Tornadoes, hurricanes, heat or cold spells: Major weather disasters to hit the United States in 2022 caused at least $165 billion in damage, according to a federal report released Tuesday, which points to the amplifying effect of climate change.
This annual amount represents the third-highest since these data were tracked by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) in 1980. By far the costliest event of 2022, Hurricane Ian devastated Florida by the end of September, it alone had caused $112.9 billion in damages.
Two years more expensive
Only two years — 2005 (Hurricane Katrina) and 2017 (Hurricanes Harvey and Irma) — have seen more damage than before. The United States thus confirms their privileged place on the global scale. Hurricane Ian was also by far the world’s costliest disaster, according to a report from reinsurer Munich Re released on Tuesday, which estimated overall losses at $270 billion.
“In the United States, we’ve consistently had both the greatest number and the greatest diversity of types of extreme weather,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Rick Spinrad said at a news conference. “Climate change is creating more and more extreme events that cause significant damage and often result in cascading dangers, such as severe drought followed by devastating wildfires, followed by dangerous flooding and landslides,” he said.
For its calculation, the American agency takes into account the destruction of buildings, public infrastructures (bridges, roads, etc.), the loss of earnings for businesses, or even losses for agriculture. However, costs for health care or other indirect costs are not accounted for.
After Ian, the second most costly event was the heat wave and drought that hit the western and central US, accounting for more than $22 billion (especially related to crop losses, or still tourism). . Flooding also affected Kentucky and Missouri in July, and tornadoes affected parts of the southeastern United States in late March.
18 major disasters
In total, the United States experienced no fewer than 18 weather disasters costing more than $1 billion last year, also the third year with the most such disasters, after 2020 and 2021. This concentration of large Weather events in recent years indicate “a new normal,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned.
Between 1980 and 2022, the annual number of such disasters averaged eight. But considering only the last five years, the average rises to 17.8 per year. Experts insist that this increase is a direct result of greenhouse gas emissions, which are warming the planet. For example, fire seasons are longer, and sea level rise exacerbates flooding during storms.
The past eight years have been the warmest on record globally, according to a European report also released on Tuesday. However, US greenhouse gas emissions are not declining: They increased slightly in 2022 compared to the previous year (+1.3%), according to an analysis by research group Rhodium Group on Tuesday.
“21st Century Climate”
These 18 major disasters listed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration claimed the lives of more than 470 people, according to its report. The figure of 165 billion could increase by a few more billion, because not all costs related to the extreme cold wave that hit the northern United States in late December have stopped.
And because this report only looks at major disasters, the total cost of weather events is even higher when you add minor ones. Major disasters, however, account for an increasing percentage of the total over the years, according to the agency (about 85% in 2022).
In addition to the increase in the frequency of these disasters, the increase in costs is partly linked to population growth (and therefore to the accumulation of assets) in areas at risk, for example on the coast. “There is a growing need to focus on where we build, how we build, and investments to renovate infrastructure for the 21st century climate,” NOAA said.
Since 1980, the United States has experienced $341 billion in weather events, at a total cost of about $2.5 trillion.
