Since 1990, natural disasters have cost the United States about $540 billion and nearly 5,000 lives. This period of history unfortunately includes the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, which is responsible for 1,833 deaths and almost $134 billion in damages just by itself. More typically, annual damages inflicted on American soil average about $18 billion annually. This includes damages caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, blizzards and ice storms, heat waves, wildfires, and other severe conditions. The table below breaks this down by year.
Costs of U.S. Weather Disasters, 1990–2008
| Year |
Cost in Billions* |
Deaths |
| 1990 |
$7.1 |
13 |
| 1991 |
$6.2 |
43 |
| 1992 |
$45 |
87 |
| 1993 |
$40.9 |
338 |
| 1994 |
$8.4 |
81 |
| 1995 |
$18.6 |
99 |
| 1996 |
$18.7 |
233 |
| 1997 |
$10 |
114 |
| 1998 |
$27.7 |
399 |
| 1999 |
$12.2 |
651 |
| 2000 |
$7.2 |
140 |
| 2001 |
$7.8 |
46 |
| 2002 |
$15.6 |
28 |
| 2003 |
$14 |
131 |
| 2004 |
$49.5 |
168 |
| 2005 |
$171.2 |
2,002** |
| 2006 |
$11.8 |
95 |
| 2007 |
$10.9 |
22 |
| 2008 |
$56.7 |
274 |
| * Costs are in 2008 U.S. dollars, adjusted for inflation. |
| ** Includes Hurricane Katrina. |
