The total costs of Hurricane Katrina amounted to 125 billion U.S. dollars at the time the disaster occurred in 2005. While this is around the same total cost of Hurricane Harvey, when adjusted for inflation the former is more expensive, with the cost being the equivalent of 194 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 (compared to 155 billion U.S. dollars for Hurricane Harvey).
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana on August 9, 2005 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The death toll reached almost 2,000 people. Katrina was also the most expensive U.S. catastrophe since 1992 in terms of property loss.
Harvey, Maria and Irma
Katrina was responsible for the spike in insured losses caused by natural disasters globally in 2005. Harvey, Maria and Irma also made quite the impact in 2017 when they hit central America and then made land on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The frequency and intensity of such natural disasters are increasing.
Most expensive natural disasters in the United States as of August 2023
(in billion U.S. dollars)
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (August 22, 2023). Most expensive natural disasters in the United States as of August 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Most expensive natural disasters in the United States as of August 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)." Chart. August 22, 2023. Statista. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2023). Most expensive natural disasters in the United States as of August 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Most Expensive Natural Disasters in The United States as of August 2023 (in Billion U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 22 Aug 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Most expensive natural disasters in the United States as of August 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/ (last visited November 21, 2024)
Most expensive natural disasters in the United States as of August 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph], National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, August 22, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/744015/most-expensive-natural-disasters-usa/