![]() (This map doesn’t include the Thomas Fire, the single-largest wildfire in California history, which is still burning.) Javier Zarracina/VoxĪnother chart from NOAA shows the that number of billion-dollar disasters in a given year is on the rise (bars), and 2017 reached an unprecedented peak in the cumulative total in damage (gray line): NOAAĪll told, NOAA’s estimate of $306 billion is very likely conservative - other estimates put the total closer to $400 billion.īut even though the unending string of calamities felt unprecedented, we must see 2017 as an average year, if not a baseline. You can see the relative scale of these events in the map below, which is based on estimates from NOAA and other sources. ![]() Requests for federal disaster aid jumped tenfold compared to 2016, with 4.7 million people registering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.14 places across Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas reported record-high water levels during floods in April and May.For states like Arizona and South Carolina, 2017 was the warmest year ever. San Francisco reported its highest temperature ever, 106 degrees Fahrenheit, while other parts of the country set records for high-temperature streaks. 2017 was the third-hottest year on record.More than 1,000 are estimated to have died in the storm and its aftermath. Puerto Rico is still mired in the longest blackout in US history after Hurricane Maria struck three months ago.Hurricane Harvey broke a rainfall record for a single tropical storm with more than 4 feet of rain. ![]() The Tubbs Fire in Northern California killed 22 people and damaged more than 5,600 structures. Then came California’s most destructive and largest wildfire season ever.California was drenched in the wettest winter on record, ending years of drought.If that seems shocking, consider some of the record-breaking weather events that came our way: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks billion-dollar disasters, reported in January that the record total came from 16 separate events with damages exceeding $1 billion. It’s official: 2017 was the costliest year on record for natural disasters in the United States, with a price tag of at least $306 billion.
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