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Books on natural, and man-made disasters Disaster Compendiums —
Fires —
Hurricane, Tornados, and Floods — Recommended titles
 "Former journalist and mystery novelist Scotti successfully applies her skills in both genres to this detailed retelling of the 1938 hurricane that ripped across seven Northeastern states and killed 682 people, "the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history-worse than the San Francisco earthquake, the Chicago fire, or any Mississippi flood." Although the enormity of the destruction has been written about before, Scotti focuses on "a few experiences that seem representative of many more" through interviews with hurricane survivors, their families and friends ... Scotti also skillfully presents the details of a hurricane, although she reminds us that "after decades of study and with all the technological tools of the trade... we still cannot predict a hurricane more than twenty-four hours in advance." --book description
"On September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of some four feet in as many seconds inundated the city, while the wind destroyed thousands of buildings. By the time the water and winds subsided, entire streets had disappeared and as many as 10,000 were dead--making this the worst natural disaster in America's history ... Erik Larson blends science and history to tell the story of Galveston, its people, and the hurricane that devastated them. Drawing on hundreds of personal reminiscences of the storm, Larson follows individuals through the fateful day and the storm's aftermath..." --Amazon.com
"In a single terrifying night near the end of the 19th century, a gigantic hurricane ripped through the islands and lowlands of Georgia and South Carolina, drowning 2,000 or more and leaving 70,000 destitute. Most of the victims were former slaves and descendants of slaves, "Gullahs." With no government involvement, but through steady appeals to those outside of the devastated region, Clara Barton of the American Red Cross and others spent most of the next year in the tedious recovery effort. More than a century later, the horrors of that experience come to mind whenever a hurricane spins offshore. " --book description
"Wallace Akin was two years old when the Tri-State Tornado picked up his house-with him and his mother inside-and dropped it atop two other collapsed buildings. ... The storm ripped through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwest Indiana, killing 695 people and wounding 2,000, in a record-breaking 219-mile, three-and-a-half-hour path of destruction. Akin's hometown was the worst hit, losing 243 people to the tornado. Using first-person accounts from his family and neighbors, newspaper stories, and diaries, Akin offers a blow-by-blow account of the storm from its first sighting to its final minutes. He also attempts to explain how it began-and how it changed his life. ..." --book description
 "A professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, Bluestein lives in the heart of Tornado Alley ... In his first book written for a general audience, he explains what is known about the genesis of tornadoes and their parent storms--not much--and presents a personal history of modern severe-storm research. ... The book includes more than 100 of Bluestein's photographs of storm clouds and vortexes, which are not only spectacularly beautiful but also clarify his rather technical descriptions of severe-storm phenomena. " --Library Journal, Nancy Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib.
"Shortly after 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 27, 1986, a Herculean tornado shattered the St. Louis area. Within twenty minutes, 137 people had perished in St. Louis, with 118 dead across the river in East St. Louis ... Even today, that powerful cyclone of a century ago "remains the single deadliest incident to befall the St. Louis area." Copiously illustrated, The Great Cyclone was compiled from stories in the city's daily newspapers." --book description
Tornado!: The 1974 Super Outbreak (X-Treme Disasters That Changed America) "young adults, grades 9-12."
"The history of civil engineering may sound boring, but in David McCullough's hands it is, well, riveting. His award-winning histories of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal were preceded by this account of the disastrous dam failure that drowned Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889. Written while the last survivors of the flood were still alive, McCullough's narrative weaves the stories of the town, the wealthy men who owned the dam, and the forces of nature into a seamless whole. His account is unforgettable ... A powerful, definitive book, and a tribute to the thousands who died in America's worst inland flood. --Amazon.com, Mary Ellen Curtin "
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White Hurricane : A Great Lakes November Gale and America's Deadliest Maritime Disaster
Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
The Great Sea Island Storm of 1893
The Forgotten Storm: The Great Tri-state Tornado of 1925
Tornado Alley: Monster Storms of the Great Plains
The Great Cyclone at St. Louis and East St. Louis, May 27, 1896
Johnstown Flood