Hurricane Harvey Joins This List Of Worst Hurricanes In America

If you've lived long enough, you have your own storm story. This week, Gulf Coast residents have been inundated by Hurricane Harvey and its record rainfall, making it one of the most devastating storms in American history. Here’s a look back at past hurricanes and the devastation they left behind:

Hurricane Matthew (2016)

Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall in Haiti less than a year ago as a Category 4 storm, significantly weakened as it approached the United States, not hitting much of its originally projected path that included the Northeast. The storm did hit the southeastern U.S., making landfall in South Carolina. The storm left 34 people dead in the U.S., according to the NHC. The deaths were in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. The death toll in Haiti was in the hundreds.

The storm knocked out power to millions and left devastation in its wake along Florida’s northeast coast. The NHC said the structural damage from Matthew’s wind was described as minor, while the damage from the storm surge was moderate to severe.

Hurricane Sandy or “Superstorm Sandy” (2012)

Sandy became a hurricane before hitting Jamaica and became a major hurricane just before hitting eastern Cuba. According to the NHC, Sandy underwent a partial extratropical transition before regaining some of its tropical character as it moved northeastward off the southeastern U.S. and strengthened “on a rare track toward the northeastern United States.” Sandy was 482 miles across when it struck the Jersey Shore in October and was a Category 1 storm with winds of 80 mph. The storm surge from Sandy was 8 to 9 feet in an area that is 25 feet above sea level, and while Sandy brought less rain with it than Harvey, its impact was exacerbated by a nor’easter that moved through and dropped snow on the area a week after Sandy hit.

Sandy was blamed for 72 deaths in the U.S. and 73 deaths abroad, according to the NHC. It also caused $50 billion of property damage in the U.S. The impact from the storm was the worst along the Jersey Shore, Long Island and parts of Connecticut along the Long Island Sound, according to FEMA.

Hurricane Irene (2011)

Irene made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane, causing widespread damage across a large portion of the eastern United States from the mid-Atlantic through New England as it progressed on its path. According to the NHC, the most severe impact of Irene in the Northeast was catastrophic inland flooding in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont. Irene was responsible for 41 deaths in the U.S., the NHC says.

Storm surge damage was reported from North Carolina to Maryland. Torrential rains from Irene caused major flooding in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. While New York City escaped major damage, storm surges caused property damage estimated to be in the hundreds of millions both in the city and on Long Island, the NHC wrote in a report documenting the storm. Some 3 million people, mostly in Connecticut and Long Island, were without power for around a week.

According to the NHC, Irene’s main impact was from rainfall, which caused catastrophic floods in New York and New England, particularly in some parts of Vermont. Total damage from the storm was estimated at $15.8 billion.

Hurricane Ike (2008)

Hurricane Ike caused extensive damage and many deaths across portions of the Caribbean and along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, according to the NHC. Ike made landfall over the north end of Galveston Island in Texas as a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph in September. It weakened as it moved inland across eastern Texas and Arkansas and became extratropical over the middle Mississippi Valley, an NHC report says. It then moved through the Ohio Valley and into Canada, producing wind gusts to hurricane force along the way.

According to the NHC, Ike is responsible for 103 deaths, including deaths in the United States and abroad. Extensive damage was reported across the Gulf Coast, from Florida to Texas, and damage and death occurred across parts of the Ohio Valley and southeastern Canada after Ike lost tropical characteristics. Direct and indirect deaths from Ike were reported in Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Damage from Ike in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas was estimated at about $29.52 billion.

Hurricane Wilma (2005)

Wilma made landfall in Cozumel, Mexico and landed in Florida three days later as a Category 3 storm. According to the NHC, the eye of the storm crossed the Florida Peninsula in less than five hours, moving into the Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane moved rapidly northeastward before becoming extratropical late on Oct. 25.

The storm was blamed for 23 deaths, including five in Florida. The NHC says that the swath of damage in southern Florida was unusually widespread due to the large size of Wilma’s core. About 98 percent of South Florida lost electrical service. Total damage from Wilma was estimated at $20.6 billion.

Hurricane Rita (2005)

Rita, a Category 5 hurricane, devastated portions of southeastern Texas, southwestern Louisiana and significantly impacted the Florida Keys, according to an NHC report documenting the hurricane. It made landfall in September just east of the Texas/Louisiana border with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. Rita brought hurricane conditions to southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. Storm surges from Rita inundated portions of the New Orleans area previously flooded by Katrina, according to the NHC. Rita brought down 5 to 9 inches of rain over large parts of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi and spawned some 90 tornadoes over the southern U.S.

The hurricane was blamed for seven deaths, and damage from the storm was estimated at $10 billion, according to the NHC.

Hurricane Katrina (2005)

Katrina was one of the most devastating hurricanes in U.S. history and the deadliest to strike the country since 1928, according to the NHC. It produced catastrophic damage, making it the costliest hurricane on record with damage estimated at $75 billion.

Katrina first made landfall near the Miami-Dade/Broward County line in Florida on Aug. 25, 2005. It strengthened significantly, reaching Category 5 intensity three days later and made landfall a day after in Louisiana as a Category 3 storm before making a second landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border. Katrina brought hurricane conditions to southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. The hurricane also brought tropical storm conditions along the northern Gulf Coast.

Katrina was blamed for over 1,800 deaths, either directly or indirectly, with the most deaths occurring in Louisiana, the NHC said. It caused catastrophic damage, leaving many structures totally destroyed. Much of New Orleans and its eastern suburbs were inundated.

“Katrina was a large and intense hurricane that struck a portion of the United States coastline along the northern Gulf of Mexico that is particularly vulnerable to a storm surge, leading to loss of life and property damage of immense proportions,” the NHC wrote in a report. “The scope of human suffering inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in the United States has been greater than that of any hurricane to strike this country in several generations.”

The NHC writes that if the assumption that most Katrina-related fatalities were caused directly by the storm is correct, then Katrina ranks as the third deadliest hurricane in the United States since 1900.

The damage from the storm was so intense that the NHC deemed it beyond its scope to fully describe. Entire homes and businesses in New Orleans were destroyed by floods, and coastal communities in Mississippi were completely obliterated. Many of those whose lost homes due to Katrina relocated to other parts of the country and may never return to their original homes. The total damage estimate from Katrina is about $108 billion.

Patch editors Karen Wall and Sherri Lonon contributed to this report.

Main image: People make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi Aug. 25, has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain in and around Houston. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images News/Getty Images