#4 1996’s East U.S. Floods
This natural disaster affects more regions as there hasn’t been just one city or area affected by the destructive force of water. Back in 1996, the whole Northeast, Appalachian, and Mid-Atlantic regions were dealing with numerous floods, and many states had to deal with rivers overflowing. Some even named the floods the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Agnes.
But how did these floods happen in early 1996? Well, despite the heavy rains, when you combine those with heavy amounts of snow from earlier blizzards melting at the same time, you end up dealing with a large quantity of water that no one is prepared to deal with. The melting of the snow, along with the 3 inches of rain falling in 24 hours, caused massive destruction in these areas.
Low-lying areas around the Susquehanna River were flooded due to the river overflowing, and the whole ordeal caused 187 fatalities and $4.79 billion in damage!
