rock, Arkansas
27 2003 North American blizzard of 2003 Winter storm Rocky Mountains, Central United States, Eastern United States
27 2013 Tornado outbreak of May 26–31, 2013 Tornado outbreak, flood Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas 9 tornadic deaths, 18 from flooding and other causes
27 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting Mass shooting Sutherland Springs, Texas 26 murdered, gunman committed suicide after being mortally wounded by an armed civilian
26 1863 SS Ada Hancock Accident – shipwreck San Pedro Bay, California
26 1911 Canonsburg Opera House disaster Stampede Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
26[62] 1907 Canaan disaster Accident - train collision New Hampshire
26 1913 James T. Staples Accident – explosion, shipwreck Tombigbee River, near Coffeeville, Alabama
26 1924 SS Clifton Accident – shipwreck Lake Huron
26 1926 SS Papoose Accident – shipwreck Mississippi River
26 1939 USS Sailfish (SS-192) Accident – shipwreck Off New Hampshire
26 1951 Continental Charters Flight 44-2 Accident – aircraft Near Napoli, New York
26 1959 Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 Accident – aircraft Albemarle County, Virginia
26 1962 Hurricane Daisy (1962) Tropical cyclone New England
26 1967 TWA Flight 553 Accident – aircraft Concord Township, Champaign County, Ohio
26 1970 Tornado outbreak sequence of April 17–19, 1970 Tornado outbreak sequence Midwestern United States, Southern United States Including a tornado which killed 16 people in the Texas Panhandle
26 1970 Lubbock tornado Tornado Lubbock, Texas $1,411,900,000
(2008)
F5 tornado killed 26 and wounded approximately 500
26 1976 Scotia Mine Accident – coal mine Oven Fork, Kentucky
26 1980 Stouffer's Inn fire Fire (building) Harrison, New York
26 1992 Tornado outbreak of November 1992 Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States, Ohio Valley $300,000,000
26 2008 2008 Chatsworth train collision Accident – railroad Chatsworth, California
26 2020 Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2020 Tornado outbreak Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri $1,606,000,000 (2020) Including the Putnam County, Tennessee tornado which killed 19; also including one indirect fatality
25–40 1898 Hassler (vessel) Accident – shipwreck North of Eldred Rock, Alaska
25 1913 SS Henry B. Smith Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior The SS Henry B. Smith was taking iron ore from one side of Lake Superior to the other. The weather became below freezing with powerful storms which caused massive waves, which resulted in her sinking, killing all 25 crew members on the ship.
25 1916 SS James B. Colgate Accident – shipwreck Lake Erie
25 1926 1926 Nassau hurricane Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico
25 1926 1926 Louisiana hurricane Tropical cyclone Louisiana
25 1929 SS Andaste Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
25 1936 Johnstown flood of 1936 Flood Johnstown, Pennsylvania area
25 1940 Lovettsville air disaster Accident – aircraft Lovettsville, Virginia
25 1946 Mount Tom B-17 crash Accident – aircraft Mount Tom, Massachusetts
25 1956 1956 McDonald Chapel tornado Tornado Jefferson County, Alabama
25 1958 Northeast Airlines Flight 258 Accident – aircraft Nantucket Memorial Airport, Massachusetts
25 1959 Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 Accident – aircraft South Williamsport, Pennsylvania
25 1962 Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 Accident – aircraft New York City, New York
25[63] 1967 Dale's Penthouse fire Fire (building) Montgomery, Alabama
25[64] 1982 Dorothy Mae Apartments fire mass murder – arson Los Angeles, California
25 1986 Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6 Accident – aircraft Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Deadliest accident involving a helicopter in U.S. history
25 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire Fire (building) Hamlet, North Carolina Workers trapped behind locked doors
25 1991 1991 Oakland firestorm Wildfire (wildland-urban interface) Oakland, California, and vicinity $1,500,000,000 Burned 2,900 structures and 1,500 acres in Oakland Hills
25 2005 Evansville Tornado of November 2005 Tornado Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio $92,000,000 7 tornadoes
25 2023 Tornado outbreak of March 24–27, 2023 Tornado outbreak Mississippi, Alabama Including 17 deaths in the Rolling Fork–Silver City tornado; also including two non-tornadic deaths in Missouri
24–25[65] 1916 Big Barren Creek flood Accident – dam failure Claiborne County, Tennessee
24 1806 1806 Great Coastal hurricane Tropical cyclone, shipwreck East Coast of the United States Including 21 deaths in the wreck of the Rose-in-Bloom off Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey, and three deaths in or offshore from North Carolina
24+ 1854 Gazelle (1854 sidewheeler) Accident – explosion Canemah, Oregon
24 1881 1881 Minnesota tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Southern Minnesota Including 20 deaths from a single tornado
24–25 1901 SS Hudson (1887) Accident – shipwreck Off Eagle Harbor, Michigan
24 1905 Red Ash Mine disasters Accident – coal mine Fire Creek, West Virginia Two explosions over two days killed a total of 24 people
24 1908 SS D.M. Clemson Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior
24 1924 Hope Development School fire Fire (building) Playa Del Rey, California
24 1939 1939 City of San Francisco derailment Accident – railroad Harney, Nevada
24 1944 American Airlines Flight 2 Accident – aircraft Mississippi River
24[66] 1958 Monarch Underwear Company fire Fire (building) New York City, New York
24 1974 Gulliver's nightclub fire mass murder – arson Port Chester, New York
24 1980 Hurricane Allen Tropical cyclone Texas, Louisiana 7 deaths in Texas, 17 offshore deaths in Louisiana
24 1991 Luby's shooting mass murder Killeen, Texas 23 murdered, gunman committed suicide
24 1994 Green Ramp disaster Accident – aircraft Fayetteville, North Carolina Deadliest aircraft accident in the U.S. involving victims on the ground
24 1995 1995 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident Accident – aircraft Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
24 2002 North Carolina ice storm of 2002 Winter storm North Carolina
24 2015 October 2015 North American storm complex Extratropical cyclone Eastern United States Additional death in New Brunswick
23 1874 Granite Mill fire Fire (building) Fall River, Massachusetts
23 1891 Railway accident on the Bostian Bridge Accident – railroad Statesville, North Carolina
23 1900 Thanksgiving Day Disaster Structural collapse San Francisco, California Deadliest sporting event accident in US history
23 1919 Onawa train wreck Accident – railroad Onawa, Maine
23 1923 Honda Point disaster Accident – shipwreck Near Lompoc, California 20 deaths aboard USS Young, three deaths aboard USS Delphy
23 1925 M.E. Norman Accident – shipwreck Mississippi River
23–25 1933 1933 Outer Banks hurricane Tropical cyclone North Carolina, Virginia Two people went missing in Maine
23 1950 USS Benevolence Accident – shipwreck Off San Francisco, California
23 1959 Meldrim, Georgia, trestle disaster Explosion – fire Meldrim, Georgia
23 1961 Tornado outbreak sequence of May 3–9, 1961 Tornado outbreak sequence Great Plains, Mississippi Valley, Midwest, Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern United States $42,205,000 Including 16 deaths from a tornado in Le Flore County, Oklahoma
23 1962 New York Telephone Company building explosion Accident – explosion New York City, New York
23 1965 USAF KC-135 Wichita crash Accident – aircraft Wichita, Kansas
23 1968 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 Accident – aircraft Paramount, California
23 1970 ALM Flight 980 Accident – aircraft Caribbean Sea, off Saint Croix
23 1970 Hurricane Celia Tropical cyclone Texas, Florida
23 1970 Tropical Storm Norma (1970) Tropical cyclone, flood Arizona
23 1976 Wincrest Nursing Home fire Arson Chicago, Illinois
23 1977 Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 Blizzard New York, Ontario $56,250,000
(1977)
The brunt of the blizzard was centered around Buffalo.
23 1980 USCGC Blackthorn Accident – shipwreck Tampa Bay, Florida
23 1983 Air Canada Flight 797 Accident – aircraft Cincinnati, Ohio
23 1984 San Ysidro McDonald's massacre Mass shooting, hostage taking San Ysidro, California James Huberty entered a McDonald's armed with multiple Firearms, and shot dead 21 people, including a pregnant woman, before being killed by police.
23 1989 Phillips disaster Accident – explosion Pasadena, Texas $1,415,000,000
(1990)
314 people injured
23 1991 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 Accident – aircraft Brunswick, Georgia
23+ 2016 2016 West Virginia flood Flood West Virginia and Virginia
23 2019 Tornado outbreak of March 3, 2019 Tornado Alabama and Georgia All 23 fatalities due to a single tornado; 3 of the deaths were children
23 2019 2019 El Paso shooting Mass shooting El Paso, Texas
23 2021 February 15–20, 2021 North American winter storm Winter storm Contiguous United States Additional six deaths in Mexico
23 2022 Hurricane Fiona Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico
22+ 1821 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States
22+[67] 1861 Kentucky (steamboat) Boiler explosion Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas
22 1865 1865 Viroqua tornado Tornado Viroqua, Wisconsin
22[68] 1867 Kingstree jail fire Fire (building) Kingstree, South Carolina
22 1893 Ford's Theatre Structural collapse Washington, D.C.
22 1895 SS Chicora Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
22 1907 SS Cyprus Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior
22 1903 United States Cartridge Company explosion Accident – explosion Lowell, Massachusetts
22 1929 Study Club fire Fire (building) Detroit, Michigan
22 1942 TWA Flight 3 Accident – aircraft Potosi Mountain, southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada Among those killed were actress Carole Lombard and her mother, who were returning to Los Angeles after a war bond drive in their home state of Indiana.
22 1953 Mid–March 1953 tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Great Plains, Mississippi Valley, Southeastern United States $6,835,000 Including 17 deaths from a tornado in northern Texas
22 1956 TWA Flight 400 Accident – aircraft Moon Township, Pennsylvania
22 1959 St. Louis tornado outbreak of February 1959 Tornado outbreak Great Plains, Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States $53,713,000 21 deaths from a single tornado in St. Louis, Missouri, and one death from flooding
22 1959 Hurricane Gracie Tropical cyclone, tornado outbreak Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia Including 12 deaths from a tornado outbreak in Virginia
22 1960 Cal Poly football team plane crash Accident – aircraft Toledo, Ohio
22 1963 Hotel Roosevelt fire Fire (building) Jacksonville, Florida
22 1972 1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident Accident – aircraft Sacramento, California
22 1974 Tornado outbreak of June 8, 1974 Tornado outbreak Midwestern United States, Southern United States
22 1979 Hurricane David Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States
22 1980 Accident – tour bus Jasper, Arkansas [citation needed]
22 1991 1991 Halloween blizzard Winter storm Central United States
22 2012 June 2012 North American derecho Derecho Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic United States
22 2014 February 2014 nor'easter Winter storm Eastern United States
22 2015 Hurricane Linda (2015) Tropical cyclone Utah, California
22 2017 Tornado outbreak of January 21–23, 2017 Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States, Northeastern United States $1,300,000,000 (2017) Including two non-tornadic deaths
22 2018 January 2018 North American blizzard Blizzard Eastern United States
22 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting Mass shooting – school shooting Uvalde, Texas Including the perpetrator
22 2023 2022–2023 California floods Flood, winter storm California
21+ 1889 Alaskan (sidewheeler) Accident – shipwreck Oregon
21[69] 1846 1846 Grenada, Mississippi tornado Tornado Yalobusha County, Mississippi
21[70] 1887 Old Southern Hotel fire Fire (building) St. Louis, Missouri
21 1903 1903 East Paris train wreck Accident – railroad Kentwood, Michigan
21 1905 20th Century Limited derailment Accident – railroad Mentor, Ohio
21 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing Bombing Los Angeles, California
21 1910 Chicago Union Stock Yards fire Fire, structural failure Chicago, Illinois
21 1915 USS F-4 Accident – shipwreck Off Honolulu, Hawaii
21 1915 St. Johns School fire Fire (building) Peabody, Massachusetts Schoolgirls trapped behind exit door; resulted in first city law requiring that exit doors open outward
21 1919 Great Molasses Flood Accident – explosion Boston, Massachusetts $6,600,000,000
(2005)
Damages are out-of-court settlements only; repairs took 133 man-months
21 1953 1953 New York Central Railroad accident Accident – railroad Conneaut, Ohio
21 1957 Early-April 1957 tornado outbreak sequence Tornado outbreak sequence Central United States, Eastern United States $9,500,000
21 1959 Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School Fire (building) Wrightsville, Arkansas
21 1968 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 Accident – aircraft Compton, California
21 1983 Hurricane Alicia Tropical cyclone Texas
21[71] 1986 Walker River bus crash Accident – tour bus Walker, California
21 1987 February 1987 nor'easter Winter storm, shipwrecks Mid-Atlantic United States 18 deaths on MV Balsa 24, and 3 deaths on the Delores Marie
21 1989 Alton, Texas bus crash Motor vehicle accident Alton, Texas
21 1991 Andover tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Great Plains $250,000,000 Including one tornado which killed 17 people near Andover, Kansas
21 2003 Air Midwest Flight 5481 Accident – aircraft Charlotte, North Carolina
21 2003 2003 E2 nightclub stampede Stampede Chicago, Illinois
21 2007 2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Central Florida $218,000,000
21 2007 Tropical Storm Erin (2007) Tropical cyclone Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri
21 2008 Tropical Storm Fay (2008) Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico, Southeastern United States
21 2009 2009 North American Christmas blizzard Winter storm Midwest, Great Plains, Eastern United States
21 2014 Early 2014 North American cold wave Cold wave Central United States, Eastern United States
21–23 2018 2018 Southern California mudflows Debris flow Southern California 163 injured. 65 residences destroyed, 462 residences damaged, 8 commercial buildings destroyed, 20 commercial buildings damaged
20 1860 USCS Robert J. Walker (1844) Accident – shipwreck Off New Jersey
20 1872 Great Boston fire of 1872 Fire (urban conflagration) Boston, Massachusetts $73,500,000
(1872)
20 1874 Chicago Fire of 1874 Fire (urban conflagration) Chicago, Illinois
20+ 1881 Tornado outbreak of June 1881 Tornado outbreak West North Central States
20 1882 SS Escambia Accident – shipwreck San Francisco, California
20 1890 1890 Quincy train wreck Accident – railroad Quincy, Massachusetts
20-24 1907 Standard Steel Car Company mill explosion Accident - Explosion Butler, Pennsylvania $100,000 (1907) [citation needed]
20 1907 Woodlawn derailment Accident – railroad Woodlawn, The Bronx, New York City The day after the New York Central Railroad inaugurated electrical train service in New York City and suburban Westchester County, an electric engine (which had a higher center of mass than the old steam engines) jumped the tracks on a curve leading into Woodlawn station. Wreckage was strewn over a mile (1.6 km) with 20 dead and 150 injured.
20 1916 SS S.R. Kirby Accident – shipwreck Off Eagle Harbor, Michigan
20 1916 1916 Texas hurricane Tropical cyclone Texas
20 1924 1924 Nixon Nitration Works disaster Accident – explosion Nixon, New Jersey
20 1928 Preble Box Toe Company explosion Accident – explosion Lynn, Massachusetts
20 1943 American Airlines Flight 63 (Flagship Ohio) Accident – aircraft Allen County, Kentucky
20 1948 1948 Donora smog Smog Donora, Pennsylvania
20 1957 Northeast Airlines Flight 823 Accident – aircraft Queens, New York
20 1968 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 Accident – aircraft Bradford, Pennsylvania
20+ 1969 December 1969 nor'easter Winter storm Northeastern United States
20[72] 1976 Pathfinder Hotel explosion Accident - explosion Fremont, Nebraska
20 1978 Coates House Hotel Fire (building) Kansas City, Missouri
20[73] 1999 Jasper, Arkansas bus crash Accident – tour bus New Orleans, Louisiana Plunged over embankment, carrying senior citizens from casino[citation needed]
20 2005 Ethan Allen boating accident Accident – shipwreck Lake George (New York) Overloaded tour boat capsized from another boat's wake.
20 2005 Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 Accident – aircraft Off Miami Beach, Florida
20 2008 Tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008 Tornado outbreak sequence, flood Central United States, Eastern United States $146,900,000 7 tornado deaths, 13 from other events (see also June 2008 Midwest floods)
20 2010 June 2010 Arkansas floods Flood Albert Pike Recreation Area near Langley, Arkansas
20 2011 2011 Mississippi River floods Flood Mississippi River Valley
20 2017 Tornado outbreak and floods of April 28 – May 1, 2017 Tornado outbreak, flood High Plains, Western United States (Rocky Mountains), Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Southeastern United States 5 deaths from tornadoes, 15 from other causes
20 2018 Schoharie limousine crash Motor vehicle accident Schoharie, New York Stretch limo ran a stop sign on a three-way intersection, killing all 18 inside and two people in a parking lot
20 2021 2021 Tennessee floods Flood Middle Tennessee
19+ 2020 George Floyd protests Riot Minneapolis, Minnesota, Various cities in the United States ~$1,500,000,000 - $2,500,000,000 Widespread protests and riots across the United States after the murder of George Floyd. Amid clashes with law enforcement and widespread looting, many criminals were emboldened. At least 12 people were fatally shot, while two others were killed by vehicles.[74]
19 1863 CSS Chattahoochee Accident – shipwreck Apalachicola River
19[75] 1871 Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871 Mass racial violence Old Chinatown, Los Angeles, California
19 1878 Wollaston disaster Accident – railroad Quincy, Massachusetts
19 1888 SS City of Chester Accident – shipwreck Golden Gate, California
19 1897 Garrison train crash Accident – railroad Garrison, New York
19 1908 Great Chelsea fire of 1908 Fire (urban conflagration) Chelsea, Massachusetts
19 1917 USS F-1 Accident – shipwreck Off Point Loma, San Diego, California
19[37] 1926 Picatinny Arsenal fire Accident – lightning strike Morris County, New Jersey
19 1943 Pan Am Flight 1104 Accident – aircraft Mendocino County, California
19 1943 1943 Surprise Hurricane Tropical cyclone Louisiana, Texas
19 1944 Long Creek air disaster Accident – aircraft South Portland, Maine
19 1944 US Army C-47 crash Accident – aircraft Mount Deception (Alaska)
19 1950 1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash Accident – aircraft Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, California
19 1953 BCPA Flight 304 Accident – aircraft Near Woodside, California
19 1956 McKee refinery fire Fire (industrial) Near Sunray, Texas
19 1957 Tornado outbreak sequence of December 18–20, 1957 Tornado outbreak sequence Midwestern United States, Southern United States
19 1962 Tornado outbreak of March 30–31, 1962 Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States $3,380,000 Including 17 deaths from a single tornado in Milton, Florida and two lightning deaths
19 1964 Christmas flood of 1964 Flood Pacific Northwest
19 1969 Prinair Flight 277 Accident – aircraft Fajardo, Puerto Rico
19 1970 Tropical Depression Fifteen (1970) Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
19 1974 1974 Blythe, California bus crash Accident – bus Ripley, California
19 1992 December 1992 nor'easter Winter storm Northeastern United States
19 1996 Hurricane Hortense Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico
19 2000 2000 Marana V-22 crash Accident – aircraft Near Tucson, Arizona
19 2000 2000 East Coast Aviation Services British Aerospace Jetstream crash Accident – aircraft Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
19 2000 USS Cole bombing Terrorism Aden, Yemen Including the two perpetrators
19 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire Wildfire Yarnell, Arizona 19 firefighters were killed when they became trapped in the fast-spreading fire.
19 2023 2023 Lewiston shootings Mass shooting Lewiston, Maine Including the perpetrator
18[76] 1878 Great Mill Disaster Accident - grain dust explosion Minneapolis, Minnesota
18 1887 Accident - mine explosion Savanna, Oklahoma (then Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory) Explosions in Savanna Coal Mining and Trading Company Mines #1 and #2 killed 6 miners and 12 rescuers.[77]
18 1892 SS W.H. Gilcher Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
18 1911 Indianola train wreck Accident – railroad Indianola, Nebraska
18 1928 1928 Times Square derailment Accident – railroad New York City, New York
18 1947 Eastern Air Lines Flight 665 Accident – aircraft Galax, Virginia
18 1947 Pan Am Flight 923 Accident – aircraft Annette Island, Alaska Territory
18 1960 1960 Texas tropical storm Tropical cyclone Texas, Arkansas
18 1961 United Airlines Flight 859 Accident – aircraft Denver, Colorado
18 1966 Tornado outbreak sequence of June 1966 Tornado outbreak sequence Southern United States, Midwestern United States, Great Plains $250,603,000 Including 16 deaths from a single tornado in Topeka, Kansas
18 1966 University of Texas massacre mass murder – school shooting Austin, Texas Including the perpetrator and an unborn child
18 1966 West Coast Airlines Flight 956 Accident – aircraft Clackamas County, Oregon
18 1993 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 Accident – aircraft Hibbing, Minnesota
18 2000 Tornado outbreak of February 13–14, 2000 Tornado outbreak Southeastern United States
18 2001 2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash Accident – aircraft Pitkin County, Colorado
18 2006 Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006 Extratropical cyclone Washington, Oregon
18 2007 2007 Midwest flooding Flood Midwestern United States
18 2011 Tropical Storm Lee (2011) Tropical cyclone Gulf Coast of the United States, Eastern United States
18 2013 Early February 2013 North American blizzard Blizzard Eastern United States
18 2015 Tornado outbreak of December 23–25, 2015 Tornado outbreak Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama $1,606,000,000 (2020) Including five non-tornadic deaths
17–20 1861 Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy Accident – railroad St. Joseph, Missouri
17 1898 SS L.R. Doty Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
17 1903 Purdue Wreck Accident – railroad Indianapolis, Indiana
17 1905 Baker Bridge train wreck Accident – railroad Lincoln, Massachusetts
17 1910 Morewood Lake Ice Company explosion Accident – explosion Pittsfield, Massachusetts
17 1919 SS Myron Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior
17–35+ 1923 Allen Street Bridge disaster Accident – collapse Cowlitz River, Washington Fatalities estimated
17 1936 American Airlines Flight 1 (1936) Accident – aircraft Near Goodwin, Arkansas
17 1944 USS YF-415 Accident – shipwreck Hingham, Massachusetts Including one person who died of his injuries after being rescued
17 1947 O'Connor Plating Works disaster Accident – explosion Los Angeles, California
17 1950 Hurricane Dog (1950) Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States Including three deaths in a car accident in Bel Air, Maryland, two drowning deaths in Lexington, Virginia, and 12 deaths in New England
17 1951 Great Flood of 1951 Flood Kansas, Missouri
17 1951 Hurricane How Tropical cyclone, shipwreck Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 17 people were killed in the wreck of the Southern Isle
17 1953 SS Henry Steinbrenner Accident – shipwreck Lake Superior
17 1954 Hurricane Alice (June 1954) Tropical cyclone Texas
17 1962 United Airlines Flight 297 Accident – aircraft Near Ellicott City, Maryland
17 1965 Pipeline explosion and fire Accidentspipeline accidents Natchitoches, Louisiana [78]
17 1965 Early May 1965 tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Great Plains, Midwestern United States $51,000,000
17 1968 USCGC White Alder (WLM-541) Accident – shipwreck Mississippi River, near White Castle, Louisiana
17 1972 Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 Accident – aircraft Albany, New York
17 1979 Downeast Flight 46 Accident – aircraft Rockland, Maine
17 1984 1984 Romeoville petroleum refinery disaster Accident – explosion Romeoville, Illinois
17 1990 1990 ARCO explosion Accident – explosion Channelview, Texas
17 1991 Interstate 5 dust storm accident Accident – automobile Coalinga, California
17 2002 Beltway sniper attacks mass murder
serial killings
Washington metropolitan area 3 injured in the Beltway sniper attacks and 7 in preliminary shootings
17 2004 December 21–24, 2004 North American winter storm Winter storm South Central United States, Ohio Valley Additional death in Canada
17 2005 Los Angeles County flood of 2005 Flood Los Angeles County, California Including 10 deaths in the La Conchita landslide
17 2008 Early Spring 2008 Midwest floods Flood Central United States
17 2008 Sherman, Texas bus accident Accident – bus Sherman, Texas
17 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting School shooting Parkland, Florida Former student Nikolas Cruz, was dropped off by an Uber car to Stoneman Douglas High School, shot and killed 14 students and 3 staff members, left the scene and was later arrested in Coral Springs.
17 2018 Table Rock Lake duck boat accident Accident – shipwreck Branson, Missouri
17 2022 2022 Bronx apartment fire Fire (building) The Bronx, New York City, New York
16 1804 1804 New England hurricane Tropical cyclone New England
16 1833 Lioness (steamship) Accident – explosion, shipwreck Near Colfax, Louisiana
16 1862 USS Monitor Accident – shipwreck Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
16 1890 1890 Wilkes-Barre tornado Tornado Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
16 1905 SS Kaliyuga Accident – shipwreck Lake Huron
16–20 1914 SS Benjamin Noble Accident – shipwreck Near Knife River, Minnesota
16 1926 La Plata tornado of 1926 Tornado La Plata, Maryland 13 killed in La Plata Elementary School
16 1947 Great Fires of 1947 Wildfires Maine
16 1955 TWA Flight 260 Accident – aircraft Bernalillo County, New Mexico
16 1956 Hurricane Betsy (1956) Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico
16 1956 Lariat Cafe explosion Accident – explosion Monticello, Utah
16 1967 Hurricane Beulah Tropical cyclone Puerto Rico, Texas
16 1970 Laguna Fire Wildfire Laguna Mountains, California
16 1978 Waverly, Tennessee, tank car explosion Accident – railroad Waverly, Tennessee An additional 43 injured
16 1978 1978 Whippoorwill tornado Tornado, shipwreck Pomona Lake, Kansas Tornado struck a tourist boat, causing it to capsize
16 1987 1987 Maryland train collision Accident – railroad Chase, Maryland
16 1987 The Dover massacre mass murder
spree killer
Dover, ArkansasRussellville, Arkansas
16 1991 Hurricane Bob Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States
16 2006 2006 Mid-Atlantic United States flood Flood Mid-Atlantic United States
16 2012 Late December 2012 North American storm complex Tornado outbreak, blizzard Alaska, Contiguous United States $150,000,000
16 2015 2015 Texas–Oklahoma flood and tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak, flood Great Plains, Southern United States Additional 14 deaths occurred in Mexico
16 2015 2015 San Bernardino attack Terrorism San Bernardino, California An additional 24 injured
16 2016 2016 Lockhart hot air balloon crash Accident – hot air balloon Lockhart, Texas Deadliest ballooning disaster in U.S. history
16–19 2017 March 2017 North American blizzard Blizzard Northeastern United States, Upper Midwest, Great Plains
16 2017 2017 United States Marine Corps KC-130 crash Accident – aircraft Leflore County, Mississippi
16 2020 North Complex fire Wildfire Plumas National Forest, California
16 2021 Tornado outbreak sequence of March 24–28, 2021 Tornado outbreak sequence Southeastern United States $3,200,000,000 Including one indirect and eight non-tornadic deaths
15 1815 1815 North Carolina hurricane Tropical cyclone North Carolina
15 1881 City of Muskegon Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
15 1883 1883 Tehachapi train wreck Accident – railroad Tehachapi, California
15[79] 1892 Mare Island Naval Yard explosion Accident – explosion Vallejo, California 15 sailors from USS Boston (1884) killed in black-powder explosion
15 1902 Park Avenue main line Accident – railroad New York City, New York
15 1917 1917 Nueva Gerona hurricane Tropical cyclone Louisiana, Florida 10 in Louisiana, 5 in Florida
15 1936 MV Material Service Accident – shipwreck Lake Michigan
15 1937 Blackwater Fire of 1937 Wildfire Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming
15 1948 1948 Columbia River flood Flood Vanport, Oregon
15 1950 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 Accident – aircraft Minneapolis, Minnesota
15 1953 Rattlesnake Fire Wildfire Mendocino National Forest, California
15 1954 Cleveland Hill Middle School fire Fire (building) Cheektowaga, New York
15 1955 1955 Cincinnati mid-air collision Accident – aircraft Boone County, Kentucky
15 1956 Hurricane Flossy (1956) Tropical cyclone Gulf Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States
15 1958 Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash Accident – aircraft Chicopee, Massachusetts
15 1969 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 Accident – aircraft Santa Monica Bay, near Los Angeles, California
15 1969 Tornado outbreak of August 6, 1969 Tornado outbreak Minnesota, Nebraska $4,270,000
15 1984 Beverly rooming house fire Arson Beverly, Massachusetts
15 1986 Edmond post office shooting mass murder Edmond, Oklahoma 14 victims and 1 perpetrator
15 1994 Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 Accident – aircraft Morrisville, North Carolina
15 1999 Columbine High School massacre mass murder – school shooting Jefferson County, Colorado Armed with 2 sawed-off shotguns, a TEC-9 pistol and a carbine, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered their school in Littleton and opened fire at the students and staff, killing 12 students, 1 teacher and then killing themselves.
15 2003 Cedar Fire Wildfire San Diego County, California Burned 273,246 acres and 2,820 structures
15 2005 Texas City refinery explosion Accident – explosion Texas City, Texas
15 2005 Hurricane Dennis Tropical cyclone Florida, Alabama, Mississippi
15 2009 Tornado outbreak of February 10–11, 2009 Tornado outbreak Central United States, Eastern United States $18,100,000 Including seven non-tornadic deaths
15 2011 World Wide Tours bus crash Accident – tour bus Bronx, New York En route to Connecticut casino, March 12
15 2012 2012 Leap Day tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Great Plains, Ohio Valley $475,000,000
15 2013 West Fertilizer Company explosion Accident – explosion West, Texas More than 160 people were injured. Several years later, investigators concluded that the fire that preceded the explosion had been deliberately set.
15 2020 Hurricane Isaias Tropical cyclone East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico
15 2023 February 2023 North American storm complex Winter storm, tornado outbreak East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico Western, Southern and Midwestern United States

See also

[edit]

By type

[edit]

By location

[edit]

References

[edit]
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