Guest Author - LeeAnn O'Leary

Hurricane season is beginning in the Atlantic and Pacific

With more and more people living by the ocean, in cities full of millions of people, the damage caused by a single hurricane can now be astronomical.

For the United States, the top 5 hurricanes as of the end of 2004 are as follows. All dollar amounts are given in "2003 dollars" i.e. accounting for inflation. The NOAA is the source of these figures.

1) "Great Miami Hurricane" in 1926 - $98 billion dollars damage
2) Andrew in 1992 - $45 billion dollars damage
3) "Galveston TX Hurricane" in 1900 - $36 billion dollars damage
4) "North TX Hurricane" in 1915 - $31 billion dollars damage
5) "SW Florida Hurricane" in 1944 - $22 billion dollars damage