Storm Damages Have Been Increasing Over the Last Decade | SERVPRO® of North East Charlotte County

1/28/2022 (Permalink)

When storms do damage, we go to work to make things right. Contact SERVPRO of North East Charlotte County to start the restoration process.

With a good bit of news coverage last year dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have missed an important piece of news. Last year was a year filled with weather-related disasters.

Financial losses due to inclement weather set records again in 2020. According to data from the Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, storms last year created the largest financial loss that the Unites States has ever recorded.

Weather disasters have been increasing steadily over the past decade and hit a fever pitch last year. The technical definition of a weather disaster means the storm or weather event generated at least $1 billion in damage.

In 2020, we had 22 of these. And this doesn’t include the literal thousands of storms that didn’t meet the billion dollar threshold. For the first time since 2005, the NWS had to reach into the Greek alphabet to name storms.

Storms Are Outpacing Hurricanes for Inflicted Financial Damage

Hurricanes create an immense amount of destruction. The size of the storm is so large it’s easy to believe hurricanes are responsible for the majority of financial damage, but they are not.

While hurricanes may be larger, they can’t approach the sheer quantity of thunderstorms. Fourteen out of the official 22 disasters last year were severe thunderstorms.

Consider this example of an impactful storm: Last August, Nebraska experienced a derecho. The NWS defines a derecho as a band of storms that last at least six hours and covers 250 miles, with at least 60 mph sustained winds along the entire span of the front. During this derecho, Nebraska lost over half of its corn crop and 11% of US corn production was impacted.

The Decade of Weather Change

Last year was the tenth consecutive year of recording at least eight billion-dollar weather-related events. In 2017, as one example, severe storms generated over $300 billion in property damage, the highest recorded.

Storm preparation is more important than ever before. Everyone can benefit from taking the proper precautions when storms are coming.

No matter what precautions you take, though, sometimes property damage is going to happen. Our goal is to help you recover when it does. We can help restore your property “Like it never even happened.”

Do you have storm damage? We’re here to help you restore your property. Call us today to see how the experts at SERVPRO can help.