2020 Set US Record for Billion-Dollar Natural Disasters
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22 natural disasters are facing the US in 2020, each costing $ 1 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. analysis published Friday.
The total cost of hurricanes, wildfires, and hurricanes has cost $ 95 billion, making 2020 the fourth most expensive year in the country due to disasters.
“It sounds like a broken story to say that every year is an unforgettable year, but true,” Adam Smith, a meteorologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information who worked on the project, told BuzzFeed News. “We need interpreters trying to explain these tragic events.”
Rising prices are another factor as people continue to relocate and build areas that put their homes and businesses at risk of being damaged by fire, hurricanes, and floods. But man-made climate change is also leading to more problems. Seasonal wildfires are on the rise. The storm is starting to get wet. And heavy rain crossing the US causes internal flooding.
And in a recent sign of climate change crisis, new reports from the European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service show 2020 marked 2016 as the hottest year in history all around the world. U.S. scientists have released their analysis of last year’s temperature next week.
“As we move forward in time, the fingers of climate change are becoming more and more visible in these catastrophic events,” Smith said.
The cheapest accident of 2020 was Hurricane Laura, which hit the Louisiana coast as a fourth and caused $ 19 billion damage, one of the number of hurricanes that devastated the US more than $ 1 billion. Laura also lost 42 lives, making it the deadliest hurricane in the country.
Although 2020 was the worst hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean“The United States has survived what could have been a major catastrophic storm because no major storm has hit the capital,” Smith said.
Hurricanes have become more severe in the US. 2017 has already shared the history of the most expensive disasters – 16 of them – in part due to hurricanes, and it still claims to be the most expensive year, costing $ 306 in damage caused by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Last year was also a dangerous year for wildfires. Fires across western California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington caused $ 16.5 billion in damage, burning more than 10.2 million hectares and killing 46 people, according to NOAA. Wildfires also released large amounts of carbon dioxide, which are connected by risks such as asthma and heart disease, which results in public health costs that were not included in the NOAA review.
Another costly disaster from 2020 was a typhoon from southeast Dakota to Ohio, destroying homes, cutting power For over 1 million people, I’m spending $ 11 billion on total damage.
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