Extreme Weather Causes Tragic Amount Of Destruction In 2019
According to a latest report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), excessive climate induced a staggering $165 billion in harm throughout 2019.
Highlights from the Report
The report, which was launched on March 25, 2020, offers a breakdown of the intensive harm induced all year long:
- Floods: Flooding induced an estimated $13 billion in harm.
- Hurricanes: 2019 had one of the crucial energetic hurricane seasons on report, with eight named storms and 18 of essentially the most damaging storms touchdown on U.S. soil. The complete price of hurricane-related harm was $57 billion.
- Heat Waves: Temperatures reached effectively above common in lots of areas. The excessive warmth was estimated to have induced $8 billion in harm.
- Wildfires: Wildfires within the west induced an estimated $24 billion in harm.
- Tornadoes: The U.S. skilled its fourth-highest variety of tornadoes on report costing an estimated $29 billion.
- Winter Weather: Winter climate induced an estimated $13 billion in harm in 2019.
Conclusions
Overall, NOAA concluded that the financial damages brought on by final yr’s climate occasions amounted to $165 billion. This determine equates to one-tenth of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation.
This underscores the significance of continued investments and efforts in direction of enhancing the general resilience of our society and infrastructure, and of taking better preventive motion towards excessive climate circumstances sooner or later.
Notably, nearly all of harm induced occurred within the second half of 2019, and virtually 60% got here from hurricanes. This highlights the necessity for continued investments in data-driven forecasts and well timed evacuations that may scale back the harm induced and, finally, save lives.