llion head of livestock and poultry. The same storm kills hundreds of people in England and Belgium.
Hurricane Carol, East Coast USA – Aug. 26-31, 1954: 135 mile per hour winds smash into Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. 60 dead, thousands of homes smashed, cars tossed into the sea, giant sea waves, $460 million in damages.
Typhoons sweep over Japan – 1954: 15 powerful, deadly typhoons sweep over Japan in one year. A typhoon on Sept. 26 has winds so powerful, they capsize a 4,300-ton ferry boat, dumping more than 1000 passengers into the sea and drowning them all.
Hurricanes Connie and Diane, east coast USA – Aug. 4-18, 1955: Back to back storms pound east coast of U.S. Particularly hard hit are the Carolinas, Delaware, New York, Virginia, Maryland. 125 mph winds, ten foot swells, torrential rains, 310 dead.
Hurricane Janet, Gulf of Mexico – Sept. 22-28, 1955: Monster-sized hurricane with 114 mph winds devastates vast areas of coastal Mexico and Honduras over a six day period. Over 500 killed and 60,000 left homeless. Every one of 10,000 coconut trees are snapped off by the wind on Swan Island. Hundreds of people die from bites of poisonous snakes washed into villages by overflowing rivers.
Massive blizzards, extreme cold in Europe – Feb. 1956: 907 persons lose their lives to the extreme weather.
Typhoon Wanda, Yangtze area of China – Aug. 2, 1956: Following the worst heat wave in a century, massive typhoon devastates multiple provinces, killing 1,960, destroying 38,000 homes.
Powerful hurricane, Grenada – Sept. 22, 1956: Winds up to 127 mph destroy every building on the island of Grenada, leaving some 250 dead and 40,000 rendered homeless.
Hurricane Audrey – June 27-30, 1957: Early season hurricane with 105 mph winds catches people in the bayous and lowlands of Texas and Louisiana off guard. The town of Cameron, Louisiana is utterly demolished when water from the Gulf of Mexico surge 25 miles inland. Storm steamrolls north to Ohio before dissipating, destroying 40,000 homes and killing 524.
Typhoon Ida, Japan – Sept. 27-28, 1958: Intense typhoon with 100 mph winds demolishes 244 bridges and washes away 1,000 homes, spawning over 1,800 landslides. 1800 people killed or missing, 120,000 acres of rice paddies drowned, 10,000 rendered homeless.
Hurricane Donna – Sept. 4-12, 1960: Furious storm with 150 mph winds, gusting up to 180 mph, devastates Puerto Rico, Florida Keys, moves up East Coast to Gulf of St. Lawrence. 143 killed, thousands of buildings demolished.
Two great cyclones obliterate East Pakistan – Oct. 1960: An estimated 14,000 people lose their lives to the storms. Winds reach 120 mph.
Hurricane Hattie – Oct. 31, 1961: 200 mph winds engulf Belize, 10 foot tidal waves. At least 400 people killed and thousands injured.
Hurricane winds in the North Sea Feb. 17, 1962: Causes massive, record flooding along Germany’s coast. Over 500 people die and 500,000 left homeless.
Gigantic cyclone devastates East Pakistan on May 28-29, 1963: Winds of 150 mph pummel the countryside for 15 hours. Estimated one million homes destroyed, 300,000 left homeless, 22,000 dead, whole islands swept bare, tidal waves reached inland up to three miles, four ocean liners swept a half-mile inland and dumped.
Destructive tornadoes, Midwest USA – April 11, 1965: Some 50 intense storms across the Midwest spawn at least 35 or more tornadoes that devastate large areas in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio within about 12 hours. Widespread associated flooding in seven states including Minnesota and Montana. 271 persons killed and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
Hurricane Inez, Caribbean – Sept. 24-30, 1966: The Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba are devastated by 160 mph winds. Thousands are killed by being washed into mountain gorges in Haiti, creating vast piles of corpses. Hundreds more are killed throughout Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Intense storm, destructive flood, Florence Italy – Nov. 4-6, 1966: 90 mph winds combined with torrentia