orthern China. Between 10 and 13 million perish. Widespread cannibalism, suicides, mass death – with millions of rotting corpses. Nearby provinces experience crop destroying floods.
Devastating tornado, Iowa – June 17, 1882: Wipes away the towns of Grinnel, Mount Pleasant, Malcolm and Brooklyn, Iowa. Tornado cuts a swath over 90 miles long, moving at 56 miles per hour.
Massive Yellow River flood, China – Spring 1887: Heavy rains cause the Yellow River to burst its banks, 600 towns and villages washed away, 1500 villages inundated by 40 to 50 feet of water. Estimated deaths: 1.5 to 7 million.
Severe Hurricane, Louisiana – Oct. 1, 1893: Produces storm surge wave 12 feet high, many ships lost, millions in property damage, and 2,000 people killed.
Drought induced famine, India – 1898: Intense drought affects some 300,000 square miles of southern and western India and the Punjab, causes widespread crop failures two years in a row. More than a million people starve to death, over 60 million people are severely affected.
Hurricane hits Florida, Oct. 2-3, 1898: Powerful hurricane slams into Florida. Giant oaks are snapped off like twigs, houses are blown down, vessels swept inland by massive rush of water.
Horrific drought in India – 1899-1900: Millions die of starvation, millions more die of disease and prolonged famine.
Violent typhoon, Hong Kong, China – Sept. 18, 1906: 10,000 are killed, Hong Kong is totally wrecked. One and two thousand ton ships are picked up by the winds and tossed about, other ships are demolished and sink.
Typhoon gale, Indian Ocean, sinks 9,339 ton liner Waratah – July 28, 1909: 465 foot ship vanishes without a trace in a great storm. All 211 passengers and crew are lost.
Giant Hurricane smashes into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama – Sept. 10-20, 1909: 350 killed, Mississippi River rises three feet when dikes give way, New Orleans inundated, several smaller towns utterly flattened.
Enormous Floods, Yangtze River, China – Sept. 1911: 700 square miles of four provinces and the city of Shanghai are inundated when the river bursts its embankments, immediately drowning 100,000 people, starvation soon kills another 100,000, more than half a million refugees.
Intense hurricane, Jamaica – Nov. 18, 1912: Multiple hurricanes pummel Jamaica in 1912. The fiercest has 120 mile per hour winds accompanied by massive tidal waves.
Mass Flooding, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois – March 25, 1913: Intense, prolonged rains cause swollen rivers in Ohio to burst their banks, breaching dikes and levees. Dayton, Ohio is under 12 feet of water, 125,000 residents take refuge on rooftops and up in trees. It is estimated that 18 billion tons of rainwater fall on Ohio over three days. 70,000 people instantly rendered homeless. 500 people die in floods which inundate over 1,000 miles of the Ohio River basin. 175,000 people are ultimately left homeless, with $147 million in damage.
Devastating floods, Otay Valley California – Jan. 1916: Massive, freakish rainfalls for several weeks, some measuring up to 395 cubic feet per second per square mile overwhelm the Otay and tributaries, breaking the Otay dam and releasing a flood that destroys millions of dollars’ worth of homes and crops.
Massive storm spawns multiple tornadoes, Midwest USA – May 26-27, 1917: Deadly tornadoes tear across Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. 350 killed, whole towns leveled.
Hurricane, Corpus Christi, Texas – Sept. 14, 1919: Massive storm swallows 10 ships, the Spanish liner Valbanera being the largest, with 400 passengers and 88 crew members, 16 foot waves engulf Corpus Christi.
Dozens of savage tornados strike Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Dakota and Nebraska – March 28, 1920: Chicago suffers massive destruction, over 220 deaths are recorded throughout the region.
Tornado swarm devastates southern U.S. – April 15-16, 1921: 30 tornadoes over two days cause widespread damage.
Massive snowstorm, Eastern U.S.A. – Jan. 27 – 29, 1922: Rages from South Carolina to Massachusetts, buildings collaps