Natural disasters in US killed more than 600 in ’21
2021 was another catastrophic and deadly year for weather and climate disasters in the USA, federal scientists announced Monday. There were 20 separate disasters that each cost at least $1 billion in damage, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.
Overall, the U.S. disaster cost for 2021 exceeded $145 billion, the thirdhighest on record.
At least 688 Americans died in disasters. That’s the most disaster-related fatalities for the contiguous USA since 2011 and more than double last year’s number of 262.
The deaths were mostly the result of extreme summer heat in the Pacific Northwest, extreme cold across the South during the February freeze, Hurricane Ida across many states and the December tornado outbreak in the South, according to NOAA.
The 20 events mark the secondhighest total on record, two events shy of the 2020 record of 22 events, NOAA said.
The disasters of 2021 include eight severe weather events, four tropical cyclones, three tornado outbreaks, two floods, one drought/heat wave, one winter storm/cold wave and one wildfire event, which includes the devastating Marshall Fire on Dec. 30 in Boulder County, Colorado.
“It was a tough year. Climate change has taken a shotgun approach to hazards across the country,” said NOAA climatologist and economist Adam Smith, who compiles billion-dollar weather disasters for NOAA.
Scientists have long said humancaused climate change makes extreme weather nastier and more frequent, documenting numerous links to wild and deadly weather events.
Though 2020 set the record for the most billion-dollar disasters, in 2021, “the extremes seemed a bit more profound than in 2020,” Smith said.
NOAA released its 2021 climate report for the nation Monday, which showed the fourth-warmest year on record.
Several cities had their hottest years, including Boston, New York and Milwaukee. A freakishly warm December – the hottest on record in the U.S. – wrapped up the year, NOAA said.