The United States was hit by 15 climate disasters in the first half of this year, each with losses exceeding one billion dollars. According to a report released this week by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country’s premier meteorological agency, the disasters consisted of 13 severe storm events and two winter storms.
In January, winter storms swept through the US Midwest and around the Great Lakes. Nearly 30 million people in these regions were under a winter storm warning, leaving thousands without power and causing nearly a thousand flight and train cancellations. In February, powerful storms slammed the US West Coast.
Severe storms battered the US South in April, stretching from Texas to Florida. In May, storms hit Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, killing more than 20 people and causing significant damage. In early June, a tornado ripped through suburban Detroit in Michigan, injuring at least 13 people.
Since 1980, the United States has sustained 391 weather and climate disasters, each causing damage of at least one billion dollars. According to NOAA data, the total cost of these disasters has now topped 2.7 trillion dollars.
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