Hurricanes by the Numbers (Atlantic hurricane statistics)

Millions live in the paths of the biggest storms

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Related Links Hurricanes Deadliest Hurricanes in the United States Most Intense Hurricanes in the United States Costliest Hurricanes of the Century Atlantic Hurricane Names Retired Hurricane Names Hurricane Advisories and Warnings U.S. Hurricanes

In the Hurricane's Path

36.2 million
Estimated July 1, 2009, population most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes: the coastal portion of states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Approximately 12 percent of the nation's population lived in these areas.

14.0 million
1960 coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Eight percent of the nation's population lived in these areas at that time.

6
Number of the 50 most populous metro areas in 2009 that were within Atlantic or Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. These areas are Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas (sixth); Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. (seventh), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (19th), Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla. (27th), Jacksonville, Fla. (40th) and New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. (46th).

158%
Percentage growth of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas between 1960 and 2009.

179,015
Collective land area in square miles of the coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas.

Alex
The name of the first Atlantic Basin storm of 2010. Hurricane names rotate in a six-year cycle with the 2010 list being a repeat of the 2004 names. The World Meteorological Organization retired the names of four major hurricanes that made landfall in Florida during 2004: Charley, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne. They have been replaced on the list by Colin, Fiona, Igor and Julia.

3
The number of hurricanes during the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, two of which were major hurricanes at Category 3-strength or higher. The below-average year has been linked to El Niño, which increases wind shear in the Atlantic Basin, inhibiting tropical storm formation. None of these storms made landfall in the U.S. as hurricanes.

About 50 to 100
Number of people killed by hurricanes striking the U.S. coastline in an average three-year period.

1950
The year the Weather Bureau officially began naming hurricanes.

75th Anniversary of the Labor Day Storm

1935
The Labor Day storm forms in the Atlantic and makes landfall in the Florida Keys on Sept. 2, 1935, leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake. This was the most intense hurricane on record in the U.S. at landfall. Damage in the United States was estimated at $6 million.

408
The number of deaths in the Florida Keys attributed to the Labor Day storm, primarily among World War I veterans, many of whom were washed away in an evacuation train heading toward Miami.

13,624
Population of Monroe County, Fla., in the 1930 Census. Monroe County includes the Florida Keys and parts of the Everglades National Park on mainland Florida. More than 99 percent of the county population is found in the Florida Keys.

73,165
Estimated population of Monroe County, Fla., on July 1, 2009.

$538,000
Median home value of owner-occupied units in Monroe County, Fla., in 2008.

$52,443
Median household income in Monroe County, Fla., in 2008.

50th Anniversary of Hurricane Donna

37,789
Population of Galveston, Texas, at the time of the city's devastating hurricane of 1900. At that time, Galveston, Dallas and Houston had similar populations.

1960
Hurricane Donna forms in the Atlantic Ocean and makes landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm. This was the fifth most intense hurricane on record in the U.S. at landfall. Donna is the only hurricane on record to produce hurricane-force winds in Florida, the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Hurricane Donna made landfall in North Carolina and on Long Island, N.Y., as a Category 3 storm.

130,807
Population of four counties in southwest Florida in the 1960 Census where Hurricane Donna caused severe damage: Charlotte, Collier, Lee and Monroe.

1,135,562
Estimated population of the same four Florida counties on July 1, 2009.

6,403,852
Population in the 1960 Census of Long Island, N.Y., which consists of four counties: Kings (Brooklyn), Nassau, Queens and Suffolk.

7,749,714
Estimated population of Long Island, N.Y., on July 1, 2009.

$433,800
Median home value of owner-occupied units in Suffolk County, N.Y., in 2008.

$85,560
Median household income in Suffolk County, N.Y., in 2008.

NOTE: Coastal counties include those with at least 15% of their total land area within the nation’s coastal watershed.

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