This story has been updated.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday expanded a state of emergency previously issued for 92 Georgia counties, adding 16 moreto the list ahead of Hurricane Michael, which upgraded to a Category 4 major hurricane early Wednesday, according to Channel 2 Action News.
» RELATED: Michael becomes a hurricane; parts of metro Atlanta could be impacted
Michael is “closing in” on the Florida Panhandle and could bring potentially catastrophic storm surges, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center, which described the storm as “extremely dangerous” and “life-threatening.”
Michael follows the recent Category 1 Hurricane Florence that ravaged the Carolinas in September, dropping nearly 36 inches of floodwater. At least 49 deaths were reported as a result of the cyclone, according to NBC News.
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The six deadliest hurricanes in recorded history:
Death toll: 20,000-22,000
Cost damage unknown
The deadliest Atlantic hurricane devastated the Caribbean regions of Barbados, Martinique and Sint Eustatius in mid-October 1780.
According to the National Weather Service, the hurricane struck in the midst of the American Revolution and drowned thousands of French soldiers off the coast of Martinique.
» RELATED: 10-year-old Florida evacuee hit, killed in DeKalb
Death toll estimates: 10,000-12,000
Cost damage estimate: $6.2 billion
As it approached Honduras as a Category 5 storm, much of the coast and offshore islands were destroyed. But according to Weather.com, the storm’s heavy rainfall, flooding and mudslides caused some of the major infrastructure damage.
Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize felt the brunt of Hurricane Mitch, the deadliest hurricane to hit the Western Hemisphere in more than 200 years.
The exact death toll varies between 10,000 to more than 11,000, according to various reports. NOAA reported Central America lost 9,000 people with another 9,000 missing.
» RELATED: Delta cancels 800 flights as Irma nears Atlanta
Death toll estimates: 8,000-12,000
Cost damage estimate: $30 million
The 1900 Galveston Hurricane in Galveston, Texas, was the most deadly to hit the U.S.
It began near Cuba as a tropical storm, moved through the Gulf of Mexico and eventually reached Texas as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 8, 1900.
The Texas city suffered a storm surge up to 15 feet high, killing roughly 8,000 people. Some reports estimated that number to be as high as 12,000.
Death toll estimates: 8,000-10,000
Cost damage estimate: $1.8 billion
Hurricane Fifi (or Hurricane Orlene) is recorded as the fourth deadliest hurricane in Atlantic history.
It emerged near the Caribbean Sea and devastated Honduras, Jamaica, Belize and then began to merge with another storm (Orlene) as it headed toward Mexico.
Most fatality estimates range between 8,000 and 10,000.
» RELATED: Hurricane Irma: Metro Atlanta schools announce closings
Hurricane in the Dominican Republic (1930)
Death toll estimates: 2,000-8,000
Cost damage estimate: $50 million
This 1930 tropical storm impacted several areas in the Atlantic basin, but left the heaviest impact on the island of Dominica and the Dominican Republic, where it made landfall in early September as a Category 4 storm.
Death toll estimates vary between 2,000 and 8,000.
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Death toll estimates: 7,000-8,000
Cost damage estimate: $528 million
After emerging near the Cape Verde islands on Sept. 26, Flora reached the Caribbean islands as a Category 3 hurricane, struck Haiti as a Category 4 storm and roared over Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and other regions.
Hurricane Flora is regarded as the deadliest in the Atlantic Basin since the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, killing between 7,186 and 8,000 people.
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Data used for this list was collected from the National Oceanic and Atmopheric Administration (NOAA), Weather.com, History.com and HurricanScience.org.
