Damage costs from wind storm hit $7.5B

DES MOINES, IOWA — Damage estimates from a rare wind storm that slammed Iowa and some other parts of the Midwest in August are growing, with the total now at $7.5 billion (U.S.), according to a new report.

The Aug. 10 storm hit Iowa hard but also caused damage in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota and Indiana. The National Oceanic aand Atmospheric Administra- tion said it’s currently the second-costliest U.S. disaster so far in 2020, although cost estimates for widespread wildfires along the West Coast aren’t yet aavailable.

The storm, known as a derecho, generated winds of up to

225 km/h that flattened millions of hectares of crops. The derecho also knocked out power to half a million Iowa residents and damaged homes, trees and power lines. Four people died as the storm moved across the Midwest.

The most expensive disaster so far this year was Hurricane Laura, which caused $14 billion (U.S.) in damage when it hit the

Gulf Coast in August, according to the NOAA research.

National Weather Service meteorologist Allan Curtis told the

Des Moines Register that the derecho caused such extensive damage because it lasted for roughly 14 hours and hit crops wwhen they were especially vul- nerable. He said the damage wwould have been much less if tthe derecho had occurred in the spring, before crops were tall.

It’s estimated Iowa farmers t wwill be unable to harvest at least 343,983 hectares of crops this fall because of the damage.