America's cost of natural disasters surpasses $25 billion

A surge in natural disasters this year has already cost the US more than $25 billion in damages brought on by wildfires, tornadoes, pineapple-sized hail and flooding. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed there have been 11 climate and weather disasters in 2024, each costing over $1 billion, which have resulted in 84 fatalities.

'2024 is in second place tied with 2017 and 2020 for the highest count of billion-dollar events (inflation-adjusted) during the first five months of a year,' NOAA applied climatologist and economist Adam Smith told DailyMail.com. However, because the report only covers events up to mid-May, Smith said the remaining month's data could boost it to second place alone.

NOAA's warning comes as the agency warned last month that the US will experience an 'extraordinary' hurricane season in the months to come. This year 'is in the top eight of 45 years in terms of cost, but this ranking will increase next month once we complete our full May event analysis,' Smith said, adding that NOAA is 'still assessing several costly hail events that occurred during the second half of May.'

Natural disaster statistics have revealed that severe storms and tornadoes are occurring with more frequency and intensity due to climate change. NOAA also reported that tornadoes contributed to a large portion of May's damages, impacting 23 states extending from South Dakota to Florida which experienced at least one tornado during that time. This included the EF-4 tornado that demolished parts of Oklahoma, killing one person and a second EF-4 that killed five people in Greenfield, Iowa - making it the deadliest tornado to strike the US this year.

Smith said that 2024 has also reached second place for the most tornadoes in [reported across] the nation from January through May in the last 15 years. The first powerful tornado of the season moved across the southeastern area of the US, bringing 130-mile-per-hour winds, injuring two people and killing eight. Meanwhile, dangerous storms have swept across the nation this year, bringing record-breaking baseball-sized hail to Houston, Texas in February - the largest seen in 35 years - and a total of 450 tornadoes that struck the Midwest in March and April.

People have also encountered extensive flooding in New Hampshire that has led to severe damage of public property and the loss of seven lives. Additional problems of wildfires like the one that occurred in Roswell, Michigan in April have spread rampantly across the country. Last month, NOAA officials projected the US could experience up to seven Category 3 or higher hurricanes with wind speeds reaching 111 miles per hour - the highest-ever outlook given by the agency.

The predictions are based on the development of La Niña , a weather system that occurs when equatorial trade winds strengthen and cause ocean currents to change, and much warmer than usual in the main hurricane development region. This year has not exceeded 2023's statistics, which saw 13 billion-dollar harsh weather events from January through June, and a total of 23 natural disasters that cost $92.9 billion in total damages for the year.

Since records began 130 years ago, the US has suffered a whopping 387 separate weather and climate disasters where overall damages exceed $1 billion each, costing more than $2.7 trillion, according to NOAA . The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that climate change is leading to an increase in storms that cause heavier downpours and extreme flooding 'that can overwhelm or damage water infrastructure.' 'Hurricane intensity is also projected to increase as the climate continues to warm,' the agency said, adding: 'although the magnitude of this change is uncertain.'

Since the 1980s, the number of natural disasters has drastically increased, with the NOAA reporting an average of three weather-related events per year - but that number jumped to six times that amount in 2011. The 18 events in 2011 cost $69.7 billion in damages and 765 deaths compared to two events totaling $1 billion in damages - which is $3.3 billion today - and just 20 deaths in 1981.

'Exposure plus vulnerability plus climate change is supercharging more of these into billion-dollar disasters,' Smith told The Guardian last year. 'But there are things we can do to reverse the trend,' Stanford University climate scientist Chris Field added. 'If we want to reduce the damages from severe weather, we need to accelerate progress on both stopping climate change and building resilience.'

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