US hit by record number of billion-dollar disasters so far this year / Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA - AFP/File
-
First-time boat buyers advised to assess full ownership costs
-
Panthers expected to begin 2027 NRL season away from new stadium
-
Planning and preparation can reduce stress of interstate relocation
-
Sweet As app launches restaurant discovery platform
-
Two more arrested in Carrie Mullane suspected murder investigation
-
MLA seeks inquiry into reported sectarian gestures on Ormeau Road
-
Mayo school appeals for information after convent and chapel vandalism
-
Louise O’Reilly attacks Simon Harris over unemployment remarks
-
GLP-1 Users Show Higher Rates of Nail Detachment in New Studies
-
Virginia overwhelms Arkansas 91-72 behind balanced scoring
-
Canadian soldier Aidan Goulding remembered at Vancouver funeral
-
Second major storm brings destructive winds and outages to British Columbia
-
Tayyab Arif hits 57 on Pakistan Test debut against Sri Lanka
-
Godzilla Minus Zero leads North American box office with $31.6m
-
Robert Trujillo discusses literacy and social justice children’s books
-
Advocate calls for coordinated support for children facing trafficking
-
Civil rights advocate William Bill Tucker dies aged 98
-
Pennsylvania Democrats secure state trifecta in midterm elections
-
US Treasury order targets bank transfers linked to crypto exchange MEXC
-
Godzilla Minus Zero sets foreign-language box-office opening record
-
Eagles record six sacks as rushing attack struggles against Giants
-
Villeneuve teases James Bond casting at Los Angeles museum gala
-
Thames Water seeks to delay £12bn in debt repayments
-
Nottinghamshire launches specialist rural crime policing team
-
Newark boxing gym expands alternative education programme
-
China confirms talks over possible Xi-Putin-Trump summit
-
Democrats consider impeachment drive against Defence Secretary Hegseth
-
The Sourdough Sidekick Review: Can an Automated Feeder Save Your Starter?
-
Rail journey offers a slower route to a Berlin city break
-
Energy bill plan could use HMRC income data to target support
-
Arsenal control title race as Manchester United fall into bottom three
-
Business owner earning £6,000 a month tackles £70,000 debt
-
Suspected Krakow gunman dies after attack that killed six
-
Nvidia chief faces inquiry after disclosing affair with suspected Chinese agent
-
Carrick backs Dalot after hostile reception from Manchester United fans
-
Comet returns as online electrical marketplace 14 years after collapse
-
Belgian PM Bart De Wever Given New Deadline to Resolve €10 Billion Budget Deadlock
-
Hunter Davies on How Post-War Britain Forged The Beatles
-
الدفاعات الروسية تسقط 38 طائرة مسيرة فوق لينينجراد
-
Brussels Education Unions Schedule Major November Protest Over Funding and Reforms
-
Amitabh Bachchan Drops Bulletproof Glass for Diwali Fan Greeting Outside Mumbai Home
US hit by record number of billion-dollar disasters so far this year
Between January and August, the United States was struck by a record-breaking 23 weather and climate disasters where losses exceeded $1 billion in each case, official data showed Monday.
The tally for 2023 has already exceeded the previous record of 22 such events in 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, and four months still remain in the year.
These disasters included fires in Hawaii in August, flooding in California in the spring, and Hurricane Idalia that made landfall in Florida on August 30.
Together, they "caused 253 direct and indirect fatalities and produced more than $57.6 billion in damages," NOAA said. Two more potential billion-dollar events -- Tropical Storm Hilary on the West Coast, and the drought affecting the South and Midwest -- remain under investigation.
Rachel Cleetus, policy director with 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."
Since 1980, the year NOAA began tracking these events, the United States has sustained 371 billion-dollar events, adjusted for inflation.
Between 2018-2022, the annual average has been 18.0 events, compared to 8.1 events between 1980-2022.
2023 is likely to be the hottest year in human history, and global temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere summer were the warmest on record, the European Union climate monitor said last week.
The United States meanwhile saw its ninth-warmest August on record, according to NOAA.
Though 2023 has had the highest number of billion-dollar disasters, it's still behind other years in terms of total economic damages.
Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida in September 2022, caused 152 deaths and losses worth $112.9 billion.
The costliest year was 2017, with $383.7 billion damages adjusted for inflation. The bulk of that damage came from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which struck in quick succession.
J.AbuHassan--SF-PST
