The Historic U.S. Billion-dollar Disasters of 2017
The following U.S. billion-dollar disaster events left an
indelible impact among the disasters to affect to U.S. in 2017.
Hurricane Harvey:
In late-August, Hurricane
Harvey caused unprecedented amounts of rainfall (up to 60 inches) over
Houston one of America's largest cities. Harvey is the closest modern disaster
comparison we have in relation to Katrina in terms of damage
costs. Harvey’s costs exceed $125 billion, only second to Hurricane
Katrina’s level of damage. Harvey was a category 4 hurricane making landfall
near Rockport, Texas and causing widespread damage.
Hurricane Irma:
In early September,
Hurricane Irma devastated the Florida Keys with its high winds and storm surge,
after flattening the U.S. Virgin Islands - St John and St Thomas - among other
Caribbean islands. Irma was another category 4 hurricane when it
made landfall at Cudjoe Key, Florida after devastating the U.S. Virgin Islands
- St John and St Thomas - as a category 5 storm. The Florida Keys were heavily
impacted, as 25% of buildings were destroyed while 65% were significantly
damaged. Severe wind and storm surge damage also occurred along the coasts of
Florida and South Carolina. Jacksonville, FL and Charleston, SC received
near-historic levels of storm surge causing significant coastal flooding. Irma
maintained a maximum sustained wind of 185 mph for 37 hours, the longest in the
satellite era. Irma also was a category 5 storm for longer than all other
Atlantic hurricanes except Ivan in 2004. The costs for Irma are approximately
$50 billion, which excludes additional severe damage to non-US territories
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