The US has already seen a record number of billion-dollar weather disasters this year, according to latest number From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The agency says 23 weather and climate disasters occurred nationwide in 2023, causing more than $1 billion in damages.
Only one of the events – Hurricane Idalia – was due to tropical cyclone activity. There have been two flooding events, a wildfire event in Maui and a winter storm event. The remaining 18 cases are “severe weather events”, which include severe weather such as high winds, heavy hail and tornadoes.
Overall, these disasters caused approximately $58 billion in damage. 253 people have died as a direct or indirect result of the incidents.
The previous record was in 2020, when 22 incidents occurred, each causing more than $1 billion in damage. The final record for 2023 could be much higher – NOAA updated its records in September, with a quarter of the year still left.
There has been a steady increasing trend in the number of qualified disasters since the early 2000s. NOAA cautions that costs over time do not necessarily account for the full effects of forces such as inflation. But the agency says a changing climate has increased the frequency of some extreme weather conditions that could contribute to billions of dollars in damages.