Texas Border Business
The 2020 hurricane season left its mark from the northeastern United States down to Central America, with heavy hits throughout the East Coast and the frequent barrage of storms making landfall in Louisiana. For some, the storms dealt a brutal blow by striking their lifelong hometowns and destroying years of memories.
AccuWeather Global Weather Center – A record-breaking 2020 Atlantic basin hurricane season was so intense and spawned storms so frequently that all 21 names on the preset list were used up and several letters from the Greek alphabet had to be used to name storms. The combined economic toll the record-breaking number of storms left was north of $60 billion, and people in several hard-hit places are still recovering and could be doing so for years to come.
In innumerable ways, the 2020 hurricane season left its mark from the northeastern United States down to Central America, with heavy hits throughout the East Coast and the frequent barrage of storms making landfall in Louisiana. For some, the storms dealt a brutal blow by striking their lifelong hometowns and destroying years of memories.
Tied in with the emotional devastation is the estimated financial ruin these storms cause. Such estimates are helpful not only for gaining a better understanding of the season’s totality but also for better understanding the vast amount of support many of the impacted areas will need to get back on their feet.
Floodwaters surge ahead of Laura’s landfall, inundating Louisiana Highway 1 near Golden Meadow and Leeville.
“AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic loss caused by U.S. landfalling named storms in 2020 to be between $60 billion to $65 billion,” said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers, who has been studying the economic impact of tropical weather for decades. “AccuWeather’s estimate includes all losses and financial impact to the economy, which are greater than insured losses.”
This year, 12 named storms have made landfall in the continental U.S., breaking the record of nine that had stood since 1916.
Myers’ expert analysis, made by incorporating independent methods to evaluate all direct and indirect impacts of the storms, helps better paint a picture of the U.S. financial ramifications from such a noteworthy season.
