$45 Billion in US Weather Losses Is Lowest in 3 Years

There were 14 weather events in the United States last year that caused more than $1 billion each in damage. That’s the same total as in 2018 and two fewer than the 16 events recorded in 2017.

According to data reported Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these 14 weather events caused a total of $45 billion in damages in 2019. Nearly half, $20 billion (44.4%), was due to just three flooding events, while $13.9 billion (30.9%) in losses were the result of eight severe storms. NOAA data does not include loss of life, health care costs or losses to natural capital or assets.

Two events, tropical storm Imelda and Hurricane Dorian, combined to cause $6.6 billion (14.7%) in damages, and wildfires in Alaska and California combined caused $4.5 billion (10%) in losses.

Dollar losses in each of the past three years varied wildly. The 16 $1 billion-plus events in 2017 caused a total of $318.9 billion in damages. The 14 events in 2018 caused $92.8 billion in damages, and the same number of events last year fell to less than half that amount.

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Here’s the NOAA map showing the 2019 billion-dollar disasters.

The big difference in damages over the past three years is simple. In 2017, three major tropical cyclones (i.e., hurricanes and tropical storms) caused some $275.6 billion in damages: Harvey, Irma and Maria. In 2018, two major tropical cyclones caused $50 billion in damages, and in 2019, two major tropical cyclones caused $6.6 billion in damages. Wind and flood damage from hurricanes that hit major population centers are the primary drivers of damage from natural disasters in the United States.

Last year was the fifth consecutive year in which 10 or more billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events have hit the United States. Since 1980, only four other years have seen 10 or more such events: 1998, 2008, 2011 and 2012. The long-term averages over the period between 1980 and 2019 include 6.5 billion-dollar events annually. In the most recent five years, that average has been 13.8 events, more than twice as many.

Since 1980, the United States has sustained 258 billion-dollar disasters overall that have exceeded $1.75 trillion in total damages. In the decade between 2010 and 2019, there were 119 billion-dollar events causing damages in excess of $800 billion.

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