Billion Dollar Disasters Continue To Plague U.S. And World

A winter storm and cold snap focused on Texas was one of
eight disasters so far this year that cost more than $1 billion.

 So far this year, the United States has suffered no fewer than eight weather related disasters, each of which cost at least $1 billion, says the National Centers for Environmental Information. 

This continues a trend from last year, when the U.S. seemed to face a continuous string of weather calamities. In 2020, the United States endured 22 billion dollar disasters, the most on record. 

In 2021 the disasters included the big winter storm and freeze across the South and Midwest in February; a couple of outbreaks of severe weather in the East and Southeast during March, and the ongoing drought and wildfires out west.

Texas and Oklahoma seem to be taking the brunt of it. In addition to the February freeze, severe storms, tornadoes and hail twice struck the region in April, each causing more than $1 billion in damage.

The biggest, most expensive disasters tend to be hurricanes, tropical storms and their associated flooding. We really haven't gotten into hurricane season yet, so we can expect more billion dollar disasters in the coming months.

That's especially true since most forecasts call for a busy hurricane season.

There's likely to be additional destructive wild fires in the West between now and November as well. 

There already could be a ninth billion dollar disaster in the making.  There have been repeated severe storms and flash floods over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States in mid July.  

I have to wonder if the accumulated damage from this barrage of storms will exceed $1 billion.

Billion dollar disasters have been rising in recent years. And yes, that's adjusted for inflation. Part of it is more people are moving to and building in places that are prone to hurricanes, floods and wildfires. Another part of it is climate change.

The inflation-adjusted cost of disasters is rising, too. 

The most expensive year for disasters was 2017, which cost about $330 billion. That was the year of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which were the big drivers of that cost.

For the world as a whole, there have been 18 billion dollar disasters so far this year, through the end of June.  Four of those disasters were in June, the last month complete data is available. Those consisted of two outbreaks of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and hail in central Europe, monsoon flooding in China and a drought in Brazil, according to the insurance experts at Aon. 

This list doesn't include the recent catastrophic floods in Germany and surrounding nations, which have already been estimated to have cost well over $1 billion. It also doesn't include last week's equally catastrophic flood in Jhengzhou, China, which also looks like a $1 billion disaster candidate.