Which states are most at risk for billion-dollar climate disasters?

By Talker Staff

Natural disasters in the U.S. have increased significantly over the past few decades.

Over the past five years, the U.S. has experienced an average of 18 billion-dollar climate disasters each year, up from 6.7 billion-dollar disasters per year in the 2000s. That includes 18 climate disasters in 2022, which caused a total of ​​$175.2 billion in damage.

Facts about natural disasters reveal that some areas are more vulnerable to these disasters.

To determine which states are most at risk for billion-dollar climate disasters, Forbes Advisor looked at data from the National Centers for Environmental Information over the past decade.

Key Takeaways:

• Texas tops the list of states most at risk for billion-dollar climate disasters, followed by Illinois, Missouri, Virginia and Georgia.
• Eight of the top 10 most disaster-prone states are located in the South, including Texas, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina.
• Five of the top 10 least disaster-prone states are located on the East Coast, including Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware and Rhode Island.
• Hawaii is the only state that didn’t experience a billion-dollar weather disaster between 2012 and 2022.
• Severe storms caused the highest number of billion-dollar weather disasters over the past decade (99), followed by tropical cyclones (24), flooding (17), droughts (10) and wildfires (nine).
• Between 2012 and 2022, tropical cyclones caused the most expensive damage among billion-dollar weather disasters ($744.3 billion), followed by severe storms ($218 billion) and droughts ($112.9 billion).

Top 5 States Most at Risk for Billion-Dollar Climate Disasters

1. Texas

• Between 2012 and 2022, Texas experienced 84 climate disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damage, with an average of 7.6 billion-dollar climate disasters per year.
• These disasters included 62 severe storms, six droughts, six floods, six tropical cyclones, two wildfires and two winter storms.
• These 84 weather events cost the state roughly $225 billion in total.

2. Illinois

• Illinois experienced 52 climate disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damage between 2012 and 2022, with an average of 4.7 billion-dollar climate disasters per year.
• These disasters included 42 severe storms, four floods, four winter storms and two droughts.
• These 52 disasters cost the state roughly $35 billion.

3. Missouri

• Over the past decade, Missouri was hit by 51 climate disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damage, with an average of 4.6 billion-dollar climate disasters per year.
• These disasters included 39 severe storms, five floods, four droughts and three winter storms.
• These 51 weather disasters cost the state roughly $15 billion.

4. Virginia (tie)

• Between 2012 and 2022, Virginia experienced 50 weather disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damage, with an average of 4.5 billion-dollar climate disasters per year.
• These disasters included 29 severe storms, 11 tropical cyclones, six winter storms, two floods, one drought and one freezing event.
• These 50 weather events cost the state approximately $7.5 billion.

4. Georgia (tie)

• Over the past 10 years, Georgia endured 50 climate disasters that caused $1 billion or more in damage, with an average of 4.5 billion-dollar climate disasters per year.
• These disasters included 26 severe storms, 15 tropical cyclones, four winter storms, two droughts, one flood, one freezing event and one wildfire.
• These 50 weather disasters cost the state around $15 billion.

Editorial Note: This story was originally published on Forbes Advisor.