Ranked: The Costliest Hurricanes To Hit The U.S.

Kayla Zhu
2024-10-02 10:44:54
www.visualcapitalist.com

Ranking the Costliest Hurricanes in The U.S.

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The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from the beginning of June to the end of November, sees an average of three major hurricanes (Category 3 to 5), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Helene’s recent landfall and resulting impact reminds us how major hurricanes can cause billions of dollars in damages, from destroyed infrastructure and homes to widespread power outages, flooding, and disruption of local economies.

This graphic visualizes the costliest hurricanes to hit the United States up until June 2023, along with their total costs of damages adjusted to today’s dollars.

The data comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Which Hurricanes Caused the Most Damage?

Below, we show the costliest hurricanes to hit the United States, and the dollar cost of their damage adjusted to 2024 dollars.

Costs include public sector costs (e.g. disaster response), as well as direct losses from damage to buildings, personal property, infrastructure, and agriculture, and excludes indirect economic impacts.

As of 2023, Hurricane Katrina is the most expensive hurricane to hit the United States. The Category 3 storm struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in August 2005 and caused catastrophic flooding in New Orleans due to levee failures, resulting in over 1,800 deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

Hurricane Harvey ranks as the second most expensive hurricane in U.S. history, falling behind Katrina in damage costs despite being a stronger Category 4 hurricane. The storm made landfall in Texas in August 2017, bringing record-breaking rainfall and widespread flooding, with damages exceeding $160 billion (when adjusted for inflation in 2024) and displacing over 30,000 people.

Hurricane Helene Damages Could be Among Costliest

Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region late on Sept. 26, 2024 as a Category 4 hurricane, has caused widespread and catastrophic damage across multiple states, from Georgia to North Carolina.

As of Oct. 1, Helene’s death toll across six states reached 130, according to CNN, already making it one of the top 10 deadliest storms in U.S. history. AccuWeather estimates that Hurricane Helene will cause total damage and economic loss of $145 billion to $160 billion.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has been particularly active due to warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean, weaker tropical Atlantic trade winds, and other factors, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Data from Colorado State University’s Tropical Cyclone Impact Probabilities database shows that Florida’s southern tip, North Carolina’s Outer Banks region, and counties along the coast near Houston, Texas, typically have some of the highest chances of major hurricane impact.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about the toll of climate disasters, check out this graphic that visualizes the number of weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion in the U.S.

The post Ranked: The Costliest Hurricanes To Hit The U.S. appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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