Of all the weather-related phenomena that can cause severe economic impact in the United States, droughts come in second only to hurricanes, according to the National Climatic Data Center. But unlike hurricanes, which are easily identified and straightforward to classify in terms of wind speeds, droughts are much tougher to define. Sadly, droughts and their many repercussions, such as extreme famine, have been known to humankind since antiquity and still occur today, with starvation and malnutrition being some of the tragic outcomes in many parts of the world. These are the 25 Most Severe Droughts Ever Recorded. If you want to learn more about sever natural disasters, you should take a look at these 25 Worst Natural Disasters Ever Recorded.