We can’t truly respect the power of nature when the air is warm and there’s a light breeze fluttering gently against our skin. We bask in all those summer smiles and fluffy clouds — and even the crisp, cold air — but forget that Mother Nature can be downright terrifying.

From a destruction standpoint, mass floods and tornadoes ripping through entire towns can outdo some of the worst man-made devastation devices. In fact, a ranking of history’s costly natural disasters prove that Earth herself is holding the reigns, and she can be a fickle beast.

20. Hurricane Katrina: The Gulf Coast of the United States was slammed with unrelenting rains and deadly winds during this 2005 Category 4 tropical cyclone. The city of New Orleans was eviscerated, and about 1,200 people died.