The cost of natural disasters in the United States for 2022 estimated at 165 billion dollars

Residents look at the damage from Storm Ian after it passed through Fort Myers, Florida on September 30, 2022. © Rebecca Blackwell / AP

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Climate change in 2022 has caused a succession of catastrophic weather events, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, rising sea levels, floods or even heat or cold waves.

From year to year, the bill continues to grow.

The $165 billion annual amount is the third-highest cost since that data was tracked by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) in 1980. 

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Hurricane Ian, which devastated Florida in September 2022, is the financially heaviest weather event for 2022. It alone represents nearly 113 billion in damages.

The second costliest disaster is the heat wave and drought in the western and central United States, costing $22 billion.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina and in 2017 Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused even more damage with higher financial costs than in 2022. Last year alone, the United States recorded no less of 18 weather disasters, making 2022 the third busiest year for severe weather events, behind 2020 and 2021. The 18 disasters recorded in the United States by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency have caused the death of a just under 500 people. 

But what worries specialists more is the acceleration in the number of disasters.

Over the past 20 years, the annual number of disasters has averaged eight.

If we look only at the last five years, the average has soared to almost 18 disasters per year.

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