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Subject: E9) Which tropical cyclones have caused
the most deaths and most damage?
"The death toll in the infamous Bangladesh Cyclone of 1970 has had
several estimates, some wildly speculative, but it seems certain that
at least 300,000 people died from the associated storm tide [surge]
in the low-lying deltas." (Holland 1993)
The largest damage caused by a tropical cyclone as estimated by
monetary amounts has been Hurricane Andrew (1992) as it struck
the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana, USA: US $26.5 Billion.
However, if one normalizes hurricane damage by inflation, wealth
changes and coastal county population increases, then the worst
is no longer Hurricane Andrew, but is instead the 1926 Great Miami
Hurricane. If this storm hit in the mid-1990s, it is estimated
that it would cause over $70 BILLION in South Florida and then
an additional $10 BILLION in the Florida panhandle and Alabama
(Pielke and Landsea 1998).
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