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Peshtigo Fire
The city of Peshtigo, Wisconsin caught fire after a windstorm increased the spread of small prairie fires scattered around the area. The wildfire trapped both sides of the town. After the flames ceased, twelve towns were left scorched and 1,200 people were killed. -
Johnstown Flood
Many days of torrential rain caused the South Fork dam to burst, flooding over 20 million tons of water and debris into the city. It destroyed 1,600 homes and caused 2,209 fatalities. -
Hurricane Galveston
A category 4 hurricane with 135 mph winds and 15-foot-high-waves. Submerged the city of Galveston, Texas, and caused the fatalities of 8,000 people -
Great San Francisco Fire and Earthquake
An earthquake with an estimated 7.7-7.9 magnitude tremor that lasted only a minute, but caused San Francisco to burn for four days. By the time flames were extinguished, over 500 city blocks were destroyed, 3,000 fatalities occurred, and left over 225,000 people homeless. -
Tri-State Tornado
Tornado lasted three-and-a-half hours. It's pat went through Illinois, Indiana, Missouri. It damaged more than 15,000 homes, killed nearly 700 people, most from Illinois. -
Okeechobee Hurricane
Hurricane that slammed the shores of Lake Okeechobee with 140 mph winds. Caused heavy flooding and 2,500 fatalities. -
Dust Bowl - Early 1930's
A decade-long drought which in the Great Plains took loose topsoil and turned it into dust, which was swept up by windstorms and taken east. It left crops destroyed, farmers without income, and around half a million Americans homeless. -
Heat Wave of 1980 - Summer of 1980
Temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit pushed across the southern and central U.S. It caused $48 billion in agricultural in damage due to drought, and 10,000 fatalities. -
Heat Wave of 1988
A year long drought that caused over $61 billion in agricultural damage, and caused the health complications of between 5,000 and 10,000 people, from the heat. -
Hurricane Katrina
The country's costliest tragedy. Winds reached up to 125 mph, and caused a storm surge that left 80 percent of New Orleans under water. It killed 1,836 people and caused damages estimated around $125 billion.
