the most destructive hurricanes in history you never know how devastating a hurricane is until your city is hit by one join me on this top list and find out the most dreaded hurricane that destroyed everything in its path [Music] number 10 hurricane michael [Music] this hurricane is one of the most devastating that struck florida specifically the panhandle part and just like other hurricanes on this top list this one formed over the atlantic ocean this hurricane destroyed entire cities as michael passed through panama city beach mexico beach and cape san blas on october 10 2018 it was so intense that it reached category 5 and was the strongest hurricane to hit that area this hurricane started as a weak tropical storm blowing through the caribbean but it increased intensity quickly with wind speeds of 161 miles per hour at landfall and it cost up to 25. 1 billion dollars in material losses the winds and storm surge caused such catastrophic damage that they stretched inland to southwestern georgia [Music] number 9 hurricane ivan this hurricane was not only devastating for many cities and countries but it is one of the hurricanes that set 18 new records for intensity in the caribbean and the united states this storm was the longest lasting one from the beginning of september 2004 almost until the end of the month and it strengthened and weakened many times this hurricane started as a category 3 but it became so powerful that it reached category 5 status three times hurricane ivan made landfall on september 16th in gulf shores alabama the coastlines of mississippi and the florida panhandle it generated waves as high as 50 feet and it cost over 26. 1 billion dollars in damage wind speeds reached 120 miles per hour and the sea water level rose by 14 feet oh boy look at that ivan killed 64 people in granada jamaica venezuela and the united states number eight hurricane andrew andrew is one of the four category five hurricanes to make landfall in the united states and it was the most destructive hurricane to hit florida in 1992.
i saw it this powerful hurricane cost 27. 3 billion dollars in damage as it passed through the bahamas florida and louisiana in august also it struck southern miami-dade county and had fierce wind speeds of 141 miles per hour and if you thought it couldn't get any worse the storm surge from this hurricane was as high as 17 feet causing the sea water level to rise in louisiana sadly this hurricane killed 65 people and destroyed over 63 500 houses number seven hurricane wilma the next hurricane was the most intense ever recorded in the entire atlantic basin in 2005. this storm is very large when slamming into the yucatan peninsula in mexico cuba and florida vilma caused 27.
4 billion dollars in damage and it killed 63 people this hurricane started as a tropical storm formed over the caribbean sea near jamaica on october 15th but it gained strength and just three days later it became a hurricane that would reach category 5 within 24 hours due to an explosive intensification as you heard so just in one day it reached wind speeds of 185 miles per hour so it holds the title of the fourth category 5 hurricane of the season and the 10th most intense tropical cyclone in the world [Music] number 6 hurricane ike this hurricane was so intense that it reached category 4 just a few days after it started as a tropical storm about 1 750 miles east of puerto rico it was the worst hurricane of the 2008 atlantic hurricane season with wind speeds of 142 miles per hour it's devastating it hit areas such as haiti espanola cuba florida keys dominican republic texas and louisiana on the afternoon of september 3rd the hurricane gained strength and was moved about 885 miles east northeast of puerto rico later it increased intensity quickly and became a huge hurricane in the evening ike made landfall for the first time in inagua on september 7th with wind speeds of 125 miles per hour it had been blamed for over 400 missing people and over 150 deaths plus it cost 38 billion dollars in damage no doubt nature is savage number five hurricane sandy if you believe that only in movies you can see this kind of destruction you must know that this hurricane even at category 3 in new york city flooding transportation systems and causing devastation in october 2012 hurricane sandy destroyed about 650 000 homes in the northeastern united states and killed 117 people plus it cost 68. 7 billion dollars in damage despite the fact that the storm had weakened to a subtropical cyclone as it made landfall the storm surges were as high as 13 feet leaving some parts of manhattan underwater this hurricane is also referred to as super storm sandy for being more like a winter storm rather than a tropical one believe it or not some parts of staten island and peach's queens were nearly wiped off the map number 4 hurricane irma as opposed to other hurricanes this one has its own intensity record so it holds the title of the category 5 hurricane with the longest lifetime in the atlantic in 2017. what what what what this means that in sustained winds of 184 miles per hour for more than 30 consecutive hours this storm developed on august 30th near the cape verde islands it increased intensity so quickly that it made landfall on september 5th in barbuda and cost 77.
2 billion dollars in damage this also includes affected areas such as the bahamas cuba haiti puerto rico and the dominican republic but you won't only remember this hurricane for its record since it was also dubbed hurricane of the century number three hurricane maria it's not a common thing that two hurricanes arrive together or at least just a few hours apart but guess what hurricane maria made landfall on the small island of dominica on september 18 2017 just two weeks after hurricane irma that you saw before and it reached wind speeds of 175 miles per hour so it was the second category 5 hurricane of the 2017 season hurricane maria continues as a dangerous major category 5 unfortunately it destroyed dominica the virgin islands and mostly puerto rico killing 4 700 people also it costs 90 billion dollars in damage it was such destruction caused by this hurricane that at one point ninety percent of puerto rico lost power because all the utility poles fell down incredibly even several years later as with many disasters the island is still struggling to fully recover even hundreds of residents have permanently moved to the united states no doubt this kind of event turns your life around number 2 hurricane harvey [Music] most of the hurricanes that i've shown you in this top list set records for how devastating they could have been so in this second place destruction is no less surprising harvey is the second costliest hurricane in united states history at 125 billion dollars in damage that's mainly due to awful floods caused by heavy rain besides something unforgettable for americans is that this hurricane was the first to make landfall since hurricane wilma hit the country in 2005. harvey arrived as a category 4 storm on august 4 2017 but reached its maximum intensity with wind speeds of 130 miles per hour and texas took the brunt of this situation with a total of 13 000 people rescued from the floods however this wasn't the only state affected by the hurricane because communities in louisiana alabama and tennessee also put up with the force of the merciless winds you're on the home stretch already now you'll know what is the hurricane that leads this top list of destruction this is none other than one hurricane katrina you always knew it the first place goes to one of the deadliest and most destructive atlantic hurricanes in u.
