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Harvey is Worst Texas Storm Since Carla in 1961

November 13, 2017
By The Associated Press
Hurricane Harvey reached land Friday night, securing its place in history as the most furious hurricane to hit the Texas coast since Hurricane Carla in 1961. Carla killed dozens and destroyed nearly 2,000 homes.

A look at Hurricane Carla and some of the most damaging hurricanes to hit the United States since 2000: (Figures have not been adjusted for inflation)

CARLA

Starting as a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea on Sept. 3, 1961, Carla steadily gained momentum until it was labeled a major hurricane four days later. After a few days, it became a Category 5, only to be downgraded to a Category 4 by Sept. 11, when it made landfall on Matagorda Island, a 38-mile (61-kilometer) barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, according to the National Weather Service.

It weakened to a tropical storm after its eye hit Port O'Connor and Port Lavaca in Texas. The hurricane also impacted parts of Louisiana, Oklahoma and Illinois.

In Texas, the highest winds were about 115 mph but sustained winds in some parts hit 170 mph.

The hurricane spawned 18 tornadoes, including 10 in Louisiana and eight in Texas. Between Carla and the subsequent tornadoes, the NWS said 46 people were killed and more than 450 were injured.

Total damage was estimated at $2.36 billion with Texas suffering more than $400 million in damage. In Texas, 1,915 homes were destroyed.

KATRINA

Katrina crossed the tip of Florida and then swept into the Gulf of Mexico and over Louisiana and Mississippi, causing more than 1,800 deaths and an estimated $108 billion in damage and becoming the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, according to the National Hurricane Center. Most of the fatalities occurred in Louisiana, where thousands of homes and businesses in New Orleans were destroyed by strong winds and flooding. Mississippi, Florida, Georgia and Alabama also reported deaths in the 2005 hurricane, which left about 3 million people without power, some for weeks at a time.

SANDY

The pounding winds and storm surges of Sandy, dubbed a "superstorm" since it was extratropical by the time it made landfall, devastated the coastlines of New York and New Jersey in late October 2012, damaging at least 650,000 homes and causing about 8.5 million power outages, according to the Hurricane Center. U.S. officials preliminarily tallied at least $50 billion in damage, though some sources cite around $75 billion. There were at least 147 deaths directly tied to storm conditions, as well as a number of indirect fatalities linked to hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning and falling trees during the cleanup effort, the center said. Repairs to homes and infrastructure continue today.

IKE

Ike's storm surges raised water levels across nearly the entire U.S. Gulf Coast when it hit in 2008, causing almost $30 billion in damage, mostly in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. At least 20 people were killed, according to the Hurricane Center. Waves battered the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, and almost 3 million people in those state lost power. Winds uprooted trees, and a number of homes were damaged.

WILMA

Coming near the end of 2005's extraordinary hurricane season, Wilma caused 98 percent of South Florida to lose electricity, with experts at the Hurricane Center attributing widespread damage in the state to its large core. Trees were downed, windows shattered, roofs torn up and crops lost. All told, the U.S. reported more than $21 billion in damage, as well as five deaths.

IVAN

Ivan's 10- to 15-foot storm surge in 2004 caused as much as a quarter-mile of an interstate bridge to collapse in Florida, which along with Alabama was among the hardest-hit states, according to the Hurricane Center. Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. Debris piled up after the storm stretched for more than three-quarters of a mile and were as tall as seven stories. Almost 2 million people experienced power outages. Ivan killed 25 people and caused more than $18 billion in damage, according to the center.

RITA

Rita, one of the strongest hurricanes of the record-breaking 2005 season, prompted one of the largest-scale evacuations in U.S. history, with more than 2 million people estimated to have fled the Texas coast, according to the Hurricane Center. Coming just weeks after Katrina, Rita's wind and rain caused $12 billion in damage and killed 62 people, including many nursing home residents whose bus caught fire as they fled the storm, the center said. Nearly every structure in some coastal areas of southwestern Louisiana was destroyed, some entirely swept away.

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