US hit by record number of expensive disasters in 2023
The United States experienced 28 disasters last year, each costing at least a billion dollars, the most on record and the latest measure of the growing toll of climate change.
Those disasters, tallied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the Maui forest fire last August; Hurricane Idalia, which hit Florida later that month; and Typhoon Mawar on Guam. The list also includes four floods, two tornado outbreaks, a heat wave and 17 severe weather and hail events.
Since 1980, NOAA has tracked the number of disasters per year that cause damage exceeding $1 billion, controlling for inflation. The previous record was 2020, when $22 billion in events took place. NOAA data shows that a clear upward trendas the number of serious disasters increases every year.
That increase in billion-dollar disasters over time reflects two long-term shifts, according to NOAA. One of these is the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events as global temperatures rise. The other is continued development in vulnerable places, such as coastlines and fire-prone areas.
The financial toll has been enormous. Damages from last year’s disasters totaled at least $92.9 billion, according to NOAA.
The costs are also measured in human lives. At least 5,500 people have died in disasters costing $137 billion since 2017, according to Adam Smith, an applied climatologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
“There is an increasing need to focus on where we build, how we build, and to invest in infrastructure updates designed for the 21st century climate,” said Dr. Smith.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Jaclyn Rothenberg, said in a statement that “thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and historic investments in climate resilience, FEMA finally has additional resources to invest heavily in existing and new programs that benefit communities will help us be more resilient to the growing threat of disasters caused by climate change.”
But the cost of last year’s disasters was nearly double the $50 billion Congress appropriated for climate resilience in the 2021 infrastructure bill, and far exceeds what FEMA and other federal departments provide each year to help Americans keep their homes and better protect communities from severe weather.
The disaster figures show that the United States urgently needs to increase that spending, said Samantha Montano, a professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
And she said FEMA must ensure the money is spent fairly in diverse communities. Research shows that some types of disaster money can benefit wealthy and white communities.
Jesse Keenan, a professor at Tulane University who specializes in resilience and climate adaptation, said there is a strong financial argument for Congress to provide more money to help the country cope with disasters.
Last year’s $93 billion in disaster losses affected more than just the people who lost homes and businesses to storms or fires, said Dr. Keenan. The costs also translate into higher insurance premiums and price increases for basic goods such as groceries.
“We all bear the costs of climate change,” he said.
In addition to being a record year for expensive disasters, last year was notable for its heat, NOAA said. Louisiana, Texas and Massachusetts had their warmest years on record, while Florida, Virginia and Connecticut each had their second-warmest years. Phoenix recorded the hottest month on record for any U.S. city in July, with an average temperature of 102.8 degrees. California’s Death Valley set a daily record of 128 degrees on July 16, followed by what NOAA called the “highest midnight temperature on record”: 120 degrees. On August 24, Chicago reached a record-breaking heat index of 120 degrees.