24 billion-dollar disasters struck US so far this year; ranks as second most on record

With the addition of three recent Atlantic hurricanes, the U.S. has experienced 24 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters this year – a near-record number, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

On Thursday, NOAA’s NCEI released its assessment of the global climate, including U.S. weather disasters. Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton and one tornado outbreak were added to this year’s billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, bringing the total to 24 events as of October. 

According to the NCEI, this year’s billion-dollar weather and climate disasters are second only to last year, which had 27 by this point in the year. 

All three hurricanes added to NCEI’s assessment made landfall on Florida‘s Gulf Coast between August and October. 

This NOAA NCEI map shows the approximate location of all billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. for 2024.

(NOAA)

Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Aug. 5 near the community of Steinhatchee, with winds around 80 mph. 

The total damage assessments of Helene and Milton are still underway. Both hurricanes caused widespread destruction in Florida and across the Southeast U.S. 

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Helene made landfall as a Category 4 cyclone before slamming into Georgia through the Carolinas, dropping more than a foot of rain in some places and sending rivers to historic flood levels. Significant rainfall led to Flash Flood Emergencies in western North Carolina and massive destruction to roads, bridges and infrastructure that will take years to rebuild.

Helene was the deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005. The weather disaster claimed the lives of at least97 people in North Carolinaand at least 225 total fatalities across seven states.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the initial damage estimates are at $53 billion.

Just two weeks after Helene, Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, made landfall in Siesta Key on Florida’s west coast. However, even before landfall, its outer bands spawned a record-breaking tornado outbreak in South and Central Florida, causing damage across the state.

Milton’s flooding led to hundreds of water rescues and nearly 4 million power outages across Florida. The hurricane’s 100-mph winds caused significant damage to homes and buildings on Florida’s west coast. Dozens of deaths have been attributed to Hurricane Milton in Florida due to tornadoes, flooding and other storm-related impacts.

NOAA facility severely impacted by Helene

NCEI maintains one of the most comprehensive oceanic, atmospheric and geophysical databases in the world, with data points dating back to the 1700s.

The release of September’s report was delayed because of impacts to NCEI’s headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina, which suffered damage from Hurricane Helene. NOAA’s NCEI’s websites and systems were temporarily down due to the communication outages experienced across western North Carolina.

However, NCEI said all its employees and staff were safe after the storm, and all of its data, including paper and film records, were also safe.