2017 is the most expensive US hurricane season ever
boston — This year’s US Atlantic hurricane season is officially the most expensive ever, racking up $202.6 billion in damages since the formal start on June 1.
The costs tallied by disaster modellers Chuck Watson and Mark Johnson surpass anything they’ve seen in previous years. That shouldn’t come as a complete surprise: In late August, Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast, wreaking havoc upon the heart of America’s energy sector. Then Irma struck Florida, devastating the Caribbean islands on the way. Hurricane Maria followed shortly after, wiping out power to all of Puerto Rico. And the season’s not over yet: It officially ends on November 30.
“Given our infrastructure today, the question is: Was 2017 unusual? I think we answered that pretty well,” said Watson, a modeller at Enki Research. “2017 wins no matter what you do. At one point I was working disasters in Asia, Central America, the US, and Ireland. It felt like I had jet lag even though I never left the office.”
Watson’s storm costs are based on physical damages, clean-up expenses and lost business activity that isn’t recovered within a year. To account for buildings, homes and factories that weren’t around 150 years ago, his models look at storms dating back to 1871 in the US and 1960 globally, and project the damages they would inflict had they occurred today. If every hurricane that hit the US in 1893 were to strike now, the cost would be $185.6 billion. — Bloomberg