There have been many billion-dollar drought disaster events that have affected the United States over the last four decades. The most expensive was during the summer of 1988, when damages exceeded 53 billion U.S. dollars. Throughout 2023, the South and Midwest were hit by severe droughts and heatwaves, causing 14.5 billion U.S. dollars in damages, and resulting in nearly 250 deaths.
The droughts left many major reservoirs with record low water levels. Water levels at California's second-largest reservoir, Oroville Lake, dropped so low that it forced the hydroelectric power plant to shut down for the first time since it opened more than half a century ago.
Economic loss caused by major droughts in the United States from 1980 to 2023
(in billion U.S. dollars)
Characteristic
Economic cost in billion U.S. dollars
June to August 1988 (U.S. drought/heatwave)
53.01
June to December 2012 (U.S. drought/heatwave)
40.5
June to November 1980 (Central/Eastern drought/heatwave)
39.58
January to December 2022 (Western/Central drought/heatwave)
22.85
January to August 2011 (Southern Plains/Southwest drought and heatwave)
16.63
March to November 2002 (U.S. drought)
15.58
April to September 2023 (Southern/Midwestern drought/heatwave)
14.52
March to Novemebr 2013 (Western/Plains drought/heatwave)
13.87
January to December 2008 (U.S. drought)
10.16
January to December 2021 (Western drought/heat wave
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (January 9, 2024). Economic loss caused by major droughts in the United States from 1980 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/237433/economic-loss-due-to-drought-in-the-us/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Economic loss caused by major droughts in the United States from 1980 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)." Chart. January 9, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/237433/economic-loss-due-to-drought-in-the-us/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2024). Economic loss caused by major droughts in the United States from 1980 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/237433/economic-loss-due-to-drought-in-the-us/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Economic Loss Caused by Major Droughts in The United States from 1980 to 2023 (in Billion U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 9 Jan 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/237433/economic-loss-due-to-drought-in-the-us/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Economic loss caused by major droughts in the United States from 1980 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/237433/economic-loss-due-to-drought-in-the-us/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Economic loss caused by major droughts in the United States from 1980 to 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph], National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, January 9, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/237433/economic-loss-due-to-drought-in-the-us/
