According to the National Weather Service, flooding has killed about 125 people annually on average in the United States over the previous few decades, with flash floods being the country’s leading storm-related cause of death.
Here are a few of the deadliest floods that have occurred in the country during the last 25 years.
July 2025, Texas
As worried parents searched for information about their daughters who were missing at a girls camp near the Guadalupe River, authorities are still evaluating the terrible consequences of heavy rains that produced devastating flash floods in the Texas Hill Country, leaving at least 32 people dead and numerous others missing.
In order to find casualties and rescue individuals who were stranded in trees and in camps separated by washed-out highways, searchers deployed helicopters, boats, and drones.
In 2024, Hurricane Helene
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene hit Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia. The National Weather Service estimates that the storm killed roughly 250 people.
Instead of being killed by strong winds, many of the people who perished in Helene were victims of severe inland flooding. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Helene was the most deadly hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland.
Millions of people were left without power, cellular service, or supplies after the storm devastated isolated communities across the Appalachians.The Department of Health and Human Services in North Carolina claims that Helene was the cause of 108 fatalities in the state alone.
2022 in Kentucky
According to senior meteorologist Tyler Roys of AccuWeather, 45 people were killed by raging floodwaters in eastern Kentucky in late July 2022.
Along with severely damaging schools, highways, bridges, and water infrastructure, the floods also devastated houses and businesses. Thousands of families lost everything they owned as a result of the catastrophe.
Tennessee in 2021
In August 2021, more than 17 inches (43 cm) of rain fell in less than 24 hours, causing creeks around the small hamlet of Waverly in Middle Tennessee to overflow, killing 20 people.
Automobiles were destroyed, businesses were destroyed, and homes were washed off their foundations. Twin babies who were snatched from their father’s arms were among the deceased.
Harvey, Hurricane 2017
In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a strong Category 4 storm. As Harvey plodded inland for days, it dumped several feet of rain on the Houston region and numerous Gulf Coast areas.
The National Hurricane Center said that Harvey killed at least 68 people. Freshwater flooding, which destroyed over 300,000 buildings and cost an estimated $125 billion in damage, was directly responsible for all but three of the Harvey fatalities.
June 2016, West Virginia
In West Virginia, a seemingly little downpour evolved into a disaster, trapping hundreds of people overnight and ultimately killing 23 people throughout the state.
Sandy, the 2012 Superstorm
In October 2012, a hurricane and several other storms combined to form Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and the surrounding areas.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Sandy killed 147 people, 72 of them were in the eastern United States. Drowning was the cause of over 110 deaths, according to Roys.
2011’s Mississippi River
Rivers in the Mississippi River Basin swelled and flooded in 2011 as a result of heavy rainfall in numerous states and a slower-than-normal melt.
The National Weather Service reports that in April and May, flash floods linked to these storms killed 24 people in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Hurricane Ike in 2008
The island city of Galveston experienced a storm surge of up to 20 feet (6 meters) in September 2008 after Hurricane Ike slammed the southeast Texas Gulf Coast.
After that, Ike dumped over 4 feet (1.2 meters) of rain on Houston, causing thousands of cars to be destroyed and hundreds of thousands of families to have their homes ruined by flooding.
Ike was ultimately to blame for over 100 fatalities, many of which were brought on by flooding.
2005’s Hurricane Katrina
The deadliest flood to hit the United States in the last 25 years was Hurricane Katrina.
When levees broke in New Orleans, the storm slammed into the Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding that forced people to be rescued from rooftops by boat and helicopter.
Katrina was the most expensive storm in American history, with an estimated $200 billion in damages and approximately 1,400 fatalities.
Allison’s Tropical Storm, 2001
According to Roys, 41 people were killed by Tropical Storm Allison, primarily as a result of flooding in Texas and Louisiana brought on by the 40 inches (101 centimeters) of rain that poured during the storm.
After Allison made landfall in June 2001 and caused significant flooding in Houston, its remnants lingered for days, posing a hazard.
