Facts + Statistics: Hurricanes

The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June through November, but occasionally storms form outside those months. Seasonal hurricane forecasting from Colorado State University is available here.

A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hurricanes are tropical cyclones which have sustained winds of 74 mph. At this point a hurricane reaches Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which has a range of 1 to 5, based on the hurricane's intensity at the time of landfall at the location experiencing the strongest winds. The scale provides examples of the type of damage and impacts in the United States associated with winds of the indicated intensity. It does not address the potential for other hurricane-related phenomena such as storm surge, rainfall-induced floods and tornadoes.

 
Costliest U.S. Hurricanes

The chart below shows insured losses in dollars for the top 10 costliest hurricanes in the United States when they occurred and in 2021 dollars, adjusted for inflation. According to Aon, Katrina was the costliest hurricane on record, causing $65 billion in insured losses when it occurred in 2005, including losses from the NFIP. Losses from Katrina totaled $89.7 billion in 2021 dollars.

 
Top 10 Costliest Hurricanes In The United States (1)

($ millions)

      Estimated insured loss
Rank Year Hurricane Dollars when occurred In 2021 dollars (2)
1 2005 Hurricane Katrina $65,000 $89,680
2 2021 Hurricane Ida 36,000 36,000
3 2012 Hurricane Sandy 30,000 35,140
4 2017 Hurricane Harvey 30,000 33,110
5 2017 Hurricane Irma 30,100 33,000
6 2017 Hurricane Maria 29,500 32,400
7 1992 Hurricane Andrew 16,000 30,770
8 2008 Hurricane Ike 18,200 22,540
9 2005 Hurricane Wilma 10,670 14,510
10 2018 Hurricane Michael 13,250 14,200

(1) Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program. Includes hurricanes that occurred through 2021. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of February 2, 2022. Ranked on insured losses in 2021 dollars.
(2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. Consumer Price Index.

Source: Aon.

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Hurricanes And Related Deaths In The United States, 2000-2021

 

Year Total
hurricanes (1)		 Made landfall
as hurricane
in the U.S.		 Deaths (2)
2000 8 0 4
2005 15 7 1,518
2006 5 0 0
2007 6 1 1
2008 8 4 (3) 41
2009 3 1 (4) 6
2010 12 0 11
2011 7 1 44
2012 10 1 (5) 83
2013 2 0 1
2014 6 1 2
2015 4 0 3
2016 7 3 36
2017 10 4 147
2018 8 2 48
2019 6 2 15 (6)
2020 13 6 47
2021 7 4 68

(1) Atlantic Basin.
(2) Includes fatalities from high winds of less than hurricane force from tropical storms.
(3) Includes one hurricane (Hanna) which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(4) Hurricane Ida, which made landfall as a tropical storm.
(5) Excludes Hurricane Sandy which made landfall as a post-tropical storm.
(6) All fatalities in 2019 are from storms that did not make landfall in the United States.

Source: Insurance Information Institute from data supplied by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center.

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Storm Surge Risk By State By Number Of Single-Family Homes and Reconstruction Value, 2020 (1)

 

    Number of single-family homes at risk by storm category (2)
Rank State Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5
1 Florida 353,994 1,088,511 1,806,312 2,362,323 2,851,642
2 Louisiana 72,883 212,707 640,307 770,030 843,349
3 Texas 41,398 122,453 264,103 399,741 563,024
4 New Jersey 95,473 277,147 381,388 471,323 471,323 (3)
5 New York 76,805 228,069 351,937 467,787 467,787 (3)
6 Virginia 23,232 89,347 243,707 366,117 410,277
7 South Carolina 37,107 132,728 219,420 308,387 363,875
8 North Carolina 33,254 97,694 165,266 216,446 267,802
9 Georgia 9,378 54,470 113,068 152,882 164,504
10 Massachusetts 8,102 42,832 97,083 151,979 151,979 (3)
11 Maryland 16,091 59,214 98,757 126,589 126,589 (3)
12 Mississippi 5,740 25,385 56,768 90,023 102,596
13 Pennsylvania 847 21,378 58,921 85,794 85,794 (3)
14 Connecticut 6,708 27,921 46,186 67,433 67,433 (3)
15 Delaware 10,855 31,057 49,103 67,055 67,055 (3)
16 Alabama 5,203 15,841 27,769 40,287 51,929
17 Rhode Island 1,396 7,979 17,345 26,336 26,336 (3)
18 Maine 5,657 7,912 11,969 18,149 18,149 (3)
19 New Hampshire 193 4,069 7,074 9,336 9,336 (3)
  Total homes
potentially affected		 804,316 2,546,714 4,656,483 6,198,017 7,110,779
    Reconstruction cost value of single-family homes at risk (2), (4) ($ millions)
Rank State Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5
1 Florida $71,707.9 $224,088.9 $372,234.3 $483,618.4 $580,606.2
2 Louisiana 15,887.7 47,717.2 152,745.6 184,008.0 202,330.0
3 New York 30,410.9 95,248.1 146,867.2 196,107.2 196,107.2 (3)
4 New Jersey 27,523.2 84,974.9 119,707.6 150,599.6 150,599.5 (3)
5 Texas 7,467.3 22,579.6 51,408.9 81,181.5 113,419.1
6 Virginia 5,962.5 22,598.0 57,844.1 86,624.2 98,314.8
7 South Carolina 10,447.7 35,063.9 55,589.2 75,121.4 86,468.7
8 North Carolina 7,178.2 21,277.7 36,350.3 47,968.2 59,542.6
9 Massachusetts 2,306.8 12,658.0 29,179.0 47,309.5 47,309.5 (3)
10 Georgia 2,869.0 14,504.6 26,994.0 35,215.7 37,416.2
11 Maryland 3,878.3 14,151.3 23,657.9 30,518.8 30,518.8 (3)
12 Connecticut 2,344.5 9,635.7 15,669.6 22,538.4 22,538.4 (3)
13 Pennsylvania 193.8 5,120.6 14,596.0 21,349.8 21,349.8 (3)
14 Mississippi 1,175.2 5,247.4 11,573.3 18,024.1 20,467.4
15 Delaware 3,082.8 8,693.8 13,892.8 18,943.9 18,943.9 (3)
16 Alabama 965.3 2,972.1 5,112.2 7,360.8 9,449.8
17 Rhode Island 350.2 2,339.3 5,080.9 7,761.3 7,761.3 (3)
18 Maine 1,314.9 1,892.6 2,949.9 4,589.9 4,589.8 (3)
19 New Hampshire 35.2 713.9 1,434.1 2,038.9 2,038.9 (3)
  Total homes
potentially affected		 $195,101.5 $631,477.6 $1,142,886.9 $1,520,879.6 $1,709,772.1

(1) The risk categories are cumulative and increase in value from Category 1 to Category 5. Category 1 represents the higher risk of damage from a weak hurricane; Category 5 includes Categories 1 to 4 and the low risk of damage from a Category 5 hurricane.
(2) Measured in units.
(3) Storm surge risk for Category 5 storms for homes on the northeastern Atlantic Coast is not shown due to the extremely low probability of a Category 5 storm affecting these areas.
(4) Represents the cost to completely rebuild including labor and materials by geographic location.

Source: CoreLogic®, a property data and analytics company.

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Top 10 Most Significant Flood Events By National Flood Insurance Program Payouts (1)

 

Rank Date Event Number of
paid losses		 Amount paid
($ millions)		 Average
paid loss
1 Aug. 2005 Hurricane Katrina 168,256 $16,092  $95,640 
2 Sep. 2017 Hurricane Harvey 78,254 9,171 117,192
3 Oct. 2012 Superstorm Sandy 132,897 8,619 64,852
4 Sep. 2008 Hurricane Ike 47,247 2,670 56,517
5 Aug. 2016 Louisiana severe storms and flooding 27,737 2,536 91,432
6 Sep. 2004 Hurricane Ivan 31,981 1,688 52,791
7 Sep. 2021 Hurricane Ida 28,544 1,589 55,658
8 Sep. 2004 Hurricane Jeanne 31,486 1,513 48,062
9 Aug. 2011 Hurricane Irene 44,178 1,321 29,894
10 Sep. 2017 Hurricane Irma 23,119 1,153 49,884

(1) Includes events from 1978 to December 31, 2021 as of March 9, 2022. Defined by the National Flood Insurance Program as an event that produces at least 1,500 paid losses. Stated in dollars when occurred.

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data; analysis courtesy of Aon.

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