No matter where we live, we are ultimately all affected by the weather. Over the last 100 years, the world has witnessed some extraordinary elements, from bone-chilling blizzards and hurricane-force winds, to devastating droughts and biblical-style floods. As Hurricane Ian continues to devastate parts of the US – and all but destroys Fort Myers Beach, Florida – we take a look back at some of the most deadly, rare and strange weather events that hit the world and made headlines between 1900 and today.
The deadliest natural disaster in US history took place on 8 September 1900, when a Category 4 hurricane ripped apart the island city of Galveston on Texas’s Gulf Coast. The estimated death toll of between 8,000 and 12,000 people was a result of extreme winds, flying debris and storm swells that submerged the city. Residents were caught unawares, since US meteorologists underestimated warnings from Cuba about the incoming storm and its direction.
The Vagabond Hurricane, also known as the New Jersey Hurricane, hit the East Coast of America on 16 September 1903. The intense storm originated some 550 miles (885km) away, off the coast of Antigua, and reached New Jersey with wind speeds of 80 miles per hour (130km/h). The incident caused ships to capsize, left 30 people missing and destroyed dozens of buildings. According to the World Heritage Encyclopedia, President Roosevelt's life was also briefly threatened, when he found himself stranded on a yacht.
On 16 March 1907, torrential rains and melt water caused the three rivers of Pittsburgh to burst their banks, flooding the centre of the US city. Homes and businesses were destroyed and many lost their jobs due to the closure of local mills and industrial plants, while between six and 12 people are thought to have lost their lives. According to the University of Pittsburgh’s archives, the city experienced extensive damage, totalling a staggering £4.29 million ($5m).
After an unusually rainy summer and autumn in 1909, water levels in Paris were alarmingly high. The situation became a crisis in January 1910, when the French capital flooded. Thousands of people were evacuated, while those that stayed had to travel by boat or across wooden walkways that were erected over the submerged streets. The floods lasted for two months and five people lost their lives.
A raging wildfire that consumed parts of Idaho, Montana and Washington in 1910 is said to have led to the largest single fire in recorded US history. The August inferno was the result of strong winds fanning the embers of a series of forest fires, which had broken out across the states during the dry summer months. There were at least 85 fatalities from the fire, most of whom were firefighters, and several towns were destroyed. The devastating blaze led to new prevention policies.
The notoriously weather-beaten Great Lakes Basin witnessed its worst ever storm during November 1913. Also known as the White Hurricane, the blizzards, thunderstorms, powerful winds, lethal waves and freezing spray of two different weather systems resulted in the deaths of 250 people, as well as the destruction of over 42 ships in just a few days.
In March 1913 rain fell to such an extent that rivers across Ohio burst their banks. Considered the region’s greatest weather disaster of all time, the state-wide flood was brought on by storms over three consecutive days, causing homes, bridges and railways to wash away. It’s thought that around 65,000 people were left homeless, while more than 400 lost their lives. Despite the damage, the disaster did have a positive impact on flood prevention and led to the Flood Control Act of 1917.
Queensland in Australia has weathered a number of tropical storms over the centuries, including a cyclone that struck the small township of Mackay in January 1918. The Category 4 winds whipped up a tidal surge that destroyed 1,000 buildings and killed 30 people. Residents were stranded for five days before they managed to alert the rest of the country.
A deadly blizzard engulfed the East Coast of America in January 1922, with the capital, Washington DC, recording a staggering 28 inches (71cm) of snow. The snowbound city largely ground to a halt during what is now considered one of the worst snowstorms in US history. The event became known as the Knickerbocker Storm, after the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre (pictured) collapsed due to the accumulation of heavy snow. The incident killed 98 people.
Parts of the Midwest were struck by a huge and devastating outbreak of tornadoes in March 1925, including the deadliest tornado in US history. The Great Tri-State Tornado on 18 March left a trail of destruction in its path, from southeastern Missouri through southern Illinois and southwest Indiana. It killed 695 people and destroyed around 15,000 homes. This image shows a toppled house that was carried for more than 50 feet (15m) by the gusts, which reached up to 300 miles per hour (483km/h).
The most devastating river flood in US history took place in April 1927, after months of extreme rainfall swelled the Mississippi Delta and collapsed the entire levee system along the river. The flooding inundated nearly 26,000 square miles (67,339sq km) of land in 170 counties, across seven states. The catastrophe, which hit Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana the worst, drove around 931,159 people from their homes and it is thought that between 250 and 1,000 people died.
A storm surge, sent up the River Thames by a depression in the North Sea on 7 January 1928, saw the moat at the Tower of London fill for the first time in 80 years. Floodwaters engulfed some of the capital’s most historic buildings, including the Houses of Parliament. The flood also hit much of the city's poorest and most crowded basement dwellings. Fourteen people died and many became homeless after the tidal surge.
A monstrous Category 4 hurricane ravaged Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and the Gulf Coast in September 1928. In the US, the storm made landfall near West Palm Beach in Florida on 17 September, destroying many buildings in its wake. A storm surge caused Lake Okeechobee to flood, resulting in at least 2,500 people drowning and houses being swept away.
It’s thought the Central China Flood, from July to November 1931, could have killed as many as 3.7 million people, not only from drowning but as a result of the famine and disease that ensued. The most destructive flood in Chinese history, and one of the world's deadliest natural disasters, occurred after a summer of torrential rains and several severe storms. The Yangtze, Yellow and Huai Rivers all burst through their dykes in the August and September and flooded an area larger than the size of England.
Violent winds and tidal waves swept into Belize, or British Honduras as it was then known, on 10 September 1931, during what was the worst hurricane in its history. Belize City was inundated with at least five feet (1.5m) of water, leading to the drowning of many residents. An estimated 2,500 people perished in the disaster.
On 18 December 1933, a cloudburst appeared over Venice, Italy. As a result, the area's sea levels rose four feet (1.3m) higher than usual and the city's canals spilled over. According to an article held in the National Library of Australia "houses were flooded and gondoliers were unable to navigate through the rough water." While no one in Venice lost their life, 15 people were killed in the nearby village of Chioggia. By 28 December, heavy snowfall caused icebergs to gather on top of the newly formed lake in St. Mark's Square.
One of the most violent typhoons to ever strike Japan, the Muroto first made landfall at Cape Muroto in Kochi Prefecture on 20 September 1934. A powerful storm surge and extreme winds in Osaka, which was the hardest hit, damaged and destroyed buildings and led to extensive loss of life. The potent storm caused 2,702 fatalities, while 334 people went missing.
Years of sustained drought caused the Dust Bowl, the name given to the parched Southern Plains region in the 1930s. During the drought there were many dramatic dust storms, referred to as “black blizzards”, which were caused by high winds stirring the dusty topsoil throughout Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The worst storm happened on 14 April 1935, when severe dust storms spread east from the Oklahoma Panhandle. It was coined Black Sunday.
Parts of New England were ravished by deadly waves and vicious winds of up to 186 miles per hour (299km/h), when a hurricane blew in from the west, near the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic, and struck Long Island on 21 September 1938. Katharine Hepburn’s Connecticut beach house was one of 8,900 homes swept into the sea as a result of powerful storm surges. The movement of water, pushed ahead by the hurricane, caused the most damage.
While it wasn’t quite the deluge of the historic 1910 flood, a swollen River Seine burst its banks once again in 1944, flooding Paris’ embankments and piers. The newly liberated Parisians went about their business by boat and along precarious-looking wooden walkways, set up above the rising water.
Post-war Britain was belted with a bitterly cold winter in 1947, when record amounts of snow fell over a six-week period. Snowdrifts of up to 13 feet (4m) were recorded and led to blocked roads and railways around the country, as well as stranded communities and livestock that was left to perish in snowbound fields. The armed forces were called upon to clear the snowdrifts. By March, the thawing snow caused rivers around the country to overflow, flooding homes and rendering roads inaccessible.
The UK wasn't the only place to be hit by severe snow fall during the 1940s. Considered the worst on record, the Blizzard of '49 covered much of South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska from 2 January 1949. Heavy snowfall, strong winds and freezing temperatures continued into February and subsequent snow drifts saw entire houses submerged. Around 40 people are thought to have lost their lives.
France’s deadliest forest fire tore through the Landes forest, in the southwest of the country, in the summer of 1949. Fuelled by three hot and dry summers and fanned by strong northeasterly winds, the flames devastated the forest and killed 82 people.
The residents of Lynmouth, north Devon had been experiencing an exceptionally rainy summer when an enormous wave tore their community apart. On the night of 15 August 1952, after nine inches (23cm) of rain fell in 24 hours, a destructive wall of water surged down a narrow valley from Exmoor, uprooting trees and boulders on its way. Buildings and bridges were obliterated and cars were swept away to sea. Thirty-four people also lost their lives in the disaster.
Another dramatic weather event saw post-war Britain suffer more causalities, when a toxic smog choked London on 5 December 1952. The smog, a result of fog combining with sulphurous coal smoke, could not disperse upwards due to a high-pressure weather system trapping the stagnant and soot-laden air. It lasted for five days, paralysed the city and is thought to have led to the premature deaths of at least 4,000 people. The Clean Air Act was introduced as a direct result of the crisis.
One of Europe’s most dramatic weather events took place on 31 January 1953, when hurricane-force winds gathered over the North Sea and caused a mighty storm surge. The wall of water barrelled towards the Netherlands, Britain’s east coast and parts of Belgium. In the former, the flooding, which became known as Watersnoodramp, led to at least 1,800 deaths and an extensive loss of livestock and property. It was the Netherlands' worst natural disaster.
The powerful storm also decimated parts of the UK, killing 307 people. In the treacherous weather, the ferry MV Princess Victoria sank off the County Down coast and 133 lives were lost as a result. Canvey Island in the Thames estuary was one of the worst hit on the UK’s eastern coast. The low-lying island was impacted by the tidal surge and engulfed by water. Around 13,000 people were evacuated and tragically 59 people died, many from exposure while waiting on cold rooftops to be rescued.
Violent winds and unrelenting rains wreaked havoc in Toronto on 15 and 16 October 1954. The horrific hurricane, which caused flooding in the city area, washed away roads, bridges and houses, leaving 1,900 families homeless and leading to the deaths of 81 people. The storm also struck Haiti and South Carolina, but Hurricane Hazel has been noted as the most destructive in Canadian history. Now check out the strangest weather phenomena around the world and where to see them.
Florence’s historic centre is renowned for floods of tourists, but it was a dramatically different scene in November 1966 when the Arno River overflowed and sparked the city's most devastating natural disaster of modern times. The flooding, which reached 10 feet (3m) above street level in some places, killed 35 people and caused extensive damage to homes, buildings and treasured artworks, including some inside the Uffizi Gallery.
You might not associate tornadoes with Europe but the weather phenomena is not uncommon on the Continent. In fact, numerous tornadoes struck France, Belgium and the Netherlands during the month of June in 1967. One powerful storm on 26 June charged through villages such as Pommereuil in northern France, destroying homes and buildings, and killing several people.
A deadly tropical storm that struck Bangladesh – or East Pakistan as it was known at the time – led to the greatest loss of life ever due to a cyclone. It’s thought between 300,000 and 500,000 people perished as a result of the treacherous storm that formed over the Bay of Bengal in November 1970. This image shows the coastal area of Patuakhali, which was left littered with dead cattle after the powerful winds and tidal wave wreaked havoc.
At the time it struck, Hurricane Agnes was the costliest hurricane in US history. As well as extensive damage to property and industry, the winds, rain and floods killed 122 people across eight states in the eastern part of the country. The city of Apalachicola bore the brunt of Agnes, since the hurricane first made landfall on Florida’s coast in June 1972. The area suffered millions of dollars in damages and the storm also caused terrible flooding across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Christmas took a tragic turn for the people of Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, in 1974, when the city was pretty much wiped out by the voracious Cyclone Tracy. The Category 4 storm barrelled in from the northern coast on Christmas Eve and destroyed around 90% of the city, killing 71 and rendering thousands homeless. At the airport, 31 planes were destroyed and another 25 badly damaged. It remains among Australia’s worst cyclones in terms of both deaths and damages.
The UK suffered its worst drought in 150 years in 1976. A record hot summer and a lingering high pressure system saw temperatures reach above 30°C (85°F) for 18 consecutive days. Despite the delight of months of sunshine and blue skies, the country’s hottest summer in centuries meant water supplies reached dangerously low levels – so much so that a Minister for Drought was appointed. This photograph shows a man walking through Pitsford Reservoir in Northants, which completely dried up.
One of the worst winter storms in living memory blasted across parts of the USA in 1978, causing blizzards and frigid temperatures. A historic nor'easter (a type of storm specific to North America's East Coast) brought blizzard conditions to New England, New Jersey and New York City in early February. Hurricane-force winds, white outs and snow drifts trapped drivers on the road and families in their homes. Combined with spring high tides, severe flooding also destroyed many homes on Long Island Sound and Cape Cod Bay.
A drought and border conflicts in the first half of the 1980s contributed to a major famine in Ethiopia. Northern Ethiopia is a drought-prone part of the world and in this period shortfalls of rain caused repeated failed harvests. According to the United Nations, the food shortages from 1983 to 1985 caused over one million famine deaths and led to hundreds of thousands of people being displaced. This image was taken during the distribution of corn to isolated villages by helicopter in February 1987.
One of the worst bushfire disasters in Australia's history overwhelmed parts of Victoria and South Australia in February 1983. As extreme temperatures and gale-force winds in both states fuelled the inferno and hampered firefighters, a state of emergency was declared. The wildfire occurred during one of the worst droughts in Australian history and caused a huge dust cloud to descend over the city of Melbourne. It became known as Ash Wednesday: 75 people died and over 3,000 buildings were destroyed.
On 19 September 1984, an extremely dramatic lightning storm took over the skies above the US city of San Francisco, California. Characterised by intense fork-like beams, the activity was chronicled by locals and members of the press, who captured incredible live images of the storm hitting the downtown area of the city. A rare sight in this part of America, the lightning storm remains one of San Francisco's most impressive and well-documented weather events. Now see the worst weather in every US state.
Now known as a sting jet, a violent storm raged across England on the 15 and 16 October 1987, resulting in 18 deaths and widespread damage, including the loss of 15 million trees. There were also casualties in France and the Channel Islands. BBC weatherman Michael Fish infamously dismissed concerns about an approaching hurricane, with the words: "Don't worry, there isn't”. Later, gusts of up to 115 miles per hour (185km/h) were recorded on the Kent coast.
Wind gusts of 140 miles per hour (225km/h), heavy rains and monstrous waves left a trail of devastation through Guadeloupe, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in September 1989. Hugo, as the hurricane became known, formed over the eastern Atlantic near Cape Verde and struck land once again in South Carolina. At its peak, it was classified a Category 5 hurricane. When it swept across Guadeloupe, it left 20 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Several catastrophic floods struck China in the 1990s, including one in 1996 that saw parts of central China suffer some of the worst flooding in two centuries. Torrential rains caused the Yangtze River to surge and breach its barriers. Thousands died and fragile communities were left devastated. According to the UN figures reported in 1996, more than 2,000 died in floods in 1995; more than 5,000 in 1994, and 5,000 lost their lives in 1991, which saw the largest flood of the decade.
Category 5 Hurricane Andrew clobbered south Florida during the night of 24 August 1992, with winds of up to 170 miles per hour (282km/h). It was one of the biggest natural disasters in American history, causing 61 deaths and an estimated £22.9 billion ($26.5bn) in damage. The long-lasting impact of Hurricane Andrew led to major changes to the state’s storm preparation strategies.
Hurricane-force winds and stormy seas in the Shetland Isles sparked concerns of an ecological disaster, when the Braer oil tanker ran aground, spilling almost 85,000 tonnes of crude oil into the ocean. The tanker lost power in the ferocious storm and went on to hit rocks on the southern tip of Shetland on 5 January 1993. While thousands of birds perished and many marine animals were affected, in the end the bad weather helped limit the damage, by sweeping the oil out to sea.
The Great Miami Tornado, also known as the 1997 Miami Tornado, touched down in the city on 12 May. Registering F1 on the Fujita scale, the tornado is thought to have had wind speeds above 100 miles per hour (161km/h) and swept directly through the heart of downtown Miami. Despite causing significant damage and injuring dozens of people, the event is mostly remembered for the iconic photographs that were captured of the tornado ripping past the city's towering skyscrapers.
On 29 August 2005, New Orleans was lashed by one of the biggest hurricanes the South had ever seen. It started as a tropical depression over the Bahamas but by the time it struck Louisiana, winds of more than 100 miles per hour (161km/h) pummelled the city, causing damage to property and catastrophic flooding. It led to at least 1,833 deaths and displaced more than 400,000 residents.
Some of the worst wildfires in Greece ravaged parts of the parched country during the scorching summer of 2007. Southern Europe's intense heatwave, which saw Athens reach temperatures of 45°C (113°F) in the shade, sparked forest fires that were then fanned by high winds. There were ferocious fires in the Peloponnese and on the fringes of the Greek capital, Athens.
The city of Galveston in Texas was hit by another powerful hurricane, 108 years after the 1900 storm decimated the island city. Hurricane Ike made landfall here on 13 September 2008, leading to a storm surge in coastal Texas and severe flooding damage. It also led to great destruction and loss of life in both Haiti and Cuba.
An ominous red haze hung over Sydney in September 2009, after severe winds in New South Wales blew in red dust from the state’s drought-ravaged interior. The strange and unusual weather saw flights grounded, ferries suspended and Sydneysiders choking in the polluted air. Luckily, the thick orange smog dissipated within a couple of days.
Thailand suffered its worst floods in decades during 2011 and 2012, triggered by heavy monsoon rain. More than a third of the country's provinces were inundated with water, including parts of Bangkok and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chaiwatthanaram Temple, located in the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya (pictured). The floods resulted in over 800 deaths and also affected parts of Cambodia and Vietnam.
The worst monsoonal floods in a century led to extensive loss of life and damage across the southern Indian state of Kerala in August 2018. Torrential rain in a short space of time led to landslides and sent torrents crashing through villages. Thousands of people were marooned and rescue efforts were hampered by high winds.
Despite it reaching freezing temperatures at night, snow in the Sahara Desert is very rare. In fact, it snowed there for only the third time in 40 years during the January of 2018. The rare weather event happened near the Algerian town of Aïn Séfra and saw the region's renowned desert dunes covered in a deep layer of perfect white snow.
The US, meanwhile, is used to snowfall. Yet no one quite expected the deep freeze that saw record-setting low temperatures in January and February 2019. The brutal weather was the result of a polar vortex – an area of low pressure and extremely cold air that swirls over the Arctic – which brought the coldest conditions in decades to Midwest America. In fact, ice-bound Chicago recorded temperatures that were lower than Antarctica.
One of Africa and the Southern Hemisphere’s most damaging cyclones swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in March 2019, with winds of 106 miles per hour (171km/h) blazing a trail of destruction. It caused extensive flooding, killed thousands, devastated homes and destroyed crops.
When 2019 drew to a close, the world watched hopelessly as Australia continued to endure devastating bushfires. Caused by soaring temperatures, drought and high winds, the 2019 bushfire season started in June and continued into the New Year, eradicating 72,000 square miles (186,000sq km) of land. According to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, almost 3,000 homes were destroyed, 34 people lost their lives and more than a billion animals were killed.
On 18 February 2022, millions of people across the UK have been told to stay indoors as Storm Eunice batters parts of southwest England, Scotland and Wales. Two rare red weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office, as severe winds of up to 80 miles per hour (129km/h) are estimated to hit the coastline and cause widespread disruption and damage. In fact, famous chalk stack The Needles, on the Isle of Wight, recorded a wind gust of 122 miles per hour (196km/h) in the early hours. Heavy snow has already blanketed parts of Scotland and power cuts have left thousands of properties in England and South Wales without power.
Over 10,000 visitors were evacuated from Yellowstone National Park on 13 June 2022. Unprecedented rainfall and snowmelt burst the banks of Yellowstone River which swallowed sections of bridges and roadway; a US Geological Survey (USGS) announced that the devastating flood was a one in 500-year event. Parts of the park reopened over a week later on 22 June.
The UK registered its hottest day since records began on 19 July 2022. An unprecedented 40.3°C (104.5°F) was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, eastern England, as the rest of the country sweated in highs of 38°C (100°F) and above. Public transport was suspended, schools had to close and people were warned to stay indoors. A combination of extremely dry ground and sweltering temperatures caused wildfires to spread in most parts, with Wennington, near London, the worst hit (pictured). Forty-one houses were destroyed as firefighters battled to contain the inferno, as London Fire Brigade declared a major emergency and cited it was its busiest day since the Second World War.
In autumn 2022, Hurricane Ian ravaged Cuba before heading to the US, where it hammered states such as Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. Florida was hit especially hard as deadly floodwaters and strong winds of up to 150 miles per hour (241km/h) left almost one hundred dead and millions of homes and businesses without power. Popular tourist attractions such as Fort Myers Beach (pictured) have been completely destroyed by the hurricane, leading Senator Marco Rubio to state: "Fort Myers Beach no longer exists."
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The UK's hottest day in July 2022 only added to the already drought-threatened country – but it's a worldwide problem, demand is outstripping supply. Average rainfall in the UK is about 1,100mm, mainly thanks to the Scottish Highlands, Wales and northern England. But even that is not enough as surface water and groundwater levels dwindle constantly due to raising temperatures caused by climate change. Although 55 million people globally are affected by droughts every year, astonishing figures from the World Health Organization state as many as 700 million are at risk of being displaced as a result by 2030.