The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Monday that the United States set a new record in 2017 for the cost of weather and climate change-related disasters.
The announcement came in a report released by NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information. The total cost of $306 billion was largely attributed to hurricanes and wildfires, with 16 separate events accounting for more than $1 billion each.
Most of the devastation stemmed from Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Harvey, which together resulted in 251 deaths and $265 billion worth of damage. Wildfires along the West Coast cost $18 billion and 54 lives, according to the report. The other costs came from weather events such as droughts, tornadoes, and flooding.
Last year will also go down as the third-warmest year on record in the U.S. (behind 2016 and 2012), NOAA also announced Monday.
