This past hurricane season saw three of the costliest storms in history, all within a few short months, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on June 1st and goes through November 30th each year.
Hurricane Harvey blew into Texas as a category four hurricane in August and caused catastrophic flood damage with record-breaking rainfall. Total damages reached $125 billion, making Harvey second only to hurricane Katrina, which caused $160 billion in damages.
Hurricane Maria landed on Puerto Rico in September as a category four and caused 90% of the island to lose power. Three months later, half of the island still didn’t have power. Maria is the third most costly hurricane at $90 billion, and by far the worst natural disaster ever faced by Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Irma ran through the Carribean hitting the Virgin Islands as a Category five, then the Florida Keys as a Category four until it diminished heading up the gulf coast of Florida. All told, Irma was the fifth most costly hurricane at $50 billion.
All of this goes to say that the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was the most expensive ever, with total damages of over a quarter trillion dollars.
This data is beginning to align with predictions by several different scientific publications and environmental scientists that the future holds more powerful hurricanes due to global warming.
According to scientists, warmer ocean temperatures provide perfect conditions for violent and powerful hurricanes. Pair this with rising sea levels and the fact that more people living in east coast cities, you have a recipe for what we are observing.
The amount of damage caused in 2017 compared to past years seems incredibly high. This is a combination of stronger hurricanes, larger storm surges due to fuller oceans, and more people (therefore property) living on the coasts.
This report reveals the top 5 most damaging hurricanes happened in 2017. What is going to happen in 2018?
