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During the last decades, various types of natural disasters have wreaked havoc across the United States, but which cataclysms have cost the most?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) lists hundreds of costly disasters that occurred between 1980 and 2024.
“The United States has suffered 403 weather and climate disasters since 1980, in which total damages and costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment through 2024). The total cost of these 403 events exceeds $2.915 trillion dollars,” says the NCEI.
Hurricane Katrina tops the list with a staggering $200 billion price tag. (Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)
Hurricanes occupy nine of the top 10 spots on the list of “Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters.”
The cost estimates provided by the NCEI are not precise: there are several figures reported for the disasters on the list, including the CPI-adjusted estimated cost, as well as lower and upper limits on 75%, 90% and 95% confidence intervals. .
1. Hurricane Katrina, $201.3 billion
In this NOAA satellite image, Hurricane Katrina is seen in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28, 2005. (NOAA via Getty Images)
Topping the list with a CPI-adjusted estimated cost of $201.3 billion is Hurricane Katrina, which hit the United States in 2005. The lower bound of the cost in the 95% confidence interval is $151.3 billion, while the upper limit is $242.8 billion.
“The Category 3 hurricane initially impacts the US as a Category 1 near Miami, Florida, then as a strong Category 3 along the coasts east of Los Angeles and western MS, resulting in “Severe storm surge damage (maximum surge likely exceeded 30 feet) along the Los Angeles coast of MS-AL, wind damage, and failure of portions of the levee system in New Orleans,” a summary notes. . “Inland effects included strong winds and some flooding in the states of AL, MS, FL, TN, KY, IN, OH and GA.”
2. Hurricane Harvey, $160 billion
Hurricane Harvey, which hit the United States in 2017, is the second costliest disaster on the NCEI list, at an estimated $160 billion CPI-adjusted. The lower bound on the 95% confidence interval is $108.8 billion, while the upper bound is $211.2 billion.
“The Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Rockport, Texas, causing widespread damage. Harvey’s devastation was most pronounced due to the large region of extreme rainfall that produced historic flooding in and around Houston,” part of the summary states.
3. Hurricane Ian, $119.6 billion
The third costliest disaster on the NCEI list is 2022’s Hurricane Ian, at $119.6 billion, CPI-adjusted. The lower bound on the 95% confidence interval is $83 billion, while the upper bound is $155 billion.
“Ian made landfall near Key Costa, Florida, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph” and “slowly crossed Florida” before “reemerging over the Atlantic as a tropical storm, reintensifying into a Category 1 storm.” “. hurricane on September 30 and made landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, with sustained winds of 85 mph that caused further coastal flooding damage and destroyed several large piers near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,” the description describes. notes.
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Destroyed homes and debris are seen on Matlacha Island in Lee County, Florida, after Hurricane Ian on November 7, 2022. (Giorgio VieraI/AFP via Getty Images)
The rest of the top 10
Ian is followed on the list by hurricanes Maria (2017 – $115.2 billion), Sandy (2012 – $88.5 billion), Ida (2021 – $84.6 billion), Helene (2024 – $78.7 billion), Irma (2017 – $64 billion) and Andrew (1992: 60.5 billion dollars).
A “US drought/heat wave” in 1988 ranks as the 10th costliest disaster on the list, with a CPI-adjusted estimated cost of $54.6 billion.
“The 1988 drought affected a large portion of the US with very severe losses to agriculture and related industries. The combined direct and indirect deaths (i.e., excess mortality) due to heat stress are estimated at 5,000,” says the summary.
What about forest fires?
While many Americans have been paying attention to the Horrible fires devouring parts of California As of last week, wildfires are no longer in the top 10 of the NCEI list.
In that category, the NCEI indicates that the 2018 fires were the most costly, listing “Western wildfires, California firestorm,” with an estimated value of $30 billion, CPI-adjusted.
The 2018 Camp Fire tops the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) lists as “California’s 20 Deadliest Wildfires” and “California’s 20 Most Destructive Wildfires.” The fire caused 85 deaths and destroyed 18,804 structures, CAL FIRE indicates.
The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires have already ranked third and fourth on the list of most destructive state wildfires, with 5,316 structures destroyed in the Palisades Fire and more than 5,000 destroyed in the Eaton Fire, although the numbers are not They are definitive.
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AccuWeather’s The preliminary estimate of damages and economic losses associated with the fires ravaging parts of California is between $135 billion and $150 billion.
AccuWeather estimates $13 billion to $16 billion for the Maui wildfires in 2023 and $225 billion to $250 billion for Hurricane Helene in 2024. The NCEI lists the 2023 Maui fire as “Hawaii Firestorm” and indicates an estimated cost adjusted to the CPI of 5,700 million dollars.
