US hit by record number of billion-dollar disasters between January and August of 2023
Maui wildfires
A new, rather alarming, record has been set by the United States, for the number of weather-related disasters in a year that cost millions of dollars. These disasters included the Hawaii fires in August, flooding in California in the spring, and Hurricane Idalia which devastated Florida last month.
Official data showed on Monday (September 11) that so far, the US was struck by a record-breaking 23 weather and climate disasters between January and August and the losses exceeded $1 billion in each case.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in its report that the tally for 2023 has already exceeded the previous record of 22 such events in 2020. Notably, four months remain in the year.
NOAA said that together, the disasters "caused 253 direct and indirect fatalities and produced more than $57.6 billion in damages".
It added that two more potential billion-dollar events, Tropical Storm Hilary on the West Coast and the drought affecting the South and Midwest, are currently being investigated.
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As quoted by the news agency AFP, Rachel Cleetus, who is the policy director of the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said: "These record-breaking numbers, during a year that is on track to be one of the hottest ever, are sobering and the latest confirmation of a worsening trend in costly disasters, many of which bear the undeniable fingerprints of climate change."
NOAA began tracking these events in 1980, and since then, the US has sustained 371 billion-dollar events (adjusted for inflation). The annual average between 2018-2022 has been 18.0 events, compared to 8.1 events between 1980-2022.
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The report said that the 23 events included 18 severe weather events, two flooding events, one tropical cyclone (Hurricane Idalia), one wildfire event, and one winter storm event.
According to the report, these events caused 253 direct and indirect fatalities and produced more than $57.6 billion in damages (Consumer Price Index (CPI)-adjusted).
According to NOAA, the number and cost of disasters have increased over time and multiple factors, including climate change, construction, etc, are behind the increase.
NOAA said: "Vulnerability is especially high where building codes are insufficient for reducing damage from extreme events. Climate change is also playing a role in the increasing frequency of some types of extreme weather that lead to billion-dollar disasters— most notably the rise in vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons in the Western states, and the potential for extremely heavy rainfall becoming more common in the eastern states."
(With inputs from agencies)
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