The 2017 hurricane season was an assault. As if in attempt to eject us (humans, that is) from the planet, Mother Nature unleashed the harshest of winds and hardest of rains on Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico. The season brought more costly landfalling storms than the past few years combined.
Harvey, Irma and Maria are now in the top 5 most expensive hurricanes in the United States, according to a new report by NOAA. Andrew, Charley, Hugo, Allison — those are storms of the past. Small peas, compared with what we faced in 2017. Even Hurricane Sandy was knocked from its second-place pedestal after last year, easily one of the most destructive in U.S. history.
The flooding from Hurricane Harvey, which slammed into Texas in late August, was more destructive than anything else. About 33 trillion gallons of water fell from the storm, most of which landed in a swath from Houston to southwest Louisiana. Some estimates have placed Harvey ahead of Hurricane Katrina in damages — about $180 billion. The NOAA analysis pegs Harvey’s cost at about $125 billion.
