2022 the Third Most Expensive Year on Record for Disaster Damages/Costs

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a report analyzing all weather and climate disasters costing a billion dollars or more that the U.S. has suffered since 1980. The total number of these events is 341 and their gross economic cost exceeds 2.5 trillion dollars. In 2022 alone, there were 18 billion-dollar events, including “1 drought event, 1 flooding event, 11 severe storm events, 3 tropical cyclone events, 1 wildfire event, and 1 winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 474 people.” Hurricane Ian was the costliest of these events with an impact of 113 billion dollars. Other 2022 events with major impacts on the water and wastewater sector include the Western/Central drought/heat wave and Kentucky and Missouri’s 1000-year flood. The report also provides weather and climate hazard risk maps down to the county level, along with integrated data sets, for use by local emergency managers. Read more at NOAA.