List of deadliest Atlantic hurricanes


This is a list of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes, including all known storms that caused at least 1,000 direct deaths. The deadliest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history was the Great Hurricane of 1780, which resulted in 22,000–27,501 fatalities. In recent years, the deadliest hurricane was Hurricane Mitch of 1998, with at least 11,374 deaths attributed to it.

Pre-[HURDAT] era

Hurricanes reported to have caused possibly or known over a thousand deaths or more.
NameDates activeAreas affectedDeathsRefs
Nicaragua16051,300
Straits of FloridaSeptember 5, 16221,090
Cuba and FloridaOctober 16441,500
Martinique and GuadeloupAugust 14–15, 16662,000
BarbadosSeptember 27, 16941,000+
BahamasJuly 31, 1715Bahamas, Florida Treasure Coast Hurricane of 17151,000–2,500
MartiniqueAugust 5–7, 17671,600
HavanaOctober 15, 176843–1,000
NewfoundlandAugust 29–September 9, 1775North Carolina, Virginia, Newfoundland4,000 – 4,163
Pointe-à-Pitre BaySeptember 5, 17766,000+
The St. Lucia Hurricane of 1780June 13, 1780Puerto Rico St. Lucia4,000–5,000
The Savanna-la-Mar Hurricane of 1780October 1–5, 17803,000
Great Hurricane of 1780October 9–20, 1780Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Bermuda22,000–27,501
Solano's HurricaneOctober 18–21, 1780Gulf of Mexico2,000
Florida17812,000+
1782 Central Atlantic hurricaneSeptember 16, 1782destroyed Admiral Thomas Graves fleet3,000+
Great Cuba Hurricane of 1791June 21–22, 17913,000
Martinique and DominicaAugust 25, 18133,000+
1825 Santa Ana hurricaneJuly 26–27, 1825Caribbean and Puerto Rico1,300+
Great Caribbean-Louisiana Hurricane of 1831August 10–17, 1831Barbados, St. Vincent, Haiti, Cuba Louisiana2,500

HURDAT era

All of these tropical cyclones are featured within the Atlantic hurricane database.