While search and rescue crews continue to sift through stream beds and piles of debris in the hollows of North Carolina’s western mountains, the number of lives lost due to Hurricane Helene’s devastating flooding increases daily. With many people still unaccounted for, officials anticipate that this count will keep rising.

Authorities from four other states ‒ Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee ‒ reported additional fatalities this week, bringing the total to 214 as of Thursday morning. This positions Helene as the fourth deadliest hurricane to make landfall in the mainland U.S. since 1950.

Tracking hurricane-related deaths can be complex.

If hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are included, the deadliest hurricane in recent history is Maria, which struck in 2017. After a reevaluation by the National Hurricane Center, Maria’s toll was adjusted to 2,975 lives lost. However, some studies suggest that the death toll from Maria may have continued to climb for months following the storm. (Similar research indicates that fatalities related to hurricanes could increase in the years that follow.)

This establishes Maria as the deadliest Atlantic hurricane affecting the U.S. since 1950.

Looking at the complete history of Atlantic hurricanes from 1851 reveals that fatalities were significantly higher before the advent of modern forecasting and communication methods. The deadliest recorded hurricane was the 1900 storm in Galveston, Texas, which is believed to have killed at least 8,000, and possibly up to 12,000 people, according to hurricane center data.

A storm known as San Ciriaco in Puerto Rico claimed 3,369 lives in 1899. Very few storms from more recent times appear in a comparison with historical records of deadliest hurricanes. Notable exceptions include Maria, Katrina (which impacted Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005), and Audrey (which hit southwestern Louisiana and northern Texas in 1957).

Technically, Sandy was not identified as a hurricane at the time it made landfall. It began as a hurricane but transitioned into an extratropical storm as it reached the Northeast. Ultimately, Sandy resulted in at least 159 fatalities.

With these considerations in mind, here’s a look at the most lethal hurricanes to hit the mainland U.S. since 1950:

1. Katrina – 2005, 1,392
2. Audrey – 1957, 416
3. Camille – 1969, 256
4. Helene – 2024, 214 (preliminary)
5. Diane – 1955, 184
6. Ian – 2022, 156
7. Agnes – 1972, 122
8. Harvey – 2017, 103
9. Hazel – 1954, 95
10. Irma – 2017, 92
11. Ike – 2008, 85
12. Ida – 2021, 87
13. Betsy – 1965, 75
14. Andrew – 1992, 65
15. Rita – 2005, 62
16. Carol – 1954, 60
17. Michael – 2018, 59
18. Ivan – 2004, 57
19. Floyd – 1999, 56
20. Matthew – 2016, 52