The United States experienced a historic year of extreme weather events in 2023, with 23 disasters causing over $1 billion in losses each from January to August, surpassing the previous record. These included wildfires in Hawaii, California floods, and Hurricane Idalia in Florida. These events resulted in 253 fatalities and $57.6 billion in damages. Climate experts link this trend to climate change. Since 1980, the U.S. has seen 371 billion-dollar disasters. Although 2023 may set records for the number of such events, total economic damages remain lower than previous years. The costliest year remains 2017, mainly due to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/billion-dollar-disasters-2023-breaks-us-record-with-4-months-to-go
