List of disasters in the United States by death toll

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

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

Tables

· Over 1,000,000 deaths

1,131,819

Fatalities

1,131,819

Year

2020–2023

Article

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Type

Pandemic

Location

Nationwide

Damage (US$)

see Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Comments

Fatalities estimated. Deadliest known disaster in United States history.

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Damage (US$)	Comments
1,131,819	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

725,000+

Fatalities

725,000+

Year

since 1999

Article

Opioid epidemic in the United States

Type

Drug Epidemic

Location

Nationwide

Comments

Second-deadliest disaster in United States history. Deadliest drug epidemic in United States history.

700,000

Fatalities

700,000

Year

since 1981

Article

HIV/AIDS in the United States

Type

Pandemic

Location

Nationwide

Comments

Fatalities estimated. Third-deadliest disaster in United States history.

675,000

Fatalities

675,000

Year

1918 – 1920

Article

1918 influenza pandemic

Type

Pandemic

Location

Nationwide

Comments

Fatalities estimated. Fourth-deadliest disaster in United States history.

116,000

Fatalities

116,000

Year

1957 – 1958

Article

1957–1958 influenza pandemic

Type

Pandemic

Location

Nationwide

Comments

Fatalities estimated. Fifth-deadliest disaster in United States history.

100,000

Fatalities

100,000

Year

1968

Article

1968 influenza pandemic

Type

Pandemic

Location

Nationwide

Comments

Fatalities estimated. Sixth-deadliest disaster in United States history.

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Damage (US$)	Comments
725,000+	since 1999	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	since 1981	HIV/AIDS in the United States	Pandemic	Nationwide		Fatalities estimated. Third-deadliest disaster in United States history.
675,000	1918 – 1920	1918 influenza pandemic	Pandemic	Nationwide		Fatalities estimated. Fourth-deadliest disaster in United States history.
116,000	1957 – 1958	1957–1958 influenza pandemic	Pandemic	Nationwide		Fatalities estimated. Fifth-deadliest disaster in United States history.
100,000	1968	1968 influenza pandemic	Pandemic	Nationwide		Fatalities estimated. Sixth-deadliest disaster in United States history.

· Over 400 deaths

6,000–12,000

Fatalities

6,000–12,000

Year

1900

Article

1900 Galveston hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Damage (US$)

$34,000,000 (1900)

5,000

Fatalities

5,000

Year

1936

Article

1936 North American heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

United States, Canada

4,000+

Fatalities

4,000+

Year

1862

Article

Great Flood of 1862

Type

Flood

Location

Western United States

Damage (US$)

$100,000,000(1862)

3,389

Fatalities

3,389

Year

1899

Article

1899 San Ciriaco hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States

Damage (US$)

$20,000,000(1899)

3,000+

Fatalities

3,000+

Year

1906

Article

1906 San Francisco earthquake

Type

Earthquake and fire (urban conflagration)

Location

San Francisco, California

Damage (US$)

$235,000,000(1906)

Comments

Conflagration followed quake; fatalities estimated; also major casualties in Santa Rosa and San Jose. Deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.

2,996 (2,977 ex. perps)

Fatalities

2,996 (2,977 ex. perps)

Year

2001

Article

September 11 attacks

Type

Terrorism

Location

New York City, Arlington County, Virginia, and Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania

Damage (US$)

$10,000,000,000(2001)

Comments

2,977 victims and 19 hijackers. Deadliest disaster in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Deadliest act of terrorism in world history.

2,982 (estimated)

Fatalities

2,982 (estimated)

Year

2017

Article

Hurricane Maria

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, East Coast of the United States

Damage (US$)

$94,500,000,000(2017)

Comments

Total includes at least 2,975 deaths based on a study by GWU on the estimated excess mortality. The official death count was previously 64. 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

Fatalities

2,823

Year

1928

Article

1928 Okeechobee hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Puerto Rico

Damage (US$)

$800,000,000(2005)

Comments

4,000+ believed dead total. Includes 2,511+ in the contiguous United States, 312 in Puerto Rico.

2,467

Fatalities

2,467

Year

1941

Article

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Type

Military strike – bombing

Location

Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii and nearby military installations

Comments

2,403 U.S. victims and 64 Japanese attackers. Deadliest attack on U.S. soil by a foreign government.

2,209

Fatalities

2,209

Year

1889

Article

Johnstown Flood

Type

Accident – dam failure

Location

Pennsylvania

Comments

Much rain, deforestation; dam failed

2,000

Fatalities

2,000

Year

1893

Article

1893 Cheniere Caminada hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana

Comments

Fatalities estimated

1,700

Fatalities

1,700

Year

1980

Article

1980 United States heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

Central and southern states

Damage (US$)

$20,000,000,000(1980 USD)

Comments

Official death toll, may have been higher

1,547-1,864

Fatalities

1,547-1,864

Year

1865

Article

Sultana

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Marion, Arkansas

Comments

Steamboat sank due to boiler explosion; fatalities estimated. Deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history

1,500–2,500

Fatalities

1,500–2,500

Year

1871

Article

Peshtigo Fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Comments

Fatalities estimated; most deaths in one fire in U.S. history

1,500

Fatalities

1,500

Year

1896

Article

1896 Eastern North America heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

Northeastern United States, Midwestern United States

Comments

Fatalities estimated

1,392

Fatalities

1,392

Year

2005

Article

Hurricane Katrina

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio

Damage (US$)

$125,000,000,000 (2005)

Comments

Tied with Hurricane Harvey as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

1,173

Fatalities

1,173

Year

1943

Article

HMT Rohna

Type

Military strike – bombing

Location

Mediterranean Sea

Comments

Luftwaffe glide bomb hit troopship causing the largest loss of U.S. soldiers (1,050) at sea due to enemy action in a single incident.

1,021

Fatalities

1,021

Year

1904

Article

PS General Slocum

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

East River near New York City

Comments

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

Fatalities

1,000–2,000

Year

1893

Article

1893 Sea Islands hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Georgia, South Carolina

Comments

Fatalities estimated

1,000

Fatalities

1,000

Year

1918

Article

1918 Cloquet fire

Type

Wildfire (rural)

Location

Minnesota

Damage (US$)

$7,300,000

918

Fatalities

918

Year

1978

Article

Jonestown

Type

Mass murder

Location

Jonestown, Guyana

Comments

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

Fatalities

879

Year

1945

Article

USS Indianapolis

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

Philippine Sea

Comments

Largest loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy at sea

844

Fatalities

844

Year

1915

Article

SS Eastland

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Comments

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

Fatalities

819

Year

1944

Article

SS Léopoldville

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

English Channel

Comments

Approximately 763 United States Army soldiers drowned.

800

Fatalities

800

Year

1875

Article

1875 Indianola hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Texas

Comments

Fatalities estimated

749

Fatalities

749

Year

1944

Article

Exercise Tiger

Type

Military strike – E-boats

Location

English Channel

Comments

USS LST-289, LST-507 and LST-531 sunk during a training exercise.

747

Fatalities

747

Year

1925

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 18, 1925

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee

Damage (US$)

$1,650,000,000(2005)

Comments

At least 12 tornadoes, including the following: 1925 tri-state tornado: 695 deaths (deadliest tornado in U.S. history) Buck Lodge, Tennessee/Beaumont, Kentucky: 41 deaths

745

Fatalities

745

Year

1919

Article

1919 Florida Keys hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Texas

Comments

Including 488 deaths aboard SS Valbanera

739

Fatalities

739

Year

1995

Article

Chicago Heat Wave of 1995

Type

Heat wave

Location

Chicago, Illinois

683

Fatalities

683

Year

1942

Article

USS Juneau

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

Guadalcanal

Comments

Sunk by submarine while retreating with damage from naval battle of Guadalcanal.

682–800

Fatalities

682–800

Year

1938

Article

1938 New England hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

675

Fatalities

675

Year

1943

Article

SS Dorchester

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

Greenland

Comments

United States troopship.

650

Fatalities

650

Year

1913

Article

Great Flood of 1913

Type

Flood

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

Comments

Fatalities estimated

644

Fatalities

644

Year

1943

Article

USS Liscombe Bay

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

Gilbert Islands

Comments

Submarine torpedo detonated the aircraft carrier's bomb magazine during Operation Galvanic.

602

Fatalities

602

Year

1903

Article

Iroquois Theatre fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Comments

Worst theater fire in American history; worst single-building fire.

600

Fatalities

600

Year

1928

Article

St. Francis Dam

Type

Accident – dam failure

Location

Santa Clarita, California

581

Fatalities

581

Year

1947

Article

Texas City disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Texas City, Texas

Comments

Ammonium nitrate on board ship

501+

Fatalities

501+

Year

1896

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Central United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$2,900,000,000(1997)

Comments

At least 38 tornadoes, including the following: 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: 255–400 deaths Sherman, Texas: 73+ deaths Ortonville–Thomas–Oakwood, Michigan: 47+ deaths Seneca–Oneida, Kansas/Falls City, Nebraska: 25+ deaths Imbs–Germantown, Illinois: 24 deaths

500+

Fatalities

500+

Year

1804

Article

1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Southeastern United States

500

Fatalities

500

Year

1865

Article

American steamship General Lyon (1864)

Type

Accident – fire, shipwreck

Location

Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Comments

Fatalities estimated

500

Fatalities

500

Year

1871

Article

Great Michigan Fire

Type

Wildfire (rural)

Location

Michigan

Comments

Fatalities estimated

492

Fatalities

492

Year

1942

Article

Cocoanut Grove fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Comments

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+

Fatalities

476–1,000+

Year

1927

Article

Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster

Type

Industrial, silicosis

Location

Gauley Bridge, West Virginia

Comments

178 admitted deaths, 476 with congressional inquiry, 1,000+ by epidemiologists.

454+

Fatalities

454+

Year

1936

Article

1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee

Comments

At least 12 tornadoes, including the following: Tupelo, Mississippi: 216+ deaths Gainesville, Georgia: 203+ deaths

450–800

Fatalities

450–800

Year

1862

Article

Dakota War of 1862

Type

Massacre

428

Fatalities

428

Year

1913

Article

1913 (Ohio) statewide flood

Type

Flood

Location

Ohio

418+

Fatalities

418+

Year

1894

Article

Great Hinckley Fire

Type

Wildfire (rural)

Location

Hinckley, Minnesota and vicinity

416

Fatalities

416

Year

1957

Article

Hurricane Audrey

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama

Damage (US$)

$147,000,000(1957)

408

Fatalities

408

Year

1935

Article

1935 Labor Day hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

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 (2,977 ex. perps)	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 disaster in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Deadliest act of terrorism in world history.
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)	Total includes at least 2,975 deaths based on a study by GWU on the estimated excess mortality. The official death count was previously 64. 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		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
1,547-1,864	1865	Sultana	Accident – shipwreck	Marion, Arkansas		Steamboat sank due to boiler explosion; fatalities estimated. Deadliest maritime disaster in U.S. history
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	Military strike – bombing	Mediterranean Sea		Luftwaffe glide bomb hit troopship causing the largest loss of U.S. soldiers (1,050) at sea due to enemy action in a single incident.
1,021	1904	PS General Slocum	Accident – shipwreck	East River near New York City		Steamship sank due to fire on board. Deadliest maritime disaster in New York City, and deadliest in city's history until 2001.
1,000–2,000	1893	1893 Sea Islands hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Georgia, South Carolina		Fatalities estimated
1,000	1918	1918 Cloquet fire	Wildfire (rural)	Minnesota	$7,300,000
918	1978	Jonestown	Mass murder	Jonestown, Guyana		Jim Jones, cult leader of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, convinced most of the group to drink grape Flavor Aid poisoned with cyanide or to inject themselves and their children with cyanide, totaling 909 deaths of U.S. nationals. A family of four other Temple members committed murder/suicide by knife in Georgetown. Five others were shot and killed while trying to escape from Jonestown, including U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan.
879	1945	USS Indianapolis	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	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.
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: 1925 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	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	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	Military strike – submarine	Gilbert Islands		Submarine torpedo detonated the aircraft carrier's bomb magazine during Operation Galvanic.
602	1903	Iroquois Theatre fire	Fire (building)	Chicago, Illinois		Worst theater fire in American history; worst single-building fire.
600	1928	St. Francis Dam	Accident – dam failure	Santa Clarita, California
581	1947	Texas City disaster	Accident – explosion	Texas City, Texas		Ammonium nitrate on board ship
501+	1896	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896	Tornado outbreak sequence	Central United States, Southern United States	$2,900,000,000(1997)	At least 38 tornadoes, including the following: 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: 255–400 deaths Sherman, Texas: 73+ deaths Ortonville–Thomas–Oakwood, Michigan: 47+ deaths Seneca–Oneida, Kansas/Falls City, Nebraska: 25+ deaths Imbs–Germantown, Illinois: 24 deaths
500+	1804	1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Southeastern United States
500	1865	American steamship General Lyon (1864)	Accident – fire, shipwreck	Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina		Fatalities estimated
500	1871	Great Michigan Fire	Wildfire (rural)	Michigan		Fatalities estimated
492	1942	Cocoanut Grove fire	Fire (building)	Boston, Massachusetts		Deadliest nightclub fire ever, and second-deadliest structure fire in U.S. history; loss of life due to blocked exits; burn victims were among the first treated with penicillin
476–1,000+	1927	Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster	Industrial, silicosis	Gauley Bridge, West Virginia		178 admitted deaths, 476 with congressional inquiry, 1,000+ by epidemiologists.
454+	1936	1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee		At least 12 tornadoes, including the following: Tupelo, Mississippi: 216+ deaths Gainesville, Georgia: 203+ deaths
450–800	1862	Dakota War of 1862	Massacre
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

400

Fatalities

400

Year

1857

Article

SS Central America

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off the coast of Georgia

Comments

Fatalities estimated

400

Fatalities

400

Year

1860

Article

PS Lady Elgin

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Chicago, Illinois

400

Fatalities

400

Year

1888

Article

Great Blizzard of 1888

Type

Blizzard

Location

Northeastern United States

Comments

Fatalities estimated

400+

Fatalities

400+

Year

1898

Article

Portland Gale

Type

Storm

Location

New England

385

Fatalities

385

Year

1937

Article

Ohio River flood of 1937

Type

Flood

Location

Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois

Damage (US$)

$5,000,000,000

383+

Fatalities

383+

Year

1917

Article

May–June 1917 tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$6,880,000

Comments

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

Fatalities

383

Year

1950

Article

Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950

Type

Blizzard

Location

Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$66,700,000(1950)

380+

Fatalities

380+

Year

1911

Article

1911 Eastern North America heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

Northeastern United States

372

Fatalities

372

Year

1926

Article

1926 Miami hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

372

Fatalities

372

Year

1944

Article

USS Mount Hood

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

New Guinea

Comments

Ammunition ship explosion.

371+

Fatalities

371+

Year

1909

Article

1909 Grand Isle hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Gulf Coast of the United States

362

Fatalities

362

Year

1907

Article

Monongah mining disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Monongah, West Virginia

361

Fatalities

361

Year

1913

Article

Great Dayton Flood

Type

Flood

Location

Dayton, Ohio

Comments

Flood was created by a series of three winter storms that hit the region in March, 1913

348

Fatalities

348

Year

2011

Article

2011 Super Outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

~$11,000,000,000(2011)

Comments

Including 24 non-tornadic deaths; 367 tornadoes, including the following: Hackleburg–Phil Campbell, Alabama: 72 deaths Tuscaloosa–Birmingham, Alabama: 64 deaths Rainsville, Alabama: 25 deaths Smithville, Mississippi: 23 deaths Shoal Creek Valley–Ohatchee–Piedmont, Alabama/Cave Spring, Georgia: 22 deaths Ringgold, Georgia/Southeast Tennessee: 20 deaths

330+

Fatalities

330+

Year

1932

Article

1932 Deep South tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$4,340,000

Comments

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+

Fatalities

326+

Year

1900

Article

1900 Hoboken Docks fire

Type

Fire (industrial)

Location

Hoboken, New Jersey

Comments

Including 99 deaths on SS Saale

324+

Fatalities

324+

Year

1908

Article

1908 Dixie tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains, Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

At least 29 tornadoes, including the following: Amite, Louisiana/Purvis, Mississippi: 143 deaths Concordia Parish, Louisiana/near Natchez, Mississippi: 91 deaths Bergens/Albertville, Alabama: 35 deaths

322

Fatalities

322

Year

1930

Article

Ohio Penitentiary

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Columbus, Ohio

320

Fatalities

320

Year

1944

Article

Port Chicago disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Port Chicago, California

Comments

World War II ammunition ignited

317+

Fatalities

317+

Year

1840

Article

Great Natchez Tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Natchez, Mississippi

Damage (US$)

$1,260,000

313

Fatalities

313

Year

1837

Article

Steamboat Monmouth disaster

Type

Boat collision

Location

Above Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River

Comments

Fatalities estimated

310

Fatalities

310

Year

1974

Article

1974 Super Outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and New York

Damage (US$)

$3,500,000,000(2005)

Comments

Additional 9 deaths in Ontario; 148 tornadoes, including the following: Xenia, Ohio: 32 deaths Brandenburg, Kentucky: 31 deaths Tanner, Alabama (1st): 28 deaths Guin, Alabama: 28 deaths Otterbein–Monticello–Wolcottville, Indiana: 18 deaths Tanner, Alabama (2nd): 16 deaths

300+

Fatalities

300+

Year

1856

Article

1856 Last Island hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Mississippi

300

Fatalities

300

Year

1864

Article

Oak Run Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Oak Run, California

300

Fatalities

300

Year

1865

Article

Mobile magazine explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Mobile, Alabama

Comments

Civil War ammunition; fatalities estimated

300

Fatalities

300

Year

1921

Article

Tulsa race massacre

Type

Race massacre

Location

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Comments

White mob attacks affluent black neighborhood; fatalities estimated

296–319

Fatalities

296–319

Year

1937

Article

New London School explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

New London, Texas

Damage (US$)

$13,000,000(2003)

Comments

Gas leak

300–400

Fatalities

300–400

Year

1944

Article

1944 Great Atlantic hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Comments

Fatalities estimated

286

Fatalities

286

Year

1960

Article

December 1960 nor'easter

Type

Blizzard

Location

Northeastern United States

283+

Fatalities

283+

Year

1859

Article

Mendocino War

Type

Massacre

Location

Mendocino County, California

282

Fatalities

282

Year

1881

Article

Thumb Fire

Type

Wildfire (rural)

Location

Michigan

Damage (US$)

$2,347,000

278

Fatalities

278

Year

1876

Article

Brooklyn Theatre fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Brooklyn, New York

276–702

Fatalities

276–702

Year

2021

Article

February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm

Type

Blizzard

Location

United States

Damage (US$)

$20,400,000,000

Comments

Additional 14 deaths in Mexico

275

Fatalities

275

Year

1915

Article

1915 Galveston hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

275

Fatalities

275

Year

1915

Article

1915 New Orleans hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana

274

Fatalities

274

Year

1898

Article

USS Maine

Type

Explosion

Location

Havana, Cuba

Comments

A major event that precipitated the Spanish–American War. Exact cause remains unknown.

273

Fatalities

273

Year

1875

Article

Pacific (1850)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Cape Flattery, Washington

Comments

Fatalities estimated

273

Fatalities

273

Year

1979

Article

American Airlines Flight 191

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Comments

Deadliest aircraft accident in U.S. history

272

Fatalities

272

Year

1943

Article

Henry R. Mallory

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

North Atlantic

Comments

United States troopship.

271

Fatalities

271

Year

1965

Article

Palm Sunday tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana

Comments

78 tornadoes, including the following: Coldwater Lake–Southern Hillsdale–Manitou Beach–Devils Lake–Southern Tecumseh, Michigan: 44 deaths from two tornadoes Southern Elkhart–Dunlap, Indiana: 36 deaths Wakarusa–Northern Goshen–Midway–Middlebury, Indiana: 31 deaths Crawfordsville–Southern Arcadia, Indiana: 28 deaths Toledo, Ohio/Lost Peninsula, Michigan: 18 deaths Pittsfield–Grafton–Strongsville, Ohio: 18 deaths Russiaville–Alto–Southern Kokomo–Greentown, Indiana: 17 deaths

270

Fatalities

270

Year

1988

Article

Pan Am Flight 103

Type

Terrorism

Location

Lockerbie, Scotland

Comments

Inflight bombing of a flight from London to New York killed all aboard, including 179 U.S. citizens, and 16 on the ground.

265

Fatalities

265

Year

1913

Article

Dawson, New Mexico

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Dawson, New Mexico

Comments

Including 263 miners and two rescuers

265

Fatalities

265

Year

2001

Article

American Airlines Flight 587

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Queens, New York

Comments

Second-deadliest U.S. aviation accident, and deadliest in New York City.

259

Fatalities

259

Year

1909

Article

Cherry Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Cherry, Illinois

257

Fatalities

257

Year

1932

Article

1932 San Ciprián hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico

256

Fatalities

256

Year

1969

Article

Hurricane Camille

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia

256

Fatalities

256

Year

1985

Article

Arrow Air Flight 1285

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Comments

Most of the passengers were members of the 101st Airborne Division.

252

Fatalities

252

Year

2024

Article

Hurricane Helene

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Southeastern United States

250

Fatalities

250

Year

1858

Article

Pennsylvania (steamboat)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Mississippi River, near Memphis, Tennessee

Comments

Fatalities estimated

250

Fatalities

250

Year

1913

Article

Great Lakes Storm of 1913

Type

Blizzard

Location

Great Lakes region

Damage (US$)

$5,000,000(1913)

Comments

Fatalities estimated

247

Fatalities

247

Year

1903

Article

Heppner flood of 1903

Type

Flood

Location

Heppner, Oregon

247

Fatalities

247

Year

1953

Article

Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska and Massachusetts

Comments

50 tornadoes, including the following: Northern Flint–Beecher, Michigan: 116 deaths Worcester, Massachusetts: 94 deaths Deshler–Fremont–Fairview Lanes–Northeastern Elyria–Western Cleveland, Ohio: 17 deaths

246-280

Fatalities

246-280

Year

1863

Article

Bear River Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Near Preston, Idaho

246

Fatalities

246

Year

1927

Article

Great Mississippi Flood of 1927

Type

Flood

Location

Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee

Damage (US$)

$400,000,000

243+

Fatalities

243+

Year

1920

Article

April 1920 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Comments

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

Fatalities

241–289

Year

1850

Article

SS G. P. Griffith

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Erie

241

Fatalities

241

Year

1983

Article

1983 Beirut barracks bombings

Type

Terrorism

Location

Beirut, Lebanon

Comments

58 French peacekeepers, six civilians and two suicide bombers also died in the attack

240

Fatalities

240

Year

1862

Article

Tonkawa Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Indian Territory

239

Fatalities

239

Year

1907

Article

Darr Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania

238

Fatalities

238

Year

1912

Article

RMS Titanic

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

north Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland

Comments

Only includes U.S. victims

238

Fatalities

238

Year

1972

Article

1972 Black Hills flood

Type

Flood

Location

Rapid City, South Dakota

Damage (US$)

$160,000,000(1972)$664,000,000(2002)

Comments

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

Fatalities

235

Year

1888

Article

Schoolhouse Blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

Midwestern United States

230

Fatalities

230

Year

1996

Article

TWA Flight 800

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Long Island, New York

229

Fatalities

229

Year

1997

Article

Korean Air Flight 801

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Asan-Maina, Guam

229–600

Fatalities

229–600

Year

2021

Article

2021 Western North America heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

Pacific Northwest

Comments

At least 116 deaths in Oregon, at least 112 in Washington, and one in Idaho

225

Fatalities

225

Year

1865

Article

Brother Jonathan (steamer)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Crescent City, California

Comments

Fatalities estimated

225–350

Fatalities

225–350

Year

1890

Article

Wounded Knee Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota

Comments

200–325 estimated Lakota fatalities, 25 U.S. Army

225

Fatalities

225

Year

2006

Article

2006 North American heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

Contiguous United States

223

Fatalities

223

Year

1998

Article

1998 United States embassy bombings

Type

Terrorism

Location

Tanzania, Kenya

Comments

4,000+ injured

217+

Fatalities

217+

Year

1927

Article

Tornado outbreak of May 1927

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

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

Fatalities

217

Year

1999

Article

EgyptAir Flight 990

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, Massachusetts

216

Fatalities

216

Year

1902

Article

Fraterville Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Fraterville, Tennessee

211

Fatalities

211

Year

1906

Article

1906 Florida Keys hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

209

Fatalities

209

Year

1940

Article

Rhythm Club fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Natchez, Mississippi

209

Fatalities

209

Year

1952

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 21–22, 1952

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$285,300,000 (2019)

Comments

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

Fatalities

208

Year

1993

Article

1993 Storm of the Century

Type

Cyclonic blizzard

Location

Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$6,650,000,000(2008)

Comments

Additional 110 deaths in other countries

202

Fatalities

202

Year

1896

Article

1896 Cedar Keys hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Landfall at Cedar Key, Florida;

Damage (US$)

$9,600,000 in 1896($289,000,000 in 2018)

Comments

Heavy damage along much of Eastern Seaboard of U.S.

201

Fatalities

201

Year

1966

Article

North American blizzard of 1966

Type

Blizzard

Location

Eastern United States

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	1926	1926 Miami hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida
372	1944	USS Mount Hood	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: Hackleburg–Phil Campbell, Alabama: 72 deaths Tuscaloosa–Birmingham, Alabama: 64 deaths Rainsville, Alabama: 25 deaths Smithville, Mississippi: 23 deaths Shoal Creek Valley–Ohatchee–Piedmont, Alabama/Cave Spring, Georgia: 22 deaths Ringgold, Georgia/Southeast Tennessee: 20 deaths
330+	1932	1932 Deep South tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Southern United States	$4,340,000	At least 36 tornadoes, including 10 violent (F4 or F5) storms, resulting in 268 deaths in Alabama alone. Deadliest tornadoes include the following: Cox–Union Grove, Alabama: 49+ deaths Gantts Quarry–Chandler Springs, Alabama: 41 deaths Jackson County, Alabama/Jasper, Tennessee: 38+ deaths Ralph–Northport, Alabama: 37 deaths Plantersville–Sylacauga, Alabama: 31 deaths Cullman–Arab, Alabama: 18 deaths Dalton, Georgia/Conasauga, Tennessee: 15 deaths
326+	1900	1900 Hoboken Docks fire	Fire (industrial)	Hoboken, New Jersey		Including 99 deaths on SS Saale
324+	1908	1908 Dixie tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Great Plains, Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 29 tornadoes, including the following: Amite, Louisiana/Purvis, Mississippi: 143 deaths Concordia Parish, Louisiana/near Natchez, Mississippi: 91 deaths Bergens/Albertville, Alabama: 35 deaths
322	1930	Ohio Penitentiary	Fire (building)	Columbus, Ohio
320	1944	Port Chicago disaster	Accident – explosion	Port Chicago, California		World War II ammunition ignited
317+	1840	Great Natchez Tornado	Tornado	Natchez, Mississippi	$1,260,000
313	1837	Steamboat Monmouth disaster	Boat collision	Above Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River		Fatalities estimated
310	1974	1974 Super Outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and New York	$3,500,000,000(2005)	Additional 9 deaths in Ontario; 148 tornadoes, including the following: Xenia, Ohio: 32 deaths Brandenburg, Kentucky: 31 deaths Tanner, Alabama (1st): 28 deaths Guin, Alabama: 28 deaths Otterbein–Monticello–Wolcottville, Indiana: 18 deaths Tanner, Alabama (2nd): 16 deaths
300+	1856	1856 Last Island hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Louisiana, Mississippi
300	1864	Oak Run Massacre	Massacre	Oak Run, California
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	2021	February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm	Blizzard	United States	$20,400,000,000	Additional 14 deaths in Mexico
275	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	Military strike – submarine	North Atlantic		United States troopship.
271	1965	Palm Sunday tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana		78 tornadoes, including the following: Coldwater Lake–Southern Hillsdale–Manitou Beach–Devils Lake–Southern Tecumseh, Michigan: 44 deaths from two tornadoes Southern Elkhart–Dunlap, Indiana: 36 deaths Wakarusa–Northern Goshen–Midway–Middlebury, Indiana: 31 deaths Crawfordsville–Southern Arcadia, Indiana: 28 deaths Toledo, Ohio/Lost Peninsula, Michigan: 18 deaths Pittsfield–Grafton–Strongsville, Ohio: 18 deaths Russiaville–Alto–Southern Kokomo–Greentown, Indiana: 17 deaths
270	1988	Pan Am Flight 103	Terrorism	Lockerbie, Scotland		Inflight bombing of a flight from London to New York killed all aboard, including 179 U.S. citizens, and 16 on the ground.
265	1913	Dawson, New Mexico	Accident – coal mine	Dawson, New Mexico		Including 263 miners and two rescuers
265	2001	American Airlines Flight 587	Accident – aircraft	Queens, New York		Second-deadliest U.S. aviation accident, and deadliest in New York City.
259	1909	Cherry Mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Cherry, Illinois
257	1932	1932 San Ciprián hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Puerto Rico
256	1969	Hurricane Camille	Tropical cyclone	Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia
256	1985	Arrow Air Flight 1285	Accident – aircraft	Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada		Most of the passengers were members of the 101st Airborne Division.
252	2024	Hurricane Helene	Tropical cyclone	Southeastern United States
250	1858	Pennsylvania (steamboat)	Accident – shipwreck	Mississippi River, near Memphis, Tennessee		Fatalities estimated

· 81 to 200 deaths

200–365

Fatalities

200–365

Year

1854

Article

Powhattan (1837)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Harvey Cedars, New Jersey

200–300

Fatalities

200–300

Year

1871

Article

Great Chicago Fire

Type

Fire (urban conflagration)

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Comments

Fatalities estimated; 125 bodies recovered

200+

Fatalities

200+

Year

1900

Article

Scofield Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Scofield, Utah

Comments

Fatalities estimated

195

Fatalities

195

Year

1928

Article

Mather Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Mather, Pennsylvania

192

Fatalities

192

Year

1898

Article

The Portland

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Gloucester, Massachusetts

192

Fatalities

192

Year

1913

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of March 1913

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States

Damage (US$)

$3,000,000

Comments

At least 19 tornadoes, including the following: Omaha, Nebraska: 103 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

190–250

Fatalities

190–250

Year

1847

Article

SS Phoenix (1845)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

187+

Fatalities

187+

Year

1890

Article

March 1890 middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Middle Mississippi Valley

Comments

At least 24 tornadoes, including the following: Shively, Kentucky/Jeffersonville, Indiana: 115 deaths Kevil–West Louisville, Kentucky: 21+ deaths

187

Fatalities

187

Year

1996

Article

North American blizzard of 1996

Type

Winter storm, flood

Location

Eastern United States

Comments

Including 33 deaths due to flooding

186

Fatalities

186

Year

2011

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$7,000,000,000(2011)

Comments

Including the Joplin, Missouri tornado, which caused 158 direct and 8 indirect deaths, the latter of which are included here.

185–200

Fatalities

185–200

Year

1863

Article

Lawrence Massacre

Type

mass murder, military operation

Location

Lawrence, Kansas

184+

Fatalities

184+

Year

1955

Article

Hurricane Diane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

181

Fatalities

181

Year

1785

Article

Faithful Steward (ship)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Cape Henlopen, Delaware Bay

181

Fatalities

181

Year

1904

Article

Harwick Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Cheswick, Pennsylvania

Comments

Fatalities estimated

181+

Fatalities

181+

Year

1909

Article

Tornado outbreak of late-April 1909

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

At least 43 tornadoes, including the following: Aspen Hill–Bee Spring–Mulberry, Tennessee: 31+ deaths Horn Lake, Mississippi/Bolivar–Scotts Hill, Tennessee: 29+ deaths Ship Bend–Clovercroft, Tennessee: 17+ deaths

181

Fatalities

181

Year

1947

Article

1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Oklahoma (especially Woodward), Texas (including Glazier and Higgins), Kansas

180+

Fatalities

180+

Year

1914

Article

Eccles mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Eccles, West Virginia

180

Fatalities

180

Year

1985

Article

1985 Puerto Rico floods

Type

Flood

Location

Puerto Rico

179+

Fatalities

179+

Year

1898

Article

1898 Georgia hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Georgia

178+

Fatalities

178+

Year

1884

Article

Tornado outbreak of February 19–20, 1884

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States

Comments

At least 37 tornadoes, including the following: Jacksonville, Alabama/Cave Spring, Georgia: 30 deaths Pee Dee–Rockingham–Philadelphia–Manly, North Carolina: 23 deaths Cartersville–Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia: 22 deaths

175-350 (?)

Fatalities

175-350 (?)

Year

1919

Article

Red Summer

Type

Periods of mass unrest

Location

Major cities across the United States including Washington, Chicago, and Omaha

Comments

The Washington race riot, the Chicago race riot, the Omaha race riot, Elaine massacre, and various other riots took place from April to November due to racial violence throughout the nation, mostly incited by white supremacists.

175

Fatalities

175

Year

1837

Article

Ben Sherrod

Type

Fire (ship)

Location

Near Natchez, Mississippi

175

Fatalities

175

Year

1864

Article

Sand Creek Massacre

Type

Mass racial violence

Location

Colorado Territory

Comments

Cheyenne-Arapahoe fatalities estimated, U.S. Army/Colorado militia 25 killed

175

Fatalities

175

Year

1908

Article

Collinwood school fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Cleveland, Ohio

Comments

Deadliest school fire in U.S. history; led to many changes in how schools were built.

173-217

Fatalities

173-217

Year

1870

Article

Marias Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Montana Territory

172

Fatalities

172

Year

1924

Article

Castle Gate Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Castle Gate, Utah

Comments

171 miners and one rescue worker

171

Fatalities

171

Year

1908

Article

Rhoads Opera House fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Boyertown, Pennsylvania

Comments

Sources conflict on number of fatalities: 170 or 171.

169

Fatalities

169

Year

1903

Article

Hanna Mine disasters

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Carbon County, Wyoming

168+

Fatalities

168+

Year

1880

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 1880

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States

Comments

At least 20 tornadoes, including the following: Boaz–Evergreen, Missouri: 99 deaths Rocky Comfort–Grovespring: 31 deaths

168

Fatalities

168

Year

1917

Article

Speculator Mine disaster

Type

Fire (mine)

Location

Butte, Montana

168

Fatalities

168

Year

1944

Article

Hartford circus fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Hartford, Connecticut

168

Fatalities

168

Year

1966

Article

1966 New York City smog

Type

Smog incident

Location

New York City and New York metropolitan area, including parts of New Jersey and Connecticut

Comments

Fatalities estimated

168–169

Fatalities

168–169

Year

1995

Article

Oklahoma City bombing

Type

Terrorism

Location

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Comments

Deadliest act of domestic terrorism, and deadliest domestic bombing, in U.S. history

165–173

Fatalities

165–173

Year

1946

Article

1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake

Type

Earthquake, tsunami

Location

Alaska, Hawaii

165

Fatalities

165

Year

1977

Article

Beverly Hills Supper Club fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Southgate, Kentucky

163

Fatalities

163

Year

1944

Article

West Loch disaster

Type

Accident - explosion

Location

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Comments

Classified as top secret until 1960.

162

Fatalities

162

Year

1956

Article

March 18–20, 1956 nor'easter

Type

Blizzard

Location

Northeastern United States

Comments

[citation needed]

160

Fatalities

160

Year

1838

Article

Moselle (riverboat)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Ohio River, near Cincinnati

158

Fatalities

158

Year

2012

Article

Hurricane Sandy

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Most of the United States East Coast

Damage (US$)

$71,400,000,000

Comments

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

Fatalities

157

Year

1960

Article

Hurricane Donna

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

The Caribbean, United States East Coast

Damage (US$)

$491,100,000

Comments

Includes 107 deaths in Puerto Rico.

156-173

Fatalities

156-173

Year

1873

Article

Massacre Canyon

Type

Massacre

Location

Massacre Canyon, Nebraska

156

Fatalities

156

Year

1987

Article

Northwest Airlines Flight 255

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Detroit, Michigan

156+

Fatalities

156+

Year

2022

Article

Hurricane Ian

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, the Carolinas, Virginia

Comments

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

Fatalities

154

Year

1940

Article

1940 Armistice Day Blizzard

Type

Winter storm, shipwrecks

Location

Midwestern United States

Comments

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

154+

Fatalities

154+

Year

1944

Article

1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic States

Comments

At least seven tornadoes, including the following: Wyatt–Shinnston–Cheat Mountain, West Virginia: 100–103 deaths Wellsburg, West Virginia/Oakland, Maryland: 30 deaths Pittsburgh–Somerset, Pennsylvania: 17 deaths

153+

Fatalities

153+

Year

1920

Article

1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

At least 37 tornadoes, including the following: LaGrange, Georgia: 27 deaths Red Hill–Susanna–Red Ridge–Agricola, Alabama/West Point, Georgia: 26 deaths Ossian–Townley, Indiana/Brunersburg–Raab Corners, Ohio: 23 deaths Channahon–Troy Township–Lockport–Bellwood–Maywood–Melrose Park–Dunning, Illinois: 20 deaths West Liberty–Geneva–Ceylon, Indiana/Van Wert, Ohio: 17 deaths

153

Fatalities

153

Year

1982

Article

Pan Am Flight 759

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

150–200

Fatalities

150–200

Year

1849

Article

Louisiana (steamboat)

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments

Fatalities estimated

150–200

Fatalities

150–200

Year

1936

Article

1936 Northeast Flood

Type

Flood

Location

Northeastern United States

Comments

Fatalities estimated

150

Fatalities

150

Year

1854

Article

New Era (1854 ship)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Asbury Park, New Jersey

Comments

Fatalities estimated

149

Fatalities

149

Year

1942

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 16–17, 1942

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$5,250,000

Comments

At least 28 tornadoes, including the following: Berclair–New Harmony, Mississippi: 63 deaths Bethel Springs–Beacon, Tennessee: 15 deaths

146

Fatalities

146

Year

1911

Article

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

New York City, New York

Comments

Led to improved occupational safety standards as well as mandatory comprehensive fire safety standards

145

Fatalities

145

Year

1945

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 12, 1945

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States

Comments

Including 69 deaths from a tornado in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, also including 17 indirect deaths

144

Fatalities

144

Year

1871

Article

Camp Grant Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Camp Grant, Arizona

144

Fatalities

144

Year

1953

Article

1953 Waco tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains, Midwestern United States

Comments

Including 114 deaths from an F5 tornado in Waco, Texas

144

Fatalities

144

Year

1976

Article

1976 Big Thompson River flood

Type

Flood

Location

Colorado

144

Fatalities

144

Year

1978

Article

PSA Flight 182

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

San Diego, California

143+

Fatalities

143+

Year

1916

Article

Tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 1916

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Comments

At least 35 tornadoes including the following: Barney–Heber Springs–Almond, Arkansas: 25+ deaths Kensett–Judsonia–Bald Knob, Arkansas: 25 deaths

140

Fatalities

140

Year

2000

Article

2000 Southern United States heat wave

Type

Heat wave

Location

Southern United States

139

Fatalities

139

Year

1840

Article

Lexington

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Long Island Sound

Comments

Steamship sank due to fire on board

139

Fatalities

139

Year

1874

Article

Mill River (Northampton, Massachusetts)

Type

Accident – dam failure

Location

Hampshire County, Massachusetts

139

Fatalities

139

Year

1917

Article

Eddystone explosion

Type

Explosion

Location

Eddystone, Pennsylvania

138

Fatalities

138

Year

1944

Article

USS Turner (DD-648)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lower New York Bay

137

Fatalities

137

Year

1934

Article

SS Morro Castle (1930)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Long Beach Island, New Jersey

137

Fatalities

137

Year

1985

Article

Delta Air Lines Flight 191

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Dallas, Texas

135+

Fatalities

135+

Year

2025

Article

July 2025 Central Texas floods

Type

Flood

Location

Central Texas (focused on Guadalupe River Watershed in Texas Hill Country)

Comments

Flash flood began overnight July 4 due to remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. 117+ fatalities were in Kerr County, including 27+ campers and counselors of Camp Mystic.

134

Fatalities

134

Year

1906

Article

1906 Mississippi hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Southeastern United States

134

Fatalities

134

Year

1960

Article

1960 New York mid-air collision

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New York City, New York

134

Fatalities

134

Year

1967

Article

1967 USS Forrestal fire

Type

Fire (ship)

Location

Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam

Damage (US$)

>$72,000,000

132

Fatalities

132

Year

1994

Article

USAir Flight 427

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

130–300

Fatalities

130–300

Year

1852

Article

Atlantic (1848)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Erie

130

Fatalities

130

Year

1944

Article

Cleveland East Ohio Gas explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Cleveland, Ohio

Damage (US$)

$7,000,000-$15,000,000

129

Fatalities

129

Year

1963

Article

USS Thresher (SSN-593)

Type

Accident – submarine

Location

Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts

Comments

Deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history.

128

Fatalities

128

Year

1838

Article

Steamship Pulaski disaster

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off North Carolina

128–135

Fatalities

128–135

Year

1901

Article

SS City of Rio de Janeiro

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

San Francisco Bay, California

128

Fatalities

128

Year

1911

Article

Banner Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Alabama

128

Fatalities

128

Year

1915

Article

Sinking of the RMS Lusitania

Type

Military strike – submarine

Location

Atlantic Ocean near Kinsale, Ireland

Comments

Ship torpedoed by a German U-boat. 1,198 fatalities resulted overall; 128 of them were Americans.

128

Fatalities

128

Year

1933

Article

Early-May 1933 tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States

Comments

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

Fatalities

128

Year

1956

Article

1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Comments

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

Fatalities

125

Year

1972

Article

Buffalo Creek flood

Type

Accident – dam failure

Location

Logan County, West Virginia

123

Fatalities

123

Year

1923

Article

Dawson, New Mexico

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Dawson, New Mexico

123

Fatalities

123

Year

1929

Article

Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Cleveland, Ohio

Comments

Nitrate film combustion triggered the fire

123

Fatalities

123

Year

1971

Article

February 1971 Mississippi Delta tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States, Ohio River Valley

Damage (US$)

$45,900,000 (1971)

Comments

19 tornadoes, including the following: Fitler–Cary–Swiftown–Morgan City–Quito–Oxberry–Oxford, Mississippi/Middleton, Tennessee: 58 deaths Waverly, Louisiana/Mayersville–Delta City–Inverness–Moorehead, Mississippi: 47 deaths

122+

Fatalities

122+

Year

1883

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 21–23, 1883

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central and Southern United States

Comments

Including at least 56 deaths from the McCall Creek–Wesson–Beauregard–Georgetown, Mississippi tornado

121

Fatalities

121

Year

1917

Article

Hastings mine explosion

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Las Animas County, Colorado

120

Fatalities

120

Year

1857

Article

Mountain Meadows Massacre

Type

mass murder

Location

Utah Territory

Comments

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

Fatalities

120

Year

1933

Article

Long Beach earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Long Beach, California

Damage (US$)

$50,000,000(1933)

120

Fatalities

120

Year

2005

Article

Hurricane Rita

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana

Damage (US$)

$18,500,000,000(2005)

Comments

Including 23 deaths from a bus fire during evacuations in Wilmer, Texas

119-120

Fatalities

119-120

Year

1863

Article

New York City draft riots

Type

Riot

Location

New York City, New York

Damage (US$)

$1–5 million (1863)

Comments

It was the worst civil unrest in modern U.S. history. Required diverting Union Army troops from the front to put down.

119

Fatalities

119

Year

1924

Article

Benwood mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Benwood, West Virginia

119

Fatalities

119

Year

1946

Article

Winecoff Hotel fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Atlanta, Georgia

119

Fatalities

119

Year

1951

Article

West Frankfort, Illinois

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

West Frankfort, Illinois

119

Fatalities

119

Year

1972

Article

Hurricane Agnes

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$2,100,000,000

117

Fatalities

117

Year

1899

Article

New Richmond tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

New Richmond, Wisconsin

Damage (US$)

>$300,000 ($11.3 million in 2024 dollars).

Comments

Tornado hit the same time the circus was in town.

116

Fatalities

116

Year

1918

Article

1918 San Fermín earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Puerto Rico

115

Fatalities

115

Year

1837

Article

Wreck of the Mexico

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Long Beach, New York

115

Fatalities

115

Year

1902

Article

Shiloh Baptist Church stampede

Type

Stampede

Location

Birmingham, Alabama

115

Fatalities

115

Year

1938

Article

Los Angeles flood of 1938

Type

Flood

Location

Los Angeles, California

Damage (US$)

$78 million (1938)

Comments

Deadliest disaster in Los Angeles history

115

Fatalities

115

Year

1944

Article

USS St. Augustine (PG-54)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Cape May, New Jersey

115

Fatalities

115

Year

1964

Article

Good Friday earthquake

Type

Earthquake, tsunami

Location

Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, California

Damage (US$)

$1,800,000,000(2006)

114

Fatalities

114

Year

1902

Article

1902 Goliad, Texas tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Goliad, Texas

114

Fatalities

114

Year

1924

Article

April 1924 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Comments

Including 53 deaths from a single tornado in South Carolina

114

Fatalities

114

Year

1981

Article

Hyatt Regency walkway collapse

Type

Accident – collapse

Location

Kansas City, Missouri

113

Fatalities

113

Year

1975

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New York City, New York

112

Fatalities

112

Year

1902

Article

Rolling Mill Mine

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

112+

Fatalities

112+

Year

1905

Article

1905 Snyder tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Snyder, Oklahoma

112

Fatalities

112

Year

1915

Article

Layland, West Virginia § Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Layland, West Virginia

112

Fatalities

112

Year

1989

Article

United Airlines Flight 232

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Sioux City, Iowa

112

Fatalities

112

Year

2008

Article

Hurricane Ike

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas; Louisiana

Damage (US$)

$30,000,000,000(2008)

Comments

34 people still missing as of 2013[update]

111

Fatalities

111

Year

1928

Article

SS Vestris

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Hampton Roads, Virginia

111

Fatalities

111

Year

1947

Article

Centralia mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Centralia, Illinois

111

Fatalities

111

Year

1971

Article

Alaska Airlines Flight 1866

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Juneau, Alaska

110

Fatalities

110

Year

1869

Article

Avondale Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Plymouth, Pennsylvania

110

Fatalities

110

Year

1996

Article

ValuJet Flight 592

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Florida Everglades

109

Fatalities

109

Year

1891

Article

Mammoth Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

106

Fatalities

106

Year

2017

Article

Hurricane Harvey

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Louisiana

Damage (US$)

$125,000,000,000(2017)

Comments

Tied with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest natural disaster in United States history. One additional death occurred in Guyana.

104

Fatalities

104

Year

1694

Article

Raid on Oyster River

Type

Massacre

Location

Durham, New Hampshire

Comments

A group of Abenaki and some Maliseet, directed by the French, attacked an English settlement.

103

Fatalities

103

Year

1837

Article

Racer's hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone, shipwreck

Location

Mexico, Texas, Gulf Coast

Comments

Fatalities estimated; including 90 deaths from the wreck of SS Home off Cape Hatteras; additional two deaths occurred in the Republic of Texas

103

Fatalities

103

Year

1884

Article

SS City of Columbus

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Aquinnah, Massachusetts

102

Fatalities

102

Year

1955

Article

1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States

Comments

46 tornadoes, including the following: Udall, Kansas: 80 deaths Blackwell, Oklahoma: 20 deaths

102+

Fatalities

102+

Year

2023

Article

2023 Hawaii wildfires

Type

Wildfire

Location

Hawaii

101

Fatalities

101

Year

1918

Article

Great Train Wreck of 1918

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Nashville, Tennessee

Comments

Deadliest rail accident in U.S. history

101

Fatalities

101

Year

1963

Article

Northwest Airlines Flight 293

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Annette Island, Alaska

101

Fatalities

101

Year

1972

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Miami, Florida

100

Fatalities

100

Year

1812

Article

1812 Louisiana hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana

Comments

Fatalities estimated

100+

Fatalities

100+

Year

1850

Article

Anglo-Norman (steamboat)

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments

Fatalities estimated

100+

Fatalities

100+

Year

1852

Article

Saluda (steamship)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lexington, Missouri

100–125

Fatalities

100–125

Year

1865

Article

SS Pewabic

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Huron

100

Fatalities

100

Year

1892

Article

Krebs, Oklahoma § 1892 mining explosion

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Krebs, Oklahoma (then Choctaw nation, Indian Territory)

Comments

Natural gas explosion

100+

Fatalities

100+

Year

1899

Article

Great Blizzard of 1899

Type

Winter storm, cold wave

Location

Contiguous United States

100

Fatalities

100

Year

1900

Article

1900 Guam typhoon

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Guam

100

Fatalities

100

Year

1918

Article

T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Sayreville, New Jersey

Comments

Fatalities estimated

100+

Fatalities

100+

Year

1937

Article

Elixir sulfanilamide

Type

Mass poisoning

Location

United States

100

Fatalities

100

Year

1978

Article

Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978

Type

Blizzard

Location

Northeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$1,075,000,000(2010)

Comments

Fatalities estimated

100

Fatalities

100

Year

2003

Article

The Station nightclub fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

West Warwick, Rhode Island

Comments

4th-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, killing 100 people and injuring more than 200.

100

Fatalities

100

Year

2022

Article

December 2022 North American winter storm

Type

Winter storm

Location

Pacific Northwest, Central United States, Eastern United States

Comments

Six additional deaths were reported in Canada

Fatalities

Year

1880

Article

Marshfield Cyclone

Type

Tornado

Location

Springfield metropolitan area, Missouri

Damage (US$)

$1,000,000

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

USS Scorpion (SSN-589)

Type

Accident – submarine

Location

North Atlantic Ocean 1500 km west of Madeira

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

Hurricane Irma

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, Eastern United States (particularly Florida)

Damage (US$)

$53,400,000,000(2017)

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1877

Article

USS Huron (1875)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Nags Head, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1890

Article

Sea Wing disaster

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Pepin near Lake City, Minnesota

Comments

Strong winds toppled the excursion vessel.

98+

Fatalities

98+

Year

1903

Article

1903 Gainesville tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Gainesville, Georgia

Fatalities

Year

1922

Article

Knickerbocker Theatre

Type

Roof collapse

Location

Washington, District of Columbia

Comments

Roof collapsed due to the eponymous Knickerbocker storm

Fatalities

Year

2021

Article

Surfside condominium collapse

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Surfside, Florida

97+

Fatalities

97+

Year

1900

Article

Tornado outbreak of November 20–21, 1900

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Comments

At least 14 tornadoes, including the following: Moon Lake–Stray Horn, Mississippi/La Grange, Tennesse: 42 deaths Columbia, Tennessee: 27 deaths

Fatalities

Year

1904

Article

Eden train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Pueblo, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

1974

Article

Pan Am Flight 806

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Pago Pago, American Samoa

96+

Fatalities

96+

Year

1875

Article

March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States

Comments

Including at least 28 deaths from a single tornado between Georgia and South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

Wellington avalanche

Type

Avalanche

Location

Wellington, Washington

Comments

Avalanche hit 2 trains in Tye Canyon

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Southern Airways Flight 242; Tornado outbreak of April 1977

Type

Accident – aircraft; tornado outbreak

Location

New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia; tornadoes affected Southeastern United States

Comments

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

Fatalities

96–98

Year

1986

Article

Dupont Plaza Hotel arson

Type

mass murder – arson

Location

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1954

Article

Hurricane Hazel

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

North Carolina; South Carolina

Comments

U.S. victims only

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Our Lady of the Angels School fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

American Airlines Flight 1

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

2021

Article

Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States, Midwestern United States

Comments

Including 6 non-tornadic and indirect deaths; 71 tornadoes, including the following: Western Kentucky: 58 deaths (including one indirect) Bowling Green, Kentucky: 17 deaths (including one indirect)

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

February 1969 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm

Location

Northeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1918

Article

Malbone Street wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Brooklyn, New York

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1939

Article

1939 California tropical storm

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Southern California

Comments

Including 48 offshore deaths

Fatalities

Year

2021

Article

Hurricane Ida

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Gulf Coast of the United States, Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1876

Article

Ashtabula River railroad disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Ashtabula, Ohio

Comments

Fatalities approximated

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 1919

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains

Comments

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

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

Baltimore Mine Tunnel disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1974

Article

TWA Flight 514

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Berryville, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

2024

Article

Mid-January 2024 North American winter storm

Type

Winter storm

Location

Contiguous United States

Fatalities

Year

1972

Article

Sunshine Mine

Type

Accident – silver mine

Location

Big Creek, Idaho

Comments

Mass carbon monoxide poisoning

Fatalities

Year

1899

Article

Windsor Hotel fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Manhattan, New York

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1973

Article

Delta Air Lines Flight 723

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

88–145

Fatalities

88–145

Year

1860

Article

Pemberton Mill

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1907

Article

SS Columbia (1880)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Shelter Cove, California

Fatalities

Year

2000

Article

Alaska Airlines Flight 261

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California

87+

Fatalities

87+

Year

1886

Article

1886 St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central Minnesota

Damage (US$)

$400,000

Comments

Including 72 deaths from the St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado

Fatalities

Year

1918

Article

Columbia (collapsed paddle steamer)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Creve Coeur, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1952

Article

1952 Moses Lake C-124 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Moses Lake, Washington

Fatalities

Year

1990

Article

Happy Land fire

Type

mass murder – arson

Location

New York City, New York

Comments

Deadliest mass murder by a single person in U.S. history.[citation needed]

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

Great Fire of 1910

Type

Wildfire

Location

Washington, Idaho, Montana

Fatalities

Year

1918

Article

Hammond Circus Train Wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Hammond, Indiana

Fatalities

Year

1993

Article

Waco siege

Type

Police raid – Fire

Location

Branch Davidian Complex, Waco, Texas

Comments

6 Davidians and 4 police killed in initial raid. Weeks later during final FBI assault, 76 Davidians died in a fire of disputed origin.

Fatalities

Year

1878

Article

USS Stars and Stripes (1861)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Currituck, North Carolina

85–90

Fatalities

85–90

Year

1924

Article

1924 Lorain–Sandusky tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Lorain and Sandusky, Ohio

Damage (US$)

$12,500,000

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

Woodbridge train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Woodbridge, New Jersey

85+

Fatalities

85+

Year

1967

Article

Long, hot summer of 1967

Type

Periods of mass unrest

Location

Major cities in the United States like, Detroit, Newark, and Milwaukee

Comments

The riots were mainly caused by racial tension, poverty, and police brutality. These were one of many instances of mass racial violence in the United States

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

Paradise Airlines Flight 901A

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Braniff Flight 352

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Dawson, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

MGM Grand fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

Camp Fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

Paradise, California

Comments

Deadliest fire in California history.

Fatalities

Year

1911

Article

Cross Mountain Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Briceville, Tennessee

84+

Fatalities

84+

Year

1916

Article

1916 Charleston hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone, flood

Location

South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia

Comments

Most deaths were due to a flood event

84+

Fatalities

84+

Year

1927

Article

Great Vermont Flood of 1927

Type

Flood

Location

Vermont

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 663

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Johnstown flood of 1977

Type

Flash flood

Location

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Damage (US$)

$300,000,000

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1999

Article

Hurricane Floyd

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

January 2007 North American ice storm

Type

Winter storm

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

Comments

Additional three deaths in Canada

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

American Flyers Flight 280

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Ardmore, Oklahoma

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

Allegheny Airlines Flight 853

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Shelby County, Indiana

Comments

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.

82+

Fatalities

82+

Year

1927

Article

Tornado outbreak of September 29, 1927

Type

Tornado

Location

Midwestern and Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$22,000,000

Comments

Including at least 72 deaths from the St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado

Fatalities

Year

1930

Article

Millfield Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Dover Township, Athens County, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

Piedmont Airlines Flight 22

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Hendersonville, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1986

Article

1986 Cerritos mid-air collision

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Cerritos, California

81–85

Fatalities

81–85

Year

1887

Article

Great Chatsworth train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Chatsworth, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1963

Article

Pan Am Flight 214

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Elkton, Maryland

Comments

Lightning strike

Fatalities

Year

1963

Article

1963 Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum gas explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Indianapolis, Indiana

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
192	1913	Tornado outbreak sequence of March 1913	Tornado outbreak	Central United States	$3,000,000	At least 19 tornadoes, including the following: Omaha, Nebraska: 103 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
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+	1909	Tornado outbreak of late-April 1909	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 43 tornadoes, including the following: Aspen Hill–Bee Spring–Mulberry, Tennessee: 31+ deaths Horn Lake, Mississippi/Bolivar–Scotts Hill, Tennessee: 29+ deaths Ship Bend–Clovercroft, Tennessee: 17+ deaths
181	1947	1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes	Tornado outbreak	Oklahoma (especially Woodward), Texas (including Glazier and Higgins), Kansas
180+	1914	Eccles mine disaster	Accident – coal mine	Eccles, West Virginia
180	1985	1985 Puerto Rico floods	Flood	Puerto Rico
179+	1898	1898 Georgia hurricane	Tropical cyclone	Florida, Georgia
178+	1884	Tornado outbreak of February 19–20, 1884	Tornado outbreak	Southeastern United States		At least 37 tornadoes, including the following: Jacksonville, Alabama/Cave Spring, Georgia: 30 deaths Pee Dee–Rockingham–Philadelphia–Manly, North Carolina: 23 deaths Cartersville–Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia: 22 deaths
175-350 (?)	1919	Red Summer	Periods of mass unrest	Major cities across the United States including Washington, Chicago, and Omaha		The Washington race riot, the Chicago race riot, the Omaha race riot, Elaine massacre, and various other riots took place from April to November due to racial violence throughout the nation, mostly incited by white supremacists.
175	1837	Ben Sherrod	Fire (ship)	Near Natchez, Mississippi
175	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.
173-217	1870	Marias Massacre	Massacre	Montana Territory
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
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.
156-173	1873	Massacre Canyon	Massacre	Massacre Canyon, Nebraska
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
154+	1944	1944 Appalachians tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic States		At least seven tornadoes, including the following: Wyatt–Shinnston–Cheat Mountain, West Virginia: 100–103 deaths Wellsburg, West Virginia/Oakland, Maryland: 30 deaths Pittsburgh–Somerset, Pennsylvania: 17 deaths
153+	1920	1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern United States, Southern United States		At least 37 tornadoes, including the following: LaGrange, Georgia: 27 deaths Red Hill–Susanna–Red Ridge–Agricola, Alabama/West Point, Georgia: 26 deaths Ossian–Townley, Indiana/Brunersburg–Raab Corners, Ohio: 23 deaths Channahon–Troy Township–Lockport–Bellwood–Maywood–Melrose Park–Dunning, Illinois: 20 deaths West Liberty–Geneva–Ceylon, Indiana/Van Wert, Ohio: 17 deaths
153	1982	Pan Am Flight 759	Accident – aircraft	New Orleans, Louisiana
150–200	1849	Louisiana (steamboat)	Boiler explosion	New Orleans, Louisiana		Fatalities estimated
150–200	1936	1936 Northeast Flood	Flood	Northeastern United States		Fatalities estimated

· 41 to 80 deaths

80+

Fatalities

80+

Year

1813

Article

USS Hamilton (1809) and USS Scourge (1812)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Ontario

Comments

Two ships sank during a squall

80+

Fatalities

80+

Year

1880

Article

PS Alpena

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

80+

Fatalities

80+

Year

1864

Article

Washoe

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

Steamboat Slough, California

80+

Fatalities

80+

Year

1910

Article

Palos No. 3 coal mine

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Jefferson County, Alabama

80+

Fatalities

80+

Year

1960

Article

March 1960 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm

Location

Northeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

World Airways Flight 830

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Barrigada, Guam

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

Frankford Junction train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1862

Article

Allegheny Arsenal

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Comments

Largest civilian death toll during American Civil War

Fatalities

Year

1875

Article

Precious Blood Church fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Holyoke, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1911

Article

Austin Dam failure (Pennsylvania)

Type

Dam failure

Location

Keating Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

Kew Gardens train crash

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Kew Gardens, New York

Comments

Deadliest surface rail accident in New York City

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

TWA Flight 529

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Hinsdale, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Farmington Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Farmington, West Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

MV George Prince ferry disaster

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Mississippi River, Louisiana

Comments

Deadliest ferry disaster in U.S. history

Fatalities

Year

1982

Article

Air Florida Flight 90

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

District of Columbia

Fatalities

Year

1923

Article

Cleveland School fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Camden, South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

North American blizzard of 1947

Type

Winter storm

Location

Mid-Atlantic

Fatalities

Year

1929

Article

SS San Juan

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off California

Comments

Collided with S.C.T. Dodd

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Richmond, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1872

Article

Skeleton Cave Massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Salt River Canyon, Arizona

76+

Fatalities

76+

Year

1883

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 13–14, 1913

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern and Southern United States

Comments

Including 15 deaths from the Armuchee–Curryville–Resaca, Georgia tornado

Fatalities

Year

1985

Article

1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario

Damage (US$)

$1,270,000,000 (2019)

Comments

Including two tornadoes which crossed the Ohio–Pennsylvania border and killed 16 and 18 people respectively; additional 14 deaths in Ontario

Fatalities

Year

1863

Article

Chunky Creek train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Newton County, Mississippi

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

Smith Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Between Bearcreek and Washoe, Montana

Comments

74 miners and one rescue worker

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

Hurricane Betsy

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Southern Airways Flight 932

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Ceredo, West Virginia

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1927

Article

1927 Rocksprings tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Rocksprings and Leakey, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1949

Article

St. Anthony's Hospital fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Effingham, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1868

Article

United States and America steamboat disaster

Type

Boat collision

Location

Near Warsaw, Kentucky

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

Hurricane Connie

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico

Comments

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

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (June 1956)

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Atlantic Ocean, off New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

Melbourne-Evans collision

Type

Accident – maritime

Location

South China Sea

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

Italian Hall disaster

Type

Stampede

Location

Calumet, Michigan

Comments

Second-largest loss of life within the state of Michigan.

Fatalities

Year

1925

Article

1925 Florida tropical storm

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1933

Article

USS Akron

Type

Accident – Airship

Location

Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New Jersey

Comments

Deadliest airship disaster in history.

Fatalities

Year

1990

Article

Avianca Flight 52

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Cove Neck, New York

Fatalities

Year

1811

Article

Richmond Theatre fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Richmond, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1932

Article

Observation (steamboat)

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

East River, New York City

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

Rennert railroad accident

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Rennert, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1957

Article

Warrenton Nursing Home fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Warrenton, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Tornado outbreak of May 1968

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$52,500,000

Comments

Including a tornado which struck Jonesboro, Arkansas and killed 35 people in total

Fatalities

Year

1974

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Charlotte, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1878

Article

Gale of 1878

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1978

Article

Great Blizzard of 1978

Type

Winter storm

Location

Great Lakes region

70+

Fatalities

70+

Year

1883

Article

Newhall House Hotel Fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

TWA Flight 128

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Constance, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1954

Article

Hurricane Carol

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Mid-Atlantic United States, New England

Fatalities

Year

1975

Article

Great Storm of 1975

Type

Blizzard, tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States

Comments

58 deaths from blizzard, 12 from tornadoes

Fatalities

Year

1985

Article

Galaxy Airlines Flight 203

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Reno, Nevada

Fatalities

Year

1936

Article

Pittsburgh Flood of 1936

Type

Flood

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area

Damage (US$)

$3,000,000,000(2006)

Fatalities

Year

1989

Article

Loma Prieta earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

San Francisco Bay Area, California

Damage (US$)

$6,000,000,000(1989)

Comments

Including 42 deaths due to the collapse of the Cypress Street Viaduct

Fatalities

Year

1882

Article

1882 Grinnell tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Grinnell and Malcolm

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

American Eagle Flight 4184

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Roselawn, Indiana

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

2025 Potomac River mid-air collision

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Potomac River near Washington D.C.

Comments

Deadliest accident involving a helicopter in U.S. history

Fatalities

Year

1888

Article

Mud Run disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Eastern Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1905

Article

USS Bennington (PG-4) § Boiler explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

San Diego, California

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Waianae Range, Hawaii Territory

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

United Airlines Flight 409

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming

65+

Fatalities

65+

Year

1902

Article

Yacolt Burn

Type

Wildfires

Location

Washington, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

American Airlines Flight 320

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1971

Article

Sylmar earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Greater Los Angeles Area, California

Damage (US$)

$500,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2009

Article

January 2009 North American ice storm

Type

Winter storm

Location

Central United States

64-77

Fatalities

64-77

Year

1879

Article

Fort Robinson massacre

Type

Massacre

Location

Fort Robinson, Nebraska

Fatalities

Year

1903

Article

Connellsville train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Connellsville, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1983

Article

1983 United States embassy bombing

Type

Terrorism

Location

Beirut, Lebanon

Fatalities

Year

1940

Article

Sonman Mine explosion

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Portage Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Tell City, Indiana

Comments

Wing failure resulting from freak vibrations in clear weather turbulence was the probable cause.

Fatalities

Year

1963

Article

Golden Age Nursing Home fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Fitchville, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1992

Article

1992 Los Angeles riots

Type

Riot

Location

Los Angeles County, California

Damage (US$)

~$1,000,000,000

Comments

An incident of civil unrest sparked by the beating of Rodney King. It was the second deadliest incident of civil unrest in modern U.S. history since the New York City Draft Riots.

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 375

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1985

Article

1985 Election Day floods

Type

Flood

Location

Virginia, West Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

Freckleton air disaster

Type

Military aircraft, Accident

Location

Freckleton, England

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1946

Article

La Salle Hotel

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

Great Chilean earthquake

Type

Tsunami

Location

Hawaii, Alaska

Damage (US$)

$500,000(2005)

Comments

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

Fatalities

Year

1992

Article

Hurricane Andrew

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Louisiana

Damage (US$)

$27,250,000,000 (1992)

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

2017 Las Vegas shooting

Type

Mass shooting

Location

Paradise, Nevada

Comments

60 victims and 1 perpetrator, with the perpetrator committing suicide. The deadliest mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history.

60+

Fatalities

60+

Year

1856

Article

PS Niagara

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Belgium, Wisconsin

60–72

Fatalities

60–72

Year

1864

Article

Shohola train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Shohola, Pennsylvania

Comments

Train collision along upper Delaware River. Official death toll is 65.

Fatalities

Year

1886

Article

1886 Charleston earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, East coast of the United States

Damage (US$)

$5,000,000–6,000,000

Comments

Massive earthquake starting in South Carolina, spreading across the East Coast of the US.

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

Hurricane Inez

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida Keys, Gulf Coast of the United States

Comments

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

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

1967 Chicago blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

Midwestern United States

Comments

26 deaths in Chicago

59–67

Fatalities

59–67

Year

1856

Article

Great Train Wreck of 1856

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1908

Article

Hanna Mine disasters

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Carbon County, Wyoming

Fatalities

Year

1957

Article

May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Great Plains, Midwestern United States

Comments

Including 44 deaths from the Ruskin Heights tornado

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

December 2015 North American storm complex

Type

Tornado outbreak, winter storm, flood

Location

Southwestern, Central, and New England

Damage (US$)

$1,200,000,000 (2015)

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

Hurricane Michael

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

Damage (US$)

$25,000,000,000

Comments

Category 5 hurricane that caused 16 direct and 43 indirect deaths in the US, as well as 15 in Central America

58+

Fatalities

58+

Year

1865

Article

Yosemite explosion

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

Sacramento River

Fatalities

Year

1896

Article

Twin Shaft disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Pittston, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1905

Article

Grover Shoe Factory disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Brockton, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Lake Michigan

Comments

Airplane wreckage never found

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

1951 Miami Airlines C-46 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Comments

First of three plane crashes in Elizabeth over three months

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 304

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

American Airlines Flight 383

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Cincinnati, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 3–4, 1966

Type

Tornado

Location

Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$75,500,000

Comments

All 58 deaths due to the Candlestick Park tornado

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Upper Midwest

Comments

45 tornadoes, including the following: Oak Lawn–Evergreen Park–Chicago South Side, Illinois: 33 deaths Belvidere, Illinois: 24 deaths

Fatalities

Year

1979

Article

1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

Including the Wichita Falls, Texas tornado which killed 42 people

Fatalities

Year

1903

Article

1903 New Jersey hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Mid-Atlantic

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

1919 Fergus Falls tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Damage (US$)

$4,000,000

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens

Type

Volcano

Location

Washington

Damage (US$)

$1,100,000,000

Fatalities

Year

1984

Article

1984 Carolinas tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

Northridge earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Greater Los Angeles area, California

Damage (US$)

$23,000,000,000

Fatalities

Year

1999

Article

1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Tennessee

Damage (US$)

$1,500,000,000(2005)

Comments

66 tornadoes, including the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado, which killed 36 people; also including seven non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

Mid-December 2007 North American winter storms

Type

Winter storm

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

Comments

Two winter storms in quick succession, the latter of which caused an additional six deaths in Canada

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, and Illinois

Damage (US$)

$1,200,000,000

Comments

Including the Castalian Springs–Lafayette, Tennessee/Tompkinsville, Kentucky tornado which killed 22 people

Fatalities

Year

1844

Article

Lucy Walker steamboat disaster

Type

Accident – explosion, shipwreck

Location

Ohio River, near New Albany, Indiana

Comments

Exact number of fatalities unknown

Fatalities

Year

1875

Article

City of Waco

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Galveston, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1904

Article

New Market train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

New Market, Tennessee

Fatalities

Year

1912

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 20–22, 1912

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

High Plains, Upper Midwest, Southern United States

Fatalities

Year

1880

Article

SS Narragansett

Type

Accident – shipwreck, fire

Location

Long Island Sound

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1898

Article

1898 Fort Smith, Arkansas, tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Fort Smith, Arkansas

55+

Fatalities

55+

Year

1905

Article

Mataafa Storm

Type

Winter storm, shipwrecks

Location

Great Lakes region

Comments

Approximately 29 vessels destroyed or damaged, including SS Mataafa and SS Ira H. Owen

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

Gulf Hotel fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Houston, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1949

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 537

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Alexandria, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1975

Article

Hurricane Eloise

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2016

Article

January 2016 United States blizzard

Type

Blizzard

Location

Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$500,000,000, to $3,000,000,000(2016)

Fatalities

Year

1932

Article

1932 Moweaqua Coal Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Moweaqua, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

2004

Article

Hurricane Ivan

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Florida

Damage (US$)

$13,000,000,000(2004)

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

Hurricane Florence

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Damage (US$)

$24,230,000,000

Comments

Category 4 hurricane that caused major damage and 54 recorded fatalities in the US; 24 direct and 30 indirect.

Fatalities

Year

1906

Article

1906 Atlantic City train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1906

Article

1906 Washington, D.C., train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Washington, D.C.

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 20–21, 1913

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$655,000

Comments

Including 27 deaths from the Fulton–Lower Peach Tree, Alabama tornado

Fatalities

Year

1925

Article

Coal Glen mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Farmville, Chatham County, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1942

Article

Battle of Dutch Harbor

Type

Military strike – bombing

Location

Unalaska, Alaska

Comments

43 American and 10 Japanese fatalities. Deadliest attack on continental U.S. by a foreign power since the Mexican–American War.

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 605

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Port Deposit, Maryland

Fatalities

Year

1949

Article

1949 Strato-Freight Curtiss C-46A crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

West of San Juan-Isla Grande Airport, Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

1965 Searcy missile silo fire

Type

Fire – underground

Location

Searcy, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Hurricane Gustav

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida

Fatalities

Year

2022

Article

2022 San Antonio migrant deaths

Type

Suspected migrant smuggling operation

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Comments

Twelve others hospitalized.

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

Green Mountain train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Green Mountain, Iowa

Fatalities

Year

1929

Article

SS Milwaukee (1902)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1940

Article

Hercules Powder plant disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Roxbury, New Jersey

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1940

Article

1940 South Carolina hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

United Airlines Flight 608

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Bryce Canyon, Utah

Fatalities

Year

1952

Article

Pan Am Flight 526A

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Off San Juan, Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1952

Article

1952 Mount Gannett C-124 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Mount Gannett, Alaska Territory

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

SS Andrea Doria, MV Astoria

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1978

Article

Willow Island disaster

Type

Accident – Construction

Location

Willow Island, West Virginia

Comments

Scaffolding fell 166 feet (51 m) with insufficiently cured concrete

Fatalities

Year

2003

Article

Hurricane Isabel

Type

Tropical cyclone, Flooding

Location

Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Ontario

Damage (US$)

5,500,000,000 (2003)

Comments

Worst hurricane to hit Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1852

Article

Henry Clay (steamboat)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Riverdale, Bronx, New York

Comments

Fatalities estimated

50+

Fatalities

50+

Year

1871

Article

Port Huron Fire of 1871

Type

Wildfire

Location

Port Huron, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1896

Article

1896 Atlantic City rail crash

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Atlantic City, New Jersey

50–52

Fatalities

50–52

Year

1918

Article

Split Rock, New York

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Split Rock, New York

Fatalities

Year

1925

Article

Rockport train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Hackettstown, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 410

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Charles Town, West Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

United Airlines Flight 610

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

West of Fort Collins, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

United Airlines Flight 615

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Decoto, California

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

Capital Airlines Flight 20

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Holdcroft, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1971

Article

Hughes Airwest Flight 706

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California

Fatalities

Year

1993

Article

Great Flood of 1993

Type

Flood

Location

Midwest

Damage (US$)

$15,000,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2003

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Great Plains, Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$4,100,000,000

Comments

Including nine non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2009

Article

Colgan Air Flight 3407

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Clarence Center, New York

Fatalities

Year

2016

Article

Orlando nightclub shooting

Type

Terrorism

Location

Orlando, Florida

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1867

Article

Angola Horror

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Angola, New York

49[citation needed]

Fatalities

49[citation needed]

Year

1892

Article

Giant Powder Company

Type

Accident – explosions

Location

Albany, California

Comments

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.[failed verification]

Fatalities

Year

1917

Article

Shepherdsville train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Shepherdsville, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1936

Article

1936 Cordele–Greensboro tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States

Comments

Including 23 deaths from a tornado near Cordele, Georgia

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of Early-December 1953

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$45,709,000

Comments

Including 38 deaths from the Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

United Airlines Flight 736

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Enterprise, Nevada

Fatalities

Year

1989

Article

Hurricane Hugo

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States.

Damage (US$)

$7,000,000,000(1989)

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

2004

Article

Hurricane Frances

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

Damage (US$)

$9,000,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2006

Article

Comair Flight 5191

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Lexington, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

Hurricane Irene

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States

Damage (US$)

$15,800,000,000(2011)

Comments

49 fatalities in U.S., including 1 in Puerto Rico, with 10 additional fatalities elsewhere.

Fatalities

Year

1853

Article

Norwalk rail accident

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Norwalk, Connecticut

Fatalities

Year

1866

Article

Memphis massacre of 1866

Type

Mass racial violence

Location

Memphis, Tennessee

Fatalities

Year

1924

Article

USS Mississippi (BB-41) turret explosion

Location

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1942

Article

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Will County, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

Bagley train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

West of Ogden, Utah

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Newark Bay rail accident

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Newark Bay, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

2024

Article

Hurricane Beryl

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Louisiana, Ohio Valley, Northeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1912

Article

1912 United States cold wave

Type

Cold wave

Location

Midwestern United States

47+

Fatalities

47+

Year

1917

Article

March 1917 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Ohio Valley

Comments

Including 46 deaths from a single tornado in Indiana and Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1922

Article

Argonaut Mine

Type

Accident – gold mine

Location

Jackson, California

Fatalities

Year

1933

Article

1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1938

Article

Custer Creek train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Saugus, Montana

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

Stockton train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Stockton, Georgia

Fatalities

Year

1946

Article

Tornado outbreak of January 4–6, 1946

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

South—Central United States

Comments

Including 15 deaths in the Log Lake–Southview–Palestine tornado, which is considered one of the worst tornadoes in the history of Texas.

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Capital Airlines Flight 67

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Saginaw Bay, near Freeland, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1989

Article

USS Iowa turret explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Caribbean Sea, off Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1993

Article

Big Bayou Canot train disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Mobile, Alabama

Comments

Deadliest train crash in Amtrak history.

Fatalities

Year

2016

Article

Hurricane Matthew

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Georgia, The Carolinas

Damage (US$)

$10,000,000,000(2016)

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1873

Article

Dixon Bridge Disaster

Type

Accident – bridge collapse

Location

Dixon, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1886

Article

1886 Indianola hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Indianola, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1900

Article

Red Ash Mine disasters

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Fire Creek, West Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1916

Article

Summer Street Bridge disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1942

Article

USS S-26 (SS-131)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Gulf of Panama

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

National Airlines Flight 470

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Gulf of Mexico, off Fort Morgan, Alabama

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

Hurricane Carla

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Louisiana

Damage (US$)

$325.74 million (U.S. only)

Comments

Landed Port O'Connor, Texas on September 11 as Category 4, continued northeast across U.S., dissipated in eastern Canada on September 14.

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

Silver Bridge collapse

Type

Accident – Bridge collapse

Location

Ohio River between Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Gallipolis, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

Air Manila Flight 702

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Naval Air Station Agana, Guam

Fatalities

Year

1983

Article

February 1983 North American blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

Northeastern United States

45–91

Fatalities

45–91

Year

1871

Article

Staten Island Ferry § Staten Island Railway era

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

New York City, New York

Comments

Boiler of Westfield II exploded at South Ferry in Manhattan

45–60

Fatalities

45–60

Year

1871

Article

W.R. Norman

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

Mississippi River

Comments

Fatalities estimated

45+

Fatalities

45+

Year

1838

Article

General Brown

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

Mississippi River

Comments

Fatalities estimated

45+

Fatalities

45+

Year

1912

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 27–29, 1912

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1935

Article

SS Mohawk (1925) sinking

Type

Ship collision

Location

Near Sea Girt Light, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1927

Article

Bath School disaster

Type

mass murder

Location

Bath Township, Michigan

Comments

Deadliest act of school violence in U.S. history

Fatalities

Year

1938

Article

Grundy, Virginia § Red Jacket Mine explosion

Type

Accident - coal mine

Location

Grundy, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1946

Article

Naperville train disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Naperville, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

February 1950 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Red River of the South, Lower Mississippi Valley

Comments

Including 18 deaths from a tornado in northwestern Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

FV Pelican

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Montauk, New York

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Continental Airlines Flight 11

Type

Terrorism

Location

Unionville, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1972

Article

1972 Chicago commuter rail crash

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1972

Article

United Airlines Flight 553

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1925

Article

Pickwick Club collapse

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Boston

Fatalities

Year

1933

Article

March 1933 Nashville tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Arkansas, Tennessee

Comments

At least 5 tornadoes, including the following: Sneedville–Kingsport, Tennessee: 16 deaths Nashville–Lebanon, Tennessee: 15 deaths

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

United Airlines Flight 629

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Longmont, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

1957

Article

Pan Am Flight 7

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Pacific Ocean

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

Pacific Air Lines Flight 773

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Danville, California

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

USS Oriskany fire

Type

Fire (ship)

Location

Gulf of Tonkin

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

October 2017 Northern California wildfires

Type

Wildfire

Location

California

Damage (US$)

>$3,000,000,000

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1900

Article

Tacoma streetcar disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Tacoma, Washington

Fatalities

Year

1915

Article

1915 Ardmore gas explosion

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Ardmore, Oklahoma

Damage (US$)

$1,250,000

Comments

Overpressured tank car filled with casing head gas exploded, causing major damage and death in the town.

Fatalities

Year

1940

Article

Doodlebug disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1945

Article

Tornado outbreak of February 12, 1945

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Alabama, Mississippi

Damage (US$)

$1.972 million

Comments

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".

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

United Airlines Flight 521

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

LaGuardia Airport, New York

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

United Airlines Flight 624

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Aristes, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

Cubana de Aviación Flight 493

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Key West, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

USMC R4Q NROTC crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Milton, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1963

Article

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Everglades, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

United Airlines Flight 227

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

1967 Detroit riot

Type

Riot

Location

Detroit, Michigan

Damage (US$)

~$50,000,000

Comments

It was caused by a police raid of a "blind pig", an unlicensed, after-hours bar. The riot was the deadliest of the series of riots that occurred during 1967 in the United States. It contributed to widespread "white flight" in Detroit and economic decline as many businesses were looted, set on fire, or just simply closed or moved out of the city due to the riot.

Fatalities

Year

1971

Article

Attica Prison riot

Type

Prison riot

Location

Attica, New York

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

PSA Flight 1771

Type

Aircraft hijacking

Location

Near Cayucos, California

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 14–16, 2011

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania

Damage (US$)

$2,100,000,000 (2011)

Comments

162 tornadoes

Fatalities

Year

2012

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States, Ohio Valley

Damage (US$)

$3,500,000,000 (2019)

Comments

70 tornadoes, with one of the deadliest in Henryville, Indiana. 41 tornadic deaths, with another 2 from related weather.

Fatalities

Year

2014

Article

2014 Oso mudslide

Type

Mudflow

Location

Oso, Washington

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 13–16, 2025

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

Including 20 non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

1846

Article

1846 Havana hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

Comments

40 in Key West, Florida, one in Savannah, Georgia, and one in South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1929

Article

1929 Rye Cove tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Virginia, Central and Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

Unknown damage

Comments

Including the thirteenth deadliest tornado strike at a school

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

USS R-12 (SS-89)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Florida

Fatalities

Year

1952

Article

February 1952 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm

Location

New England

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

National Airlines Flight 967

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Gulf of Mexico

Comments

Disappeared; suspected bombing

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

Braniff Flight 250

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Richardson County, Nebraska

Fatalities

Year

1973

Article

1973 Staten Island gas explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Staten Island, New York

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Maury County jail fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Maury County, Tennessee

Fatalities

Year

1998

Article

1998 Central Florida tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central Florida

Comments

Including the Intercession City–Port St. John tornado, which killed 25 people

Fatalities

Year

2022

Article

July–August 2022 United States floods

Type

Flood

Location

Greater St. Louis, Central Appalachia, Las Vegas Valley

Comments

38 direct and two indirect in Kentucky, two direct in Missouri

Fatalities

Year

2024

Article

Hurricane Milton

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

Fatalities

Year

1859

Article

South Bend train wreck

Type

Bridge washout

Location

South Bend, Indiana

Fatalities

Year

1893

Article

Strafford County Farm fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Dover, New Hampshire

Fatalities

Year

1909

Article

1909 Velasco hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

1914

Article

SS Monroe (1902)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Virginia Capes

41–43

Fatalities

41–43

Year

1916

Article

USS Tennessee (ACR-10) § Loss

Type

Accident - rogue wave

Location

Santo Domingo harbor, Dominican Republic

Fatalities

Year

1924

Article

Milford Mine

Type

Accident – iron mine

Location

Wolford Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

Genesis Health System § St. Elizabeth's Fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Davenport, Iowa

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Richmond, Indiana explosion

Type

Natural gas explosion

Location

Richmond, Indiana

Fatalities

Year

1998

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Eastern United States

Comments

Including the Birmingham Metro tornado, which killed 32 people

Fatalities

Year

2001

Article

Tropical Storm Allison

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania

Damage (US$)

$8,500,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2020

Article

Hurricane Laura

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Texas, Florida

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+	1864	Washoe	Boiler explosion	Steamboat Slough, California
80+	1910	Palos No. 3 coal mine	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	1872	Skeleton Cave Massacre	Massacre	Salt River Canyon, Arizona
76+	1883	Tornado outbreak of March 13–14, 1913	Tornado outbreak	Midwestern and Southern United States		Including 15 deaths from the Armuchee–Curryville–Resaca, Georgia tornado
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	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	1927	1927 Rocksprings tornado	Tornado	Rocksprings and Leakey, Texas
74	1949	St. Anthony's Hospital fire	Fire (building)	Effingham, Illinois
74	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	1969	Melbourne-Evans collision	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	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

· 26 to 40 deaths

Fatalities

Year

1901

Article

SS Islander

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lynn Canal, Alaska

40–54

Fatalities

40–54

Year

1906

Article

Dix (steamboat)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Alki Point, Seattle, Washington

Fatalities

Year

1927

Article

USS S-4 (SS-109)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1932

Article

1932 Freeport hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

1933

Article

1933 Cuba–Brownsville hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

South Texas

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

April–May 1953 tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$26,713,000

Comments

Including 18 deaths from a tornado in Warner Robins, Georgia; also including four non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962

Type

Winter storm

Location

East Coast of the United States

40+

Fatalities

40+

Year

1969

Article

Ohio Fireworks Derecho

Type

Derecho

Location

Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

1994 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$140,000,000 (2005)

Comments

Including a single tornado which killed 22 people in northeastern Alabama

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill

Type

Coal ash spill

Location

Kingston, Tennessee

Comments

An estimated 40 cleanup workers died due to various illnesses believed to be caused by coal ash exposure

Fatalities

Year

1912

Article

Corning train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Corning, New York

Fatalities

Year

1846–47

Article

Donner Party

Type

Starvation, exposure, murder

Location

Sierra Nevada

Comments

Group of pioneers who experienced extensive troubles while taking the Hasting's Cutoff "shortcut" on the Oregon Trail

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

Long Beach pier auditorium disaster

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Long Beach, California

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

United Airlines Flight 823

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Parrottsville, Tennessee

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Pedro Bay, Alaska

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Hurricane Creek mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Hyden, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Kelly Barnes Dam

Type

Accident – dam failure

Location

Toccoa, Georgia

Fatalities

Year

1997

Article

Heaven's Gate (religious group)

Type

Mass suicide

Location

San Diego, California

Comments

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+

Fatalities

38+

Year

1815

Article

1815 New England hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

New England, Long Island

Fatalities

Year

1846

Article

John Minturn

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Mantoloking, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1860

Article

SS Northerner

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Centerville, Humboldt County, California

38+

Fatalities

38+

Year

1886

Article

January 1886 blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1920

Article

Wall Street bombing

Type

Terrorism

Location

Manhattan, New York

Comments

Investigators and historians believe that it was carried out by Galleanists, a group is responsible for a series of letter bombings the previous year.

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1956

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States

Damage (US$)

$58,000,000

Comments

Including 17 deaths from the Saugatuck–Hudsonville–Standale, Michigan tornado

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

Hurricane Hilda

Type

Tropical cyclone, tornado

Location

Louisiana

Comments

Including 22 deaths from a tornado near Larose, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

Lake Central Flight 527

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Marseilles Township, Wyandot County, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

United Airlines Flight 266

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Santa Monica Bay, California

Fatalities

Year

1973

Article

Ozark Air Lines Flight 809

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Normandy, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown

Type

Military strike – rocket-propelled grenade

Location

Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan

Fatalities

Year

2014

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 27–30, 2014

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States, Central United States

Damage (US$)

≥$1,000,000,000 (2014)

Comments

84 tornadoes, including the Mayflower–Vilonia, Arkansas tornado which killed 16. 35 tornadic deaths, with another 3 from related weather.

Fatalities

Year

2020

Article

2020 Easter tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic

Damage (US$)

$3,000,000,000 (2020)

Comments

Including six non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

1883

Article

1883 Rochester tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Rochester, Minnesota

Damage (US$)

$700,000 (1883)

Comments

F5 tornado killed 37 and injured hundreds more. It led to the creation of the Mayo Clinic.

37–60

Fatalities

37–60

Year

1887

Article

1887 Hartford Railroad Disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Hartford, Vermont

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

Northwest Airlines Flight 421

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Fountain City, Wisconsin

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

Loss of MV Alva Cape

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

New York Harbor

Comments

33 people killed in first fire, four people killed in second fire several days later

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

American Airlines Flight 625

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

USAir Flight 1016

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Charlotte, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1819

Article

USS Firebrand

Type

Off Pass Christian, Mississippi

Damage (US$)

Wrecked at anchor during Bay St. Louis Hurricane of 1819

Fatalities

Year

1846

Article

USS Somers (1842)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Veracruz

Comments

Capsized due to a squall while chasing a blockade runner during the Mexican–American War

36–50

Fatalities

36–50

Year

1887

Article

SS Vernon

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1904

Article

Missouri (BB-11) turret fire

Type

Fire (ship)

Location

Atlantic Ocean

Fatalities

Year

1918

Article

1918 Tyler tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Tyler, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

1924

Article

Babbs Switch fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Babbs Switch, Oklahoma

Damage (US$)

Financial damage not reported

Comments

Christmas tree lighted with candles accidentally caught fire and destroyed school building. 37 additional people injured.

Fatalities

Year

1937

Article

Hindenburg disaster

Type

Accident – airship

Location

Manchester, New Jersey

Comments

Hydrogen-filled zeppelin exploded while trying to dock.

Fatalities

Year

2002

Article

Tornado outbreak of November 9–11, 2002

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$160,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2010

Article

2010 Tennessee floods

Type

Flood, tornado outbreak

Location

Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi

Damage (US$)

$2,300,000,000(2010)

Comments

Including five tornado deaths from a related tornado outbreak

Fatalities

Year

2016

Article

Ghost Ship warehouse fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Oakland, California

Fatalities

Year

1900

Article

Camp Creek train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

McDonough, Georgia

35+

Fatalities

35+

Year

1907

Article

Naomi Mine explosion

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Fayette City, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1914

Article

Francis H. Leggett

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Columbia Bar, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

J. A. Chanslor

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Cape Blanco, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1923

Article

Allen Street Bridge disaster

Type

Accident – bridge collapse

Location

Washington (U.S. state)

Fatalities

Year

1949

Article

Standard Air Lines Flight 897R

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chatsworth, California

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Lone Pine, California

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Type

Ship – collision

Location

St. Petersburg, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

1991 Los Angeles airport runway collision

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

Tornado outbreak of February 28 – March 2, 2007

Type

Tornado outbreak, blizzard

Location

Central United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$580,000,000

Comments

20 deaths from tornadoes, 15 deaths from blizzard; four other deaths occurred in Canada

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

2011 Halloween nor'easter

Type

Blizzard

Location

Northeastern United States

Comments

Additional four deaths in Canada

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

Watts Riots

Type

Riot

Location

Los Angeles, California

Damage (US$)

$40,000,000

Comments

A riot began in the neighborhood of Watts, and other neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles after an California Highway Patrol officer pulled over Marquette Frye and Ronald Frye, two African- American men, off the suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Thirty-four people were killed, and it is estimated that more than one thousand were injured.

Fatalities

Year

1878

Article

1878 Wallingford tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Southern Connecticut

Damage (US$)

$5,300,000 (2007)

Fatalities

Year

1893

Article

1893 New York hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Eastern United States

34+

Fatalities

34+

Year

1916

Article

1916 Gulf Coast hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Gulf Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1920

Article

1920 North Dakota blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

North Dakota

Fatalities

Year

1922

Article

Roma (airship)

Type

Accident – airship

Location

Norfolk, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1934

Article

Kerns Hotel fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Lansing, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1936

Article

SS Iowa (1920)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Columbia Bar, Washington

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

USS Rogday (ID-3583)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1945

Article

Michigan train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Michigan City, North Dakota

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

1950 Chicago streetcar crash

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Braniff Flight 542

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Buffalo, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

National Airlines Flight 2511

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Bolivia, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

USS Liberty incident

Type

Military strike - aircraft, torpedo boats

Location

Mediterranean Sea

Comments

34 deaths on military ship USS Liberty due to the June 8, 1967, attack by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) aircraft and torpedo boats.

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

Mohawk Airlines Flight 40

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Blossburg, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

Florida Commuter Airlines crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Atlantic Ocean, near West End, Bahamas

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

Hurricane Joaquin

Type

Tropical cyclone, shipwreck

Location

Southeastern United States, Bermuda, Cuba, The Caribbean

Damage (US$)

$200,000,000

Comments

Including 33 deaths from the sinking of SS El Faro near the Bahamas, and one other death on land.

Fatalities

Year

2019

Article

Sinking of MV Conception

Type

Fire (dive boat)

Location

Santa Cruz Island, California

Fatalities

Year

1858

Article

Eliza Battle

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Tombigbee River, Alabama

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

Alum Chine explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Patapsco River, near Baltimore, Maryland

Fatalities

Year

1925

Article

USS S-51 (SS-162)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Near Block Island, Rhode Island

Fatalities

Year

1941

Article

USS O-9 (SS-70)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Fatalities

Year

1952

Article

National Airlines Flight 101

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Comments

Last of three plane crashes in Elizabeth over three months

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

SS Carl D. Bradley

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

May 1960 tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$32,618,000

Comments

Including 16 deaths from a single tornado in southeastern Oklahoma

Fatalities

Year

1973

Article

Mississippi flood of 1973

Type

Flood

Location

Mississippi Valley

Fatalities

Year

1978

Article

Tropical Storm Amelia (1978)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

1996

Article

Humberto Vidal explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

Virginia Tech shooting

Type

mass murder – school shooting

Location

Blacksburg, Virginia

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

2023

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States, Eastern United States

Comments

Including one indirect and six non-tornadic deaths

32–37

Fatalities

32–37

Year

1920

Article

Ocoee massacre

Type

Mass racial violence

Location

Orange County, Florida

32–33

Fatalities

32–33

Year

1858

Article

John Milton (ship)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Long Island, New York

32+

Fatalities

32+

Year

1868

Article

Morning Star (1862 ship)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Erie

Comments

At least 30 deaths aboard the Morning Star, and two deaths aboard the Cortland

Fatalities

Year

1918

Article

USS Cherokee (ID-458)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Fenwick Island, Delaware

Comments

Including two people who later died after being rescued by the British Admiral

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

1948 Los Gatos DC-3 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Diablo Range, west of Coalinga, California

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

1948 Airborne Transport DC-3 disappearance

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Atlantic Ocean, off east coast of Florida

Comments

Disappeared and was never recovered

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

Rockville Centre train crash

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Rockville Centre, New York

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 14–June 1, 1962

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Comments

Most fatalities were due to lightning rather than tornadoes

Fatalities

Year

1963

Article

1963 Chualar bus crash

Type

Accident – bus, train

Location

Chualar, California

Comments

Deadliest road accident in U.S. history, and deadliest U.S. rail accident involving a grade crossing

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Northeast Airlines Flight 946

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Etna, New Hampshire

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

1969 Hazlehurst, Mississippi tornadoes

Type

Tornado

Location

Hazlehurst, Mississippi

Fatalities

Year

1973

Article

UpStairs Lounge arson attack

Type

mass murder – arson

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments

Deadliest attack on a gay bar in the U.S. until 2016; still unsolved.

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

Tropical Storm Alberto (1994)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Georgia

Fatalities

Year

2024

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 19–27, 2024

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

Including two indirect and ten non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

1853

Article

Steamboat Jenny Lind

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

San Francisco Bay, California

Fatalities

Year

1855

Article

Gasconade Bridge train disaster

Type

Bridge – accident

Location

Gasconade, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1862

Article

USS Weehawken (1862)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Morris Island, South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1892

Article

SS Western Reserve

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

USS Nina

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Ocean City, Maryland

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

1913 Binghamton Factory fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Binghamton, New York

Fatalities

Year

1940

Article

Little Falls Gulf Curve crash of 1940

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Little Falls, New York

Comments

An additional 51 were injured

Fatalities

Year

1942

Article

Tornado outbreak of May 2, 1942

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States

Comments

Including 16 deaths from the McLoud–Chilesville, Oklahoma tornado

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Capital Airlines Flight 75

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chase, Maryland

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Wichita State University football team plane crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Clear Creek County, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

1981

Article

Keansburg nursing home fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Keansburg, New Jersey

Comments

Nursing home full of elderly and mentally disabled

Fatalities

Year

1983

Article

SS Marine Electric

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1985

Article

Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Fatalities

Year

1998

Article

October 1998 Central Texas floods

Type

Flood

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

2009

Article

2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami

Type

Tsunami

Location

American Samoa and nearby islands

Comments

189 total deaths, with 31 in American Samoa.

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 15–16, 2025

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States, Ohio Valley

Comments

Including 19 deaths from the Somerset–London, Kentucky tornado; also including five non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

1845

Article

Great New York City Fire of 1845

Type

Fire

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1868

Article

1868 Hayward earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Hayward, California

Fatalities

Year

1887

Article

Forest Hills disaster

Type

Structural failure

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1895

Article

Osceola Mine

Type

Accident – copper mine

Location

Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan

30–40

Fatalities

30–40

Year

1833

Article

St. Martin (steamboat)

Type

Ship fire

Location

Louisiana -Traveling from Bayou Sarah; burned about 2 miles (3.2 km) above Donaldsville

30–38

Fatalities

30–38

Year

1909

Article

SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Erie

Fatalities

Year

1923

Article

Glenrock train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Meadow Acres, Wyoming

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

Northwest Airlines Flight 4422

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Mount Sanford, Alaska Territory

Fatalities

Year

1952

Article

American Airlines Flight 6780

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Comments

Second of three plane crashes in Elizabeth over three months

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

American Airlines Flight 476

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

Redondo Junction train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

United Airlines Flight 389

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Lake Michigan, near Lake Forest, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1982

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Damage (US$)

$390,500,000

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

1987 Saragosa tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Saragosa, Texas

Damage (US$)

$2,500,000

Fatalities

Year

1989

Article

November 1989 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern United States, Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$160,000,000 (2005)

Comments

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

Fatalities

Year

1997

Article

1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central Texas

Damage (US$)

$126,600,000

Comments

All 27 tornadic deaths were from a single tornado in Jarrell; three other non-tornadic fatalities occurred

Fatalities

Year

2004

Article

Hurricane Charley

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Rhode Island

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Hurricane Wilma

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida

Fatalities

Year

2013

Article

Tornado outbreak of May 18–21, 2013

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Moore, Oklahoma

Comments

Including the Moore, Oklahoma tornado which killed 24; also including four non-tornadic and indirect deaths

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

January 2025 Southern California wildfires

Type

Wildfire

Location

Southern California

Comments

Including 17 deaths from the Eaton Fire

Fatalities

Year

1871

Article

Great Revere Train Wreck of 1871

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Revere, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

SS Pere Marquette 18

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Comments

Including two crew members of sister ship Pere Marquette 17

29–42

Fatalities

29–42

Year

1910

Article

Baudette fire of 1910

Type

Wildfire

Location

Beltrami County, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

1920

Article

SS Superior City

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

Comments

Collided with SS Willis L. King

Fatalities

Year

1933

Article

1933 Griffith Park fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

Griffith Park, California

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

Lackawanna Limited wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Wayland, New York

Comments

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad passenger train sideswiped a freight train

Fatalities

Year

1954

Article

Hurricane Edna

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

North Carolina, New England

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Sloan, Nevada

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Pioneer Hotel (Tucson, Arizona)

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Tucson, Arizona

Fatalities

Year

1971

Article

Thiokol-Woodbine explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Woodbine, Georgia

Fatalities

Year

1973

Article

MV Norse Variant

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1975

Article

Wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

Comments

Deadliest disaster on the Great Lakes. Inspired hit song by Gordon Lightfoot

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

Yuba City bus disaster

Type

Accident – school bus

Location

Martinez, California

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Air Indiana Flight 216

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Evansville, Indiana

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1990

Article

1990 Plainfield tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Plainfield, Illinois Crest Hill, Illinois

Damage (US$)

$160,000,000

Fatalities

Year

1997

Article

Comair Flight 3272

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Raisinville Township, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

2006

Article

Tornado outbreak of April 2, 2006

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Mississippi River Valley

Damage (US$)

$1,100,000,000

Comments

Including a single tornado in western Tennessee which killed 16; also including two non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

February 2007 North American blizzard

Type

Blizzard

Location

Midwestern United States, Eastern United States, Gulf Coast of the United States

Damage (US$)

$50,000,000

Comments

Including one death due to a tornado in New Orleans; at least seven other deaths also occurred in Canada

Fatalities

Year

2010

Article

Upper Big Branch Mine disaster

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Montcoal, West Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1885

Article

Rock Springs massacre

Type

Mass racial violence

Location

Wyoming Territory

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

Arcadia Hotel fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Boston

Fatalities

Year

1927

Article

Pittsburgh gasometer explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1949

Article

American Airlines Flight 157

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Dallas, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

Great Flood of 1951

Type

Flood

Location

Kansas, Missouri

Damage (US$)

$7,000,000,000(2005)

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

American Airlines Flight 723

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Colonie, New York

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Tornado outbreak of June 3–4, 1958

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin

Damage (US$)

$83,275,000

Comments

Including 21 deaths from a tornado that struck Colfax, Wisconsin

28+

Fatalities

28+

Year

1959

Article

1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Montana

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

Texas Tower 4

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Off the coast of Long Island, New York

Comments

USAF radar station which sunk due to the January 1961 nor'easter

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

North Central Airlines Flight 458

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

USS Enterprise fire

Type

Accident – fire, explosion

Location

Pacific Ocean, off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Fatalities

Year

1971

Article

Allegheny Airlines Flight 485

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New Haven, Connecticut

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Blizzard of 1977

Type

Winter storm

Location

New York

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

L'Ambiance Plaza collapse

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

Continental Airlines Flight 1713

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Denver, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

1998

Article

January 1998 North American ice storm

Type

Winter storm, flood

Location

Eastern United States

Comments

Additional 28 deaths in Canada

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 7–15, 2008

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Southern Plains, Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic

Damage (US$)

$250,324,000

Comments

Including the Picher, Oklahoma/Neosho, Missouri tornado which killed 21 people; also including three non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2012

Article

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting

Type

mass murder – school shooting

Location

Sandy Hook, Connecticut

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1850

Article

South America (steamboat)

Type

Boat fire

Location

Near Morgan's Bend on the Mississippi River

Comments

Death toll included 13 U.S. Army soldiers, recruits assigned to the 3rd Infantry in the Southwest

Fatalities

Year

1872

Article

1872 Owens Valley earthquake

Type

Earthquake

Location

Owens Valley, California

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

West Frankfort, Illinois

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

West Frankfort, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster

Type

Accident – school bus

Location

Prestonsburg, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Honolulu, Hawaii

Fatalities

Year

1984

Article

Wilberg Mine

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Emery County, Utah

Fatalities

Year

1988

Article

Carrollton bus collision

Type

Accident – school bus

Location

Carrollton, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1992

Article

USAir Flight 405

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Flushing Bay, near Queens, New York

Fatalities

Year

1996

Article

Hurricane Fran

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

The Carolinas, the Virginias, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1997

Article

March 1997 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee

Damage (US$)

$115,000,000

Comments

Including a single tornado which killed 15 people near Little Rock, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

2003

Article

North American blizzard of 2003

Type

Winter storm

Location

Rocky Mountains, Central United States, Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2013

Article

Tornado outbreak of May 26–31, 2013

Type

Tornado outbreak, flood

Location

Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas

Comments

9 tornadic deaths, 18 from flooding and other causes

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

Sutherland Springs church shooting

Type

Mass shooting

Location

Sutherland Springs, Texas

Comments

26 murdered, gunman committed suicide after being mortally wounded by an armed civilian

Fatalities

Year

1863

Article

SS Ada Hancock

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

San Pedro Bay, California

Fatalities

Year

1911

Article

Canonsburg Opera House disaster

Type

Stampede

Location

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1907

Article

Canaan train wreck

Type

Accident – train collision

Location

Canaan, New Hampshire

Comments

Head-on collision between a freight train and passenger train.

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

James T. Staples

Type

Accident – explosion, shipwreck

Location

Tombigbee River, near Coffeeville, Alabama

Fatalities

Year

1924

Article

SS Clifton

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Huron

Fatalities

Year

1926

Article

SS Papoose

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Mississippi River

Fatalities

Year

1939

Article

USS Sailfish (SS-192)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off New Hampshire

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

Continental Charters Flight 44-2

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Napoli, New York

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Piedmont Airlines Flight 349

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Albemarle County, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Hurricane Daisy (1962)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

New England

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

TWA Flight 553

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Concord Township, Champaign County, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of April 17–19, 1970

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

Including a tornado which killed 16 people in the Texas Panhandle

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Lubbock tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Lubbock, Texas

Damage (US$)

$1,411,900,000(2008)

Comments

F5 tornado killed 26 and wounded approximately 500

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

Scotia Mine

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Oven Fork, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

Stouffer's Inn fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Harrison, New York

Fatalities

Year

1992

Article

Tornado outbreak of November 1992

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States, Ohio Valley

Damage (US$)

$300,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

2008 Chatsworth train collision

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Chatsworth, California

Fatalities

Year

2020

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2020

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri

Damage (US$)

$1,606,000,000 (2020)

Comments

Including the Putnam County, Tennessee tornado which killed 19; also including one indirect fatality

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	1846–47	Donner Party	Starvation, exposure, murder	Sierra Nevada		Group of pioneers who experienced extensive troubles while taking the Hasting's Cutoff "shortcut" on the Oregon Trail
39	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	1920	Wall Street bombing	Terrorism	Manhattan, New York		Investigators and historians believe that it was carried out by Galleanists, a group is responsible for a series of letter bombings the previous year.
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	2011	2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown	Military strike – rocket-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.
37–60	1887	1887 Hartford Railroad Disaster	Accident – railroad	Hartford, Vermont
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	1819	USS Firebrand	Off Pass Christian, Mississippi		Wrecked at anchor during Bay St. Louis Hurricane of 1819
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	1904	Missouri (BB-11) turret fire	Fire (ship)	Atlantic Ocean
36	1918	1918 Tyler tornado	Tornado	Tyler, Minnesota
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

· 15 to 25 deaths

25–40

Fatalities

25–40

Year

1898

Article

Hassler (vessel)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

North of Eldred Rock, Alaska

Fatalities

Year

1913

Article

SS Henry B. Smith

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1916

Article

SS James B. Colgate

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Erie

Fatalities

Year

1926

Article

1926 Nassau hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1926

Article

1926 Louisiana hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1929

Article

SS Andaste

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1936

Article

Johnstown flood of 1936

Type

Flood

Location

Johnstown, Pennsylvania area

Fatalities

Year

1940

Article

Lovettsville air disaster

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Lovettsville, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1946

Article

Mount Tom B-17 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Mount Tom, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

1956 McDonald Chapel tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Jefferson County, Alabama

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Northeast Airlines Flight 258

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Nantucket Memorial Airport, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Allegheny Airlines Flight 371

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

South Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 512

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

Dale's Penthouse fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Montgomery, Alabama

Fatalities

Year

1982

Article

Dorothy Mae Apartments fire

Type

mass murder – arson

Location

Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1986

Article

Grand Canyon Airlines Flight 6

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

Hamlet chicken processing plant fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Hamlet, North Carolina

Comments

Workers trapped behind locked doors

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

1991 Oakland firestorm

Type

Wildfire (wildland-urban interface)

Location

Oakland, California, and vicinity

Damage (US$)

$1,500,000,000

Comments

Burned 2,900 structures and 1,500 acres in Oakland Hills

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Evansville Tornado of November 2005

Type

Tornado

Location

Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio

Damage (US$)

$92,000,000

Comments

7 tornadoes

Fatalities

Year

2023

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 24–27, 2023

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Mississippi, Alabama

Comments

Including 17 deaths in the Rolling Fork–Silver City tornado; also including two non-tornadic deaths in Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1806

Article

1806 Great Coastal hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone, shipwreck

Location

East Coast of the United States

Comments

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+

Fatalities

24+

Year

1854

Article

Gazelle (1854 sidewheeler)

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Canemah, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1881

Article

1881 Minnesota tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southern Minnesota

Comments

Including 20 deaths from a single tornado

24–25

Fatalities

24–25

Year

1901

Article

SS Hudson (1887)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Eagle Harbor, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1905

Article

Red Ash Mine disasters

Type

Accident – coal mine

Location

Fire Creek, West Virginia

Comments

Two explosions over two days killed a total of 24 people

Fatalities

Year

1908

Article

SS D.M. Clemson

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

24–25

Fatalities

24–25

Year

1916

Article

Big Barren Creek flood

Type

Accident – dam failure

Location

Claiborne County, Tennessee

Fatalities

Year

1924

Article

Hope Development School fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Playa Del Rey, California

Fatalities

Year

1939

Article

1939 City of San Francisco derailment

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Harney, Nevada

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

American Airlines Flight 2

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Mississippi River

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Monarch Underwear Company fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1974

Article

Gulliver's nightclub fire

Type

mass murder – arson

Location

Port Chester, New York

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

Hurricane Allen

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Louisiana

Comments

7 deaths in Texas, 17 offshore deaths in Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

Luby's shooting

Type

mass murder

Location

Killeen, Texas

Comments

23 murdered, gunman committed suicide

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

Green Ramp disaster

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Comments

Deadliest aircraft accident in the U.S. involving victims on the ground

Fatalities

Year

1995

Article

1995 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska

Fatalities

Year

2002

Article

North Carolina ice storm of 2002

Type

Winter storm

Location

North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

October 2015 North American storm complex

Type

Extratropical cyclone

Location

Eastern United States

Comments

Additional death in New Brunswick

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

Tornado outbreak and floods of April 2–7, 2025

Type

Tornado outbreak, flood

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Comments

8 deaths due to tornadoes, 16 from other causes

Fatalities

Year

1689

Article

Raid on Dover

Type

Massacre

Location

Dover, New Hampshire

Comments

The Pennacook Indians attacked the residents of Dover.

Fatalities

Year

1874

Article

Granite Mill fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1891

Article

Railway accident on the Bostian Bridge

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Statesville, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1887

Article

Forest Hills disaster

Type

Accident – bridge collapse

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Comments

Attributed to a faulty bridge design.

Fatalities

Year

1900

Article

Thanksgiving Day Disaster

Type

Structural collapse

Location

San Francisco, California

Comments

Deadliest sporting event accident in US history

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

Onawa train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Onawa, Maine

Fatalities

Year

1923

Article

Honda Point disaster

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Near Lompoc, California

Comments

20 deaths aboard USS Young, three deaths aboard USS Delphy

Fatalities

Year

1925

Article

M.E. Norman

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Mississippi River

Fatalities

Year

1929

Article

Sneed Tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Sneed, Arkansas

23–25

Fatalities

23–25

Year

1933

Article

1933 Outer Banks hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

North Carolina, Virginia

Comments

Two people went missing in Maine

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

USS Benevolence

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off San Francisco, California

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Meldrim, Georgia, trestle disaster

Type

Explosion – fire

Location

Meldrim, Georgia

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of May 3–9, 1961

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Great Plains, Mississippi Valley, Midwest, Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$42,205,000

Comments

Including 16 deaths from a tornado in Le Flore County, Oklahoma

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

New York Telephone Company building explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

USAF KC-135 Wichita crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Wichita, Kansas

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Los Angeles Airways Flight 841

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Paramount, California

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

ALM Flight 980

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Caribbean Sea, off Saint Croix

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Hurricane Celia

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Tropical Storm Norma (1970)

Type

Tropical cyclone, flood

Location

Arizona

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

Wincrest Nursing Home fire

Type

Arson

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1977

Article

Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977

Type

Blizzard

Location

New York, Ontario

Damage (US$)

$56,250,000(1977)

Comments

The brunt of the blizzard was centered around Buffalo.

Fatalities

Year

1980

Article

USCGC Blackthorn

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Tampa Bay, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1983

Article

Air Canada Flight 797

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Cincinnati, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1984

Article

San Ysidro McDonald's massacre

Type

Mass shooting, hostage taking

Location

San Ysidro, California

Comments

James Huberty entered a McDonald's armed with multiple Firearms, and shot dead 21 people, including a pregnant woman, before being killed by police.

Fatalities

Year

1989

Article

Phillips disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Pasadena, Texas

Damage (US$)

$1,415,000,000(1990)

Comments

314 people injured

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Brunswick, Georgia

23+

Fatalities

23+

Year

2016

Article

2016 West Virginia flood

Type

Flood

Location

West Virginia and Virginia

Fatalities

Year

2019

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 3, 2019

Type

Tornado

Location

Alabama and Georgia

Comments

All 23 fatalities due to a single tornado; 3 of the deaths were children

Fatalities

Year

2019

Article

2019 El Paso shooting

Type

Mass shooting

Location

El Paso, Texas

Fatalities

Year

2021

Article

February 15–20, 2021 North American winter storm

Type

Winter storm

Location

Contiguous United States

Comments

Additional six deaths in Mexico

23–25

Fatalities

23–25

Year

2020

Article

August 2020 California lightning wildfires

Type

Wildfire

Location

California

Comments

Including 16 deaths from the North Complex Fire

Fatalities

Year

2022

Article

Hurricane Fiona

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico

22+

Fatalities

22+

Year

1821

Article

1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

22+

Fatalities

22+

Year

1861

Article

Kentucky (steamboat)

Type

Boiler explosion

Location

Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

1865

Article

1865 Viroqua tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Viroqua, Wisconsin

Fatalities

Year

1867

Article

Kingstree jail fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Kingstree, South Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1893

Article

Ford's Theatre

Type

Structural collapse

Location

Washington, D.C.

Fatalities

Year

1895

Article

SS Chicora

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1907

Article

SS Cyprus

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

Fatalities

Year

1903

Article

United States Cartridge Company explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Lowell, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1929

Article

Study Club fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Detroit, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1942

Article

TWA Flight 3

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Potosi Mountain, southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

Mid–March 1953 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains, Mississippi Valley, Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$6,835,000

Comments

Including 17 deaths from a tornado in northern Texas

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

TWA Flight 400

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Moon Township, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

St. Louis tornado outbreak of February 1959

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains, Midwestern United States, Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$53,713,000

Comments

21 deaths from a single tornado in St. Louis, Missouri, and one death from flooding

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Hurricane Gracie

Type

Tropical cyclone, tornado outbreak

Location

Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia

Comments

Including 12 deaths from a tornado outbreak in Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

Cal Poly football team plane crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Toledo, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1963

Article

Hotel Roosevelt fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Jacksonville, Florida

Fatalities

Year

1972

Article

1972 Sacramento Canadair Sabre accident

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Sacramento, California

Fatalities

Year

1974

Article

Tornado outbreak of June 8, 1974

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Fatalities

Year

1979

Article

Hurricane David

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1980

Type

Accident – tour bus

Location

Jasper, Arkansas

Comments

[citation needed]

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

1991 Halloween blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

Central United States

Fatalities

Year

2012

Article

June 2012 North American derecho

Type

Derecho

Location

Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic United States

Fatalities

Year

2014

Article

February 2014 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm

Location

Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

Hurricane Linda (2015)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Utah, California

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

Tornado outbreak of January 21–23, 2017

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States, Northeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$1,300,000,000 (2017)

Comments

Including two non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

January 2018 North American blizzard

Type

Blizzard

Location

Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2022

Article

Robb Elementary School shooting

Type

Mass shooting – school shooting

Location

Uvalde, Texas

Comments

Including the perpetrator

Fatalities

Year

2023

Article

2022–2023 California floods

Type

Flood, winter storm

Location

California

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

June 2025 United States floods

Type

Flood

Location

San Antonio, Texas and Ohio County, West Virginia

Comments

A single storm system caused at least thirteen deaths in the San Antonio area and nine deaths in Ohio County, West Virginia, all from flooding.

21+

Fatalities

21+

Year

1889

Article

Alaskan

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1846

Article

1846 Grenada, Mississippi tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Yalobusha County, Mississippi

Fatalities

Year

1887

Article

Old Southern Hotel fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

St. Louis, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1903

Article

1903 East Paris train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Kentwood, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1905

Article

20th Century Limited derailment

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Mentor, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

Los Angeles Times bombing

Type

Bombing

Location

Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

Chicago Union Stock Yards fire

Type

Fire, structural failure

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1915

Article

USS F-4

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Honolulu, Hawaii

Fatalities

Year

1915

Article

St. Johns School fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Peabody, Massachusetts

Comments

Schoolgirls trapped behind exit door; resulted in first city law requiring that exit doors open outward

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

Great Molasses Flood

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Damage (US$)

$6,600,000,000(2005)

Comments

Damages are out-of-court settlements only; repairs took 133 man-months

Fatalities

Year

1938

Article

1938 Rodessa, Louisiana tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Rodessa, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

1953 New York Central Railroad accident

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Conneaut, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1957

Article

Early-April 1957 tornado outbreak sequence

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$9,500,000

Fatalities

Year

1959

Article

Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Wrightsville, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Los Angeles Airways Flight 417

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Compton, California

Fatalities

Year

1983

Article

Hurricane Alicia

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

1986

Article

Walker River bus crash

Type

Accident – tour bus

Location

Walker, California

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

February 1987 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm, shipwrecks

Location

Mid-Atlantic United States

Comments

18 deaths on MV Balsa 24, and 3 deaths on the Delores Marie

Fatalities

Year

1989

Article

Alton, Texas bus crash

Type

Motor vehicle accident

Location

Alton, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

Andover tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains

Damage (US$)

$250,000,000

Comments

Including one tornado which killed 17 people near Andover, Kansas

Fatalities

Year

2003

Article

Air Midwest Flight 5481

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Charlotte, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

2003

Article

E2 nightclub stampede

Type

Stampede

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central Florida

Damage (US$)

$218,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

Tropical Storm Erin (2007)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Tropical Storm Fay (2008)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, Southeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2009

Article

2009 North American Christmas blizzard

Type

Winter storm

Location

Midwest, Great Plains, Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2014

Article

Early 2014 North American cold wave

Type

Cold wave

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

21–23

Fatalities

21–23

Year

2018

Article

2018 Southern California mudflows

Type

Debris flow

Location

Southern California

Comments

163 injured. 65 residences destroyed, 462 residences damaged, 8 commercial buildings destroyed, 20 commercial buildings damaged

Fatalities

Year

1860

Article

USCS Robert J. Walker (1844)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1872

Article

Great Boston Fire of 1872

Type

Fire (urban conflagration)

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

Damage (US$)

$73,500,000(1872)

Fatalities

Year

1874

Article

Chicago Fire of 1874

Type

Fire (urban conflagration)

Location

Chicago, Illinois

20+

Fatalities

20+

Year

1881

Article

Tornado outbreak of June 1881

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

West North Central States

Fatalities

Year

1882

Article

SS Escambia

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

San Francisco, California

Fatalities

Year

1890

Article

1890 Quincy train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Quincy, Massachusetts

20–24

Fatalities

20–24

Year

1907

Article

Standard Steel Car Company mill explosion

Type

Accident - Explosion

Location

Butler, Pennsylvania

Damage (US$)

$100,000 (1907)

Comments

[citation needed]

Fatalities

Year

1907

Article

Woodlawn derailment

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Woodlawn, The Bronx, New York City

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1916

Article

SS S.R. Kirby

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Eagle Harbor, Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1916

Article

1916 Texas hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

1924

Article

1924 Nixon Nitration Works disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Nixon, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1928

Article

Preble Box Toe Company explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Lynn, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

American Airlines Flight 63 (Flagship Ohio)

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Allen County, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

1948 Donora smog

Type

Smog

Location

Donora, Pennsylvania

Comments

U.S. Steel's Donora Zinc Works and the American Steel & Wire plant's emissions were believed to be the cause of the intense air pollution over this small mill town.

Fatalities

Year

1957

Article

Northeast Airlines Flight 823

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Queens, New York

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

Allegheny Airlines Flight 736

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Bradford, Pennsylvania

20+

Fatalities

20+

Year

1969

Article

December 1969 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm

Location

Northeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1976

Article

Pathfinder Hotel explosion

Type

Accident - explosion

Location

Fremont, Nebraska

Fatalities

Year

1978

Article

Coates House Hotel

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Kansas City, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1999

Article

Jasper, Arkansas bus crash

Type

Accident – tour bus

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments

Plunged over embankment, carrying senior citizens from casino[citation needed]

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Ethan Allen boating accident

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake George (New York)

Comments

Overloaded tour boat capsized from another boat's wake.

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Off Miami Beach, Florida

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence, flood

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$146,900,000

Comments

7 tornado deaths, 13 from other events (see also June 2008 Midwest floods)

Fatalities

Year

2010

Article

June 2010 Arkansas floods

Type

Flood

Location

Albert Pike Recreation Area near Langley, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

2011 Mississippi River floods

Type

Flood

Location

Mississippi River Valley

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

Tornado outbreak and floods of April 28 – May 1, 2017

Type

Tornado outbreak, flood

Location

High Plains, Western United States (Rocky Mountains), Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Southeastern United States

Comments

5 deaths from tornadoes, 15 from other causes

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

Schoharie limousine crash

Type

Motor vehicle accident

Location

Schoharie, New York

Comments

Stretch limo ran a stop sign on a three-way intersection, killing all 18 inside and two people in a parking lot

Fatalities

Year

2021

Article

2021 Tennessee floods

Type

Flood

Location

Middle Tennessee

19+

Fatalities

19+

Year

2020

Article

George Floyd protests

Type

Riot

Location

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Various cities in the United States

Damage (US$)

~$1,500,000,000 - $2,500,000,000

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

1863

Article

CSS Chattahoochee

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Apalachicola River

Fatalities

Year

1871

Article

Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871

Type

Mass racial violence

Location

Old Chinatown, Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1878

Article

Wollaston disaster

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Quincy, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1888

Article

SS City of Chester

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Golden Gate, California

Fatalities

Year

1897

Article

Garrison train crash

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Garrison, New York

Fatalities

Year

1908

Article

Great Chelsea fire of 1908

Type

Fire (urban conflagration)

Location

Chelsea, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1917

Article

USS F-1

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Point Loma, San Diego, California

Fatalities

Year

1926

Article

Picatinny Arsenal fire

Type

Accident – lightning strike

Location

Morris County, New Jersey

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

Pan Am Flight 1104

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Mendocino County, California

Fatalities

Year

1943

Article

1943 Surprise Hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

Long Creek air disaster

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

South Portland, Maine

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

US Army C-47 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Mount Deception (Alaska)

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, California

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

BCPA Flight 304

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Woodside, California

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

McKee refinery fire

Type

Fire (industrial)

Location

Near Sunray, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1957

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of December 18–20, 1957

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Midwestern United States, Southern United States

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

Tornado outbreak of March 30–31, 1962

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$3,380,000

Comments

Including 17 deaths from a single tornado in Milton, Florida and two lightning deaths

Fatalities

Year

1964

Article

Christmas flood of 1964

Type

Flood

Location

Pacific Northwest

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

Prinair Flight 277

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Fajardo, Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Tropical Depression Fifteen (1970)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Fatalities

Year

1974

Article

1974 Blythe, California bus crash

Type

Accident – bus

Location

Ripley, California

Fatalities

Year

1992

Article

December 1992 nor'easter

Type

Winter storm

Location

Northeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

1996

Article

Hurricane Hortense

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

2000

Article

2000 Marana V-22 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Tucson, Arizona

Fatalities

Year

2000

Article

2000 East Coast Aviation Services British Aerospace Jetstream crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

2000

Article

USS Cole bombing

Type

Terrorism

Location

Aden, Yemen

Comments

Including the two perpetrators

Fatalities

Year

2013

Article

Yarnell Hill Fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

Yarnell, Arizona

Comments

19 firefighters were killed when they became trapped in the fast-spreading fire.

Fatalities

Year

2023

Article

2023 Lewiston shootings

Type

Mass shooting

Location

Lewiston, Maine

Comments

Including the perpetrator

Fatalities

Year

1878

Article

Great Mill Disaster

Type

Accident - grain dust explosion

Location

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

1887

Type

Accident - mine explosion

Location

Savanna, Oklahoma (then Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory)

Comments

Explosions in Savanna Coal Mining and Trading Company Mines #1 and #2 killed 6 miners and 12 rescuers.

Fatalities

Year

1892

Article

SS W.H. Gilcher

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1911

Article

Indianola train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Indianola, Nebraska

Fatalities

Year

1928

Article

1928 Times Square derailment

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

Eastern Air Lines Flight 665

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Galax, Virginia

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

Pan Am Flight 923

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Annette Island, Alaska Territory

Fatalities

Year

1960

Article

1960 Texas tropical storm

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

1961

Article

United Airlines Flight 859

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Denver, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of June 1966

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Southern United States, Midwestern United States, Great Plains

Damage (US$)

$250,603,000

Comments

Including 16 deaths from a single tornado in Topeka, Kansas

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

University of Texas massacre

Type

mass murder – school shooting

Location

Austin, Texas

Comments

Including the perpetrator and an unborn child

Fatalities

Year

1966

Article

West Coast Airlines Flight 956

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Clackamas County, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1993

Article

Northwest Airlink Flight 5719

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Hibbing, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

2000

Article

Tornado outbreak of February 13–14, 2000

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Southeastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2001

Article

2001 Avjet Gulfstream III crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Pitkin County, Colorado

Fatalities

Year

2006

Article

Hanukkah Eve windstorm of 2006

Type

Extratropical cyclone

Location

Washington, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

2007 Midwest flooding

Type

Flood

Location

Midwestern United States

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

Tropical Storm Lee (2011)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Gulf Coast of the United States, Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2013

Article

Early February 2013 North American blizzard

Type

Blizzard

Location

Eastern United States

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

Tornado outbreak of December 23–25, 2015

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama

Damage (US$)

$1,606,000,000 (2020)

Comments

Including five non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

February 2025 North American storm complex

Type

Flood

Location

Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia

17–20

Fatalities

17–20

Year

1861

Article

Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

St. Joseph, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1898

Article

SS L.R. Doty

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1903

Article

Purdue Wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Indianapolis, Indiana

Fatalities

Year

1847

Article

Ohio River flood

Type

Flood; building collapse

Location

Utopia, Ohio

Fatalities

Year

1905

Article

Baker Bridge train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Lincoln, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1910

Article

Morewood Lake Ice Company explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1919

Article

SS Myron

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

17–35+

Fatalities

17–35+

Year

1923

Article

Allen Street Bridge disaster

Type

Accident – collapse

Location

Cowlitz River, Washington

Comments

Fatalities estimated

Fatalities

Year

1936

Article

American Airlines Flight 1 (1936)

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Goodwin, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

1944

Article

USS YF-415

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Hingham, Massachusetts

Comments

Including one person who died of his injuries after being rescued

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

O'Connor Plating Works disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

Hurricane Dog (1950)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Comments

Including three deaths in a car accident in Bel Air, Maryland, two drowning deaths in Lexington, Virginia, and 12 deaths in New England

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

Great Flood of 1951

Type

Flood

Location

Kansas, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

1951

Article

Hurricane How

Type

Tropical cyclone, shipwreck

Location

Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Comments

17 people were killed in the wreck of the Southern Isle

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

SS Henry Steinbrenner

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Superior

Fatalities

Year

1954

Article

Hurricane Alice (June 1954)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Texas

Fatalities

Year

1962

Article

United Airlines Flight 297

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Near Ellicott City, Maryland

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

Pipeline explosion and fire

Type

Accidents – pipeline accidents

Location

Natchitoches, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1965

Article

Early May 1965 tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains, Midwestern United States

Damage (US$)

$51,000,000

Fatalities

Year

1968

Article

USCGC White Alder (WLM-541)

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Mississippi River, near White Castle, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1972

Article

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Albany, New York

Fatalities

Year

1979

Article

Downeast Flight 46

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Rockland, Maine

Fatalities

Year

1984

Article

1984 Romeoville petroleum refinery disaster

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Romeoville, Illinois

Fatalities

Year

1990

Article

1990 ARCO explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Channelview, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

Interstate 5 dust storm accident

Type

Accident – automobile

Location

Coalinga, California

Fatalities

Year

2002

Article

Beltway sniper attacks

Type

mass murderserial killings

Location

Washington metropolitan area

Comments

3 injured in the Beltway sniper attacks and 7 in preliminary shootings

Fatalities

Year

2004

Article

December 21–24, 2004 North American winter storm

Type

Winter storm

Location

South Central United States, Ohio Valley

Comments

Additional death in Canada

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Los Angeles County flood of 2005

Type

Flood

Location

Los Angeles County, California

Comments

Including 10 deaths in the La Conchita landslide

Fatalities

Year

2007

Article

October 2007 California wildfires

Type

Wildfire

Location

Southern California

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Early Spring 2008 Midwest floods

Type

Flood

Location

Central United States

Fatalities

Year

2008

Article

Sherman, Texas bus accident

Type

Accident – bus

Location

Sherman, Texas

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting

Type

School shooting

Location

Parkland, Florida

Comments

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.

Fatalities

Year

2018

Article

Table Rock Lake duck boat accident

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Branson, Missouri

Fatalities

Year

2022

Article

2022 Bronx apartment fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

The Bronx, New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

2024

Article

Hurricane Debby

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1804

Article

1804 New England hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

New England

Fatalities

Year

1833

Article

Lioness (steamship)

Type

Accident – explosion, shipwreck

Location

Red River of the South near Colfax, Louisiana

Fatalities

Year

1862

Article

USS Monitor

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1890

Article

1890 Wilkes-Barre tornado

Type

Tornado

Location

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Fatalities

Year

1905

Article

SS Kaliyuga

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Huron

16–20

Fatalities

16–20

Year

1914

Article

SS Benjamin Noble

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Near Knife River, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

1926

Article

La Plata tornado of 1926

Type

Tornado

Location

La Plata, Maryland

Comments

13 killed in La Plata Elementary School

Fatalities

Year

1947

Article

Great Fires of 1947

Type

Wildfires

Location

Maine

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

TWA Flight 260

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

Hurricane Betsy (1956)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

Lariat Cafe explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Monticello, Utah

Fatalities

Year

1967

Article

Hurricane Beulah

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Puerto Rico, Texas

Fatalities

Year

1970

Article

Laguna Fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

Laguna Mountains, California

Fatalities

Year

1978

Article

Waverly, Tennessee, tank car explosion

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Waverly, Tennessee

Comments

An additional 43 injured

Fatalities

Year

1978

Article

1978 Whippoorwill tornado

Type

Tornado, shipwreck

Location

Pomona Lake, Kansas

Comments

Tornado struck a tourist boat, causing it to capsize

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

1987 Maryland train collision

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Chase, Maryland

Fatalities

Year

1987

Article

The Dover massacre

Type

mass murderspree killer

Location

Dover, Arkansas – Russellville, Arkansas

Fatalities

Year

1991

Article

Hurricane Bob

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1999

Article

Columbine High School massacre

Type

mass murder – school shooting

Location

Jefferson County, Colorado

Comments

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. In February 2025, Anne Marie Hochhalter died due to wounds sustained during the shooting.

Fatalities

Year

2006

Article

2006 Mid-Atlantic United States flood

Type

Flood

Location

Mid-Atlantic United States

Fatalities

Year

2012

Article

Late December 2012 North American storm complex

Type

Tornado outbreak, blizzard

Location

Alaska, Contiguous United States

Damage (US$)

$150,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

2015 Texas–Oklahoma flood and tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak, flood

Location

Great Plains, Southern United States

Comments

Additional 14 deaths occurred in Mexico

Fatalities

Year

2015

Article

2015 San Bernardino attack

Type

Terrorism

Location

San Bernardino, California

Comments

An additional 24 injured

Fatalities

Year

2016

Article

2016 Lockhart hot air balloon crash

Type

Accident – hot air balloon

Location

Lockhart, Texas

Comments

Deadliest ballooning disaster in U.S. history

16–19

Fatalities

16–19

Year

2017

Article

March 2017 North American blizzard

Type

Blizzard

Location

Northeastern United States, Upper Midwest, Great Plains

Fatalities

Year

2017

Article

2017 United States Marine Corps KC-130 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Leflore County, Mississippi

Fatalities

Year

2021

Article

Tornado outbreak sequence of March 24–28, 2021

Type

Tornado outbreak sequence

Location

Southeastern United States

Damage (US$)

$3,200,000,000

Comments

Including one indirect and eight non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

2025 Accurate Energetic Systems explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Hickman County, Tennessee

Fatalities

Year

1815

Article

1815 North Carolina hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

1881

Article

City of Muskegon

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1883

Article

1883 Tehachapi train wreck

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

Tehachapi, California

Fatalities

Year

1885

Article

Sullivan Printing Company Fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Cincinnati, Ohio

Comments

15 people, mostly young women, were killed when they were trapped on an upper floor

Fatalities

Year

1892

Article

Mare Island Naval Yard explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Vallejo, California

Comments

15 sailors from USS Boston (1884) killed in black-powder explosion

Fatalities

Year

1902

Article

Park Avenue main line

Type

Accident – railroad

Location

New York City, New York

Fatalities

Year

1917

Article

1917 Nueva Gerona hurricane

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Louisiana, Florida

Comments

10 in Louisiana, 5 in Florida

Fatalities

Year

1936

Article

MV Material Service

Type

Accident – shipwreck

Location

Lake Michigan

Fatalities

Year

1937

Article

Blackwater Fire of 1937

Type

Wildfire

Location

Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming

Fatalities

Year

1948

Article

1948 Columbia River flood

Type

Flood

Location

Vanport, Oregon

Fatalities

Year

1950

Article

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Fatalities

Year

1953

Article

Rattlesnake Fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

Mendocino National Forest, California

Fatalities

Year

1954

Article

Cleveland Hill Middle School fire

Type

Fire (building)

Location

Cheektowaga, New York

Fatalities

Year

1955

Article

1955 Cincinnati mid-air collision

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Boone County, Kentucky

Fatalities

Year

1956

Article

Hurricane Flossy (1956)

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Gulf Coast of the United States, East Coast of the United States

Fatalities

Year

1958

Article

Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Chicopee, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Santa Monica Bay, near Los Angeles, California

Fatalities

Year

1969

Article

Tornado outbreak of August 6, 1969

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Minnesota, Nebraska

Damage (US$)

$4,270,000

Fatalities

Year

1984

Article

Beverly rooming house fire

Type

Arson

Location

Beverly, Massachusetts

Fatalities

Year

1986

Article

Edmond post office shooting

Type

mass murder

Location

Edmond, Oklahoma

Comments

14 victims and 1 perpetrator

Fatalities

Year

1994

Article

Flagship Airlines Flight 3379

Type

Accident – aircraft

Location

Morrisville, North Carolina

Fatalities

Year

2003

Article

Cedar Fire

Type

Wildfire

Location

San Diego County, California

Comments

Burned 273,246 acres and 2,820 structures

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Texas City refinery explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

Texas City, Texas

Fatalities

Year

2005

Article

Hurricane Dennis

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

Florida, Alabama, Mississippi

Fatalities

Year

2009

Article

Tornado outbreak of February 10–11, 2009

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Central United States, Eastern United States

Damage (US$)

$18,100,000

Comments

Including seven non-tornadic deaths

Fatalities

Year

2011

Article

World Wide Tours bus crash

Type

Accident – tour bus

Location

Bronx, New York

Comments

En route to Connecticut casino, March 12

Fatalities

Year

2012

Article

2012 Leap Day tornado outbreak

Type

Tornado outbreak

Location

Great Plains, Ohio Valley

Damage (US$)

$475,000,000

Fatalities

Year

2013

Article

West Fertilizer Company explosion

Type

Accident – explosion

Location

West, Texas

Comments

More than 160 people were injured. Several years later, investigators concluded that the fire that preceded the explosion had been deliberately set.

Fatalities

Year

2020

Article

Hurricane Isaias

Type

Tropical cyclone

Location

East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico

Fatalities

Year

2023

Article

February 2023 North American storm complex

Type

Winter storm, tornado outbreak

Location

East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico

Damage (US$)

Western, Southern and Midwestern United States

Fatalities

Year

2025

Article

2025 New Orleans truck attack

Type

Vehicle-ramming attack, possible terrorism

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments

14 people were killed when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the perpetrator, rammed into a crowd of pedestrians in New Orleans on Bourbon Street. He was later shot and killed by local police.

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Damage (US$)	Comments
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	1967	Dale's Penthouse fire	Fire (building)	Montgomery, Alabama
25	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
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	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	Clemson	Accident – shipwreck	Lake Superior
24–25	1916	Big Barren Creek flood	Accident – dam failure	Claiborne County, Tennessee
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	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
24	2025	Tornado outbreak and floods of April 2–7, 2025	Tornado outbreak, flood	Midwestern United States, Southern United States		8 deaths due to tornadoes, 16 from other causes
23	1689	Raid on Dover	Massacre	Dover, New Hampshire		The Pennacook Indians attacked the residents of Dover.
23	1874	Granite Mill fire	Fire (building)	Fall River, Massachusetts
23	1891	Railway accident on the Bostian Bridge	Accident – railroad	Statesville, North Carolina
23	1887	Forest Hills disaster	Accident – bridge collapse	Boston, Massachusetts		Attributed to a faulty bridge design.
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	Norman	Accident – shipwreck	Mississippi River
23	1929	Sneed Tornado	Tornado	Sneed, Arkansas
23–25	1933	1933 Outer Banks hurricane	Tropical cyclone	North Carolina, Virginia		Two people went missing in Maine

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https://web.archive.org/web/20230511005806/https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home
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https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2018/06/26/columbia-tn-jail-fire-maury-county-1977/731145002/
dover.nh.gov
https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/library/research-learn/history/fire-at-the-insane-asylum/
The Boston Globe
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-bodies-taken-from-ruins/181778545/
WQAD Channel 8
https://www.wqad.com/article/news/local/drone/8-in-the-air/65-years-later-remembering-the-tragedy-at-st-elizabeths/526-b9b49c94-6433-42a7-bf93-c180e3a0e926
The Los Angeles Times
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-decision-hits-long/148468108/
Smithsonian Magazine
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/final-flight-extortion-17-180953947/
Naval Historical Heritage Command
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/f/firebrand.html
HISTORY
https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/watts-riots
HISTORY
https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/watts-riots
USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/01/conception-captain-indicted-california-boat-fire-jerry-boylan/3789052001/
The Roanoke Times
https://archive.today/20120207181056/http://www.roanoke.com/vtshootingaccounts/wb/114655
Florida Historical Quarterly
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol93/iss1/4
"Keansburg, NJ Boarding Home Fire, Jan 1981 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods"
http://www.gendisasters.com/new-jersey/997/keansburg%2C-nj-boarding-home-fire%2C-jan-1981
The United States Gazette
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-united-states-gazette-two-steamboats/164541277/
AccuWeather
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/la-wildfire-death-toll-rises-to-30-after-human-remains-discovered-in-aldadena-ruins/1762354
GenDisasters
https://web.archive.org/web/20161201015002/http://www.gendisasters.com/new-york/3376/wayland,-ny-passenger-train-collision,-aug-1943
ECP
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/dec/13/memories-of-ue-plane-crash-still-linger/
"West Virginia Coal Mine Explosion: 25 Dead After Massey Blast"
https://huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/west-virginia-coal-mine-e_n_526151.html
The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/03/10/when-an-american-town-massacred-its-chinese-immigrants
"Documents: New details on Newtown school massacre"
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/03/us/newtown-search-warrants/index.html
Public Ledger
https://www.newspapers.com/article/public-ledger-burning-of-the-steamer-sou/164542622/
Annual report of the Railroad Commissioners of the State of New Hampshire
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.li2xuj&seq=381
Montgomery Advertiser
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/02/06/50-years-later-high-rise-fire-echoes-through-time/97558816/
AP NEWS
https://apnews.com/article/fd9d98d8c021b3f7f7ecaa189d5083c9
www.hmdb.org
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=148785
Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-fire-kills-twenty-four-at-hope-development-school-20190529-htmlstory.html
Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners 1887
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d026156224&seq=115
Daily Evening Citizen
https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-evening-citizen-steamboat-disaster/130101409/
scfirefighters.org
https://scfirefighters.org/media/dywjuumq/history-of-fire-and-the-kingstree-fire-department.pdf
CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/deadly-san-antonio-flooding/
CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/west-virginia-flash-flooding-rain-again/
Deadly flooding hits West Virginia and San Antonio, Texas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yngZgk9gqvo
The Baptist
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baptist-to-the-public/137217027/
Missouri Historical Review
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31210015771742&view=1up&seq=249
Nevada Appeal
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2014/sep/25/remembering-deadly-sierra-bus-crash/
Omaha World-Herald
https://omaha.com/news/local/history/back-in-the-day-jan-10-1976-fremonts-pathfinder-hotel-explodes-killing-20/article_1f59e1f2-6ce9-11ec-9147-af8614d3863f.html
cdnc.ucr.edu
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19800606.2.42&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------
www.forbes.com
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/08/14-days-of-protests-19-dead/?sh=797c89404de4
Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-18/reflecting-los-angeles-chinatown-massacre-after-atlanta-shootings
MNopedia
https://www.mnopedia.org/event/washburn-mill-explosion-1878
www.okhistory.org
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SA025
Flatt and Hoehnle, Utopia Ohio, 1844-1847, p. 17 https://digitalcommons.hamilton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1414&co
https://digitalcommons.hamilton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1414&context=acsq
"Natchitoches, LA Gas Pipeline Explosion, Mar 1965"
https://web.archive.org/web/20110628195618/http://www3.gendisasters.com/louisiana/53/natchitoches,-la-gas-pipeline-explosion,-mar-1965
Cincinnati Fire Museum
https://www.cincyfiremuseum.com/exhibits/firefighting-history/#:~:text=A%20fire%20disaster,incident%20on%20record%20in%20Cincinnati.
www.ussboston.org
http://www.ussboston.org/hist/Protect_Cruiser_Memorial.html
www.cbsnews.com
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bourbon-street-new-orleans-attack-suspect-what-to-know/