by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The now-ending 2024 record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season is estimated to have cost the United States around $500 billion in total damage and economic loss, Accu Weather reports.
While this year’s “devastating” season saw fewer storms than forecasters had predicted, five hurricanes and one unnamed sub-tropical storm made landfall in the US between June 1 and the end of November.
“This has been a tremendously expensive and devastating hurricane season,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said in a statement. “Coastal communities were devastated by wind and storm surge damage. Catastrophic flooding ripped apart mountain towns hundreds of miles away from the shore.”
“The 2024 hurricane season will be remembered for shattering records and causing approximately $500 billion in total damage and economic loss. For perspective, this would equate to nearly 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product,” Porter said.
In addition to the economic costs, 230 people lost their lives as a direct result of this year’s hurricanes and tropical storms, Accu Weather reports. Moreover, Accu Weather experts support the findings of recent research showing that each hurricane can contribute to 7,000-11,000 excess deaths within 15 years of the storm.
“The damage and suffering from hurricanes and extreme weather [are] often much greater than what is initially reported and what insurance typically covers, AccuWeather Founder and Executive Chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers said in a statement. “The long-term effects of weather disasters are harmful to longevity. People experience trauma, they lose their possessions, they end up with less money to rebuild, pay for health expenses, and eventually retire.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday that it uncovered one of the most extensive and sophisticated Hamas tunnel systems discovered to date, a sprawling underground route running more than seven kilometers (4.3 miles) and plunging approximately 25 meters (82 feet) underground beneath Rafah.
Six Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds have ignited a political firestorm after releasing a video urging U.S. service members and intelligence personnel to “refuse illegal orders,” drawing sharp reactions from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The White House was preparing Friday for a highly visible meeting between Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, and U.S. President Donald J. Trump amid growing concerns over possible federal troop or National Guard deployments to the city. The made-for-television get-together comes as the president links the influx of migrants — many of them arriving undocumented, or in his words “illegally” — and rising crime in America’s largest city to what he describes as weakened local governance.
A Russian oil tanker under U.S. sanctions made a dramatic U-turn on its way to Venezuela after a U.S. warship appeared in its path near the country’s coast, Worthy News learned early Friday.
A man has been charged with federal terrorism offenses after allegedly dousing a woman with liquid and setting her on fire aboard a Chicago subway train, authorities confirmed Friday, in a case that revived concerns about transit safety amid rising violence in U.S. public-transport systems.
Capitol Hill — the U.S. seat of Congress and legislative center of American government — faced fresh drama Thursday when a small electrical fire broke out in the underground subway system connecting the Rayburn House Office Building to the U.S. Capitol, forcing evacuations.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump met Thursday with a group of freed Israeli hostages and their loved ones at the White House, praising the survivors as “heroes” and vowing continued support for efforts to return remaining captives held in Gaza.