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 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Senior European intelligence officials see little chance of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine this year, despite President Donald J. Trump’s claim that U.S.-brokered negotiations have brought a peace deal “reasonably close.”
British police raided two properties linked to former Prince Andrew on Thursday and detained the 66-year-old royal on suspicion of misconduct in public office, escalating scrutiny over his past association with the late U.S. financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Christians in Pakistan’s Punjab province were searching Thursday for an abducted minor girl, days after the provincial governor signed legislation raising the legal marriage age to 18 and criminalizing child marriage as a non-bailable offense.
The U.S. trade deficit edged slightly lower in 2025 but remained the third-largest on record, underscoring the scale of America’s global trade imbalance even amid sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The United Kingdom will not allow the Pentagon to use British-controlled bases to launch potential military strikes against Iran, according to a report by The Times of London.
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled what he called a historic new diplomatic framework — the “Board of Peace” — during an inaugural meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, announcing billions in pledges for Gaza reconstruction and signaling that a major decision on Iran could come within days.
President Donald Trump is weighing an initial, limited military strike on Iran aimed at forcing Tehran to meet U.S. demands for a comprehensive nuclear agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported.