Hurricane Sandy and the drought had biggest impacts by far
A NOAA satellite captured this image ofHurricane Sandy off the shore of the East Coast of the U.S. on Oct. 28, 2012. Visit this NASA Earth Observatory page for more information.
FRISCO — Hurricane Sandy and the year-long drought of 2012 combined caused $95 billion in damage costs, driving 2012 to be the second-costliest year on record since 1980, with total damages of more that $110 billion during the year.
According to NCDC’s 2012 weather and climate disasters information, 2012 saw 11 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion in damages. The 2012 total damages rank only behind 2005, which incurred $160 billion in damages due in part to four devastating land-falling hurricanes.
The 2012 billion-dollar events included seven severe weather and tornado events, two tropical cyclone events, and the yearlong drought and its associated wildfires. These 11 events killed over 300 people and had devastating economic effects on the areas impacted. With 11 events, 2012 also ranks second highest in total number of billion-dollar events behind 2011, which had 14 events.
The worst losses of life were also sustained during Sandy, which caused over 130 fatalities and $65 billion in damage costs. Sandy’s large size, with tropical storm force winds extending nearly 500 miles from the center, led to record storm surge, large-scale flooding, wind damage, and mass power outages along much of the East Coast.
The yearlong drought, which affected more than half the country for the majority of 2012, and the associated heat waves caused more than 100 direct deaths. The number of excess mortality deaths (indirect) is still unknown. It was also the largest drought extent in the United States since the 1930s, with U.S. Department of Agriculture Drought Disaster Declarations reaching more than 2,600 of the Nation’s 3,143 counties.
While drought impacts are often most costly to agricultural centers, their conditions also led to several devastating wildfires that burned over 9 million acres nationwide during 2012.
Additional information on weather and climate events from 1980 to 2012 can be found on the following web site:
- NOAA NCDC Billion-Dollar Disasters – overview: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/overview
- NOAA NCDC Billion-Dollar Disasters – events: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events
- Climate.gov Video: Extreme Events of 2012: http://www.climate.gov/news-features/videos/extreme-events-2012
