Worst Natural Disasters in the US in the Last 10 Years

In mid-April 2012, an outbreak of 98 confirmed tornadoes tore across Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa over a two-day period. The storms left six dead in Woodward, Oklahoma, destroyed 75% of the town of Thurman, Iowa, and lead the governors of both Kansas and Oklahoma to declare a state of emergency.

In late February and early March 2017, more than 70 tornadoes hit several southern and central states, including Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. The storms claimed six lives and caused nearly $2 billion in damage. It was the second largest tornado outbreak in early 2017.

Severe thunderstorms that lasted from April 26 to May 2, 2016, left $2.6 billion in damage from hail, high winds, and tornadoes in the South and Southeastern United States. Affected states included Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.

Steady rainfall in the Ohio Valley in early spring 2011 — 300% more than normal — in addition to melting snowpack, lead to disastrous flooding along the Mississippi River in the spring of 2011. The flooding killed seven and caused $371.2 million in damage in Memphis, Tennessee, $580 in damage to agriculture in Arkansas, and another $928 million in damage to agriculture in Mississippi.

Late in the tornado season, on Nov. 17, 2013, 70 confirmed tornadoes hit the Ohio Valley, causing $1.2 billion in damage and killing eight. The tornadoes touched down in six states, including Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio, and caused the most damage in Indiana and Illinois.