Resource Center Next Homeowners

2024’s Fury: The 6 Most Expensive Natural Disasters We Weathered This Year

Author profile picture
By Susan Meyer Info icon
Updated December 18, 2024
Author profile picture

Susan Meyer

Senior Editorial Manager

Susan is a licensed insurance agent and has worked as a writer and editor for over 10 years across a number of industries. She has worked at The Zebr…

Credentials
  • Licensed Insurance Agent — Property and Casualty
View full profile Right arrow icon
Author profile picture

Beth Swanson

SEO Content Strategist

Beth joined The Zebra in 2022 as an Associate Content Strategist. She is a licensed insurance agent whose goal is to make insurance content easy to r…

Credentials
  • Licensed Insurance Agent — Property and Casualty
View full profile Right arrow icon
Jump to Chevron down icon
  1. 2024 Disasters at a Glance
  2. 1. Hurricane Helene
  3. 2. Hurricane Milton
  4. 3. Hurricane Beryl
  5. 4. Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak
  6. 5. Colorado Hail Storms
  7. 6. Hurricane Debby

As the Earth continues to warm, there has been a steady increase in recent years of more and larger weather events and natural disasters. These events contribute to expensive insurance damages, which in turn drive up costs. 

Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 400 weather and climate disasters reaching or exceeding $1 billion in damages. The average number of such events per year is around 8.5 events a year.[1]

Back in May, we published an article predicting a particularly erratic hurricane season. That turned out to be fairly accurate, with 18 named storms in 2024. However, hurricanes weren’t the only disasters this year. 

As 2024 rounds to a close, we wanted to look back at some of the most expensive disasters in the United States.

2024 Disasters at a Glance

Before getting to the list of the biggest disasters of the year, here are some quick facts about how we fare this year as a whole:

  • There were 24 separate billion-dollar weather events in 2024.[1] 
  • This year saw the second-highest number of tornadoes in a single year (after 2011). There were 1,765 tornadoes in 2024.[2]
  • There were 18 named storms this year and 11 of them were hurricanes. 
  • Floods continued to cause significant damage and deaths. In addition to hurricane-related flooding, floods were caused by heavy rains. 166 people died as a direct result of flooding in 2024.[3]
  • 8.4 million acres were burned due to wildfires this year. This came from more than 52,000 fires. This was about 1.5 million acres higher than the average.[4]

But for all of these disasters, these are the six that caused the most extensive damage in 2024.

1. Hurricane Helene

Estimated cost: As high as $250 billion

In late September 2024, Helene struck the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm caused catastrophic damage, especially through flooding and tornadoes. The areas most affected included western North Carolina, East Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. While the final damages from the storm are still being tallied, it is known to have caused as much as $53 billion in damage in North Carolina alone, with potential damages as high as $250 billion, ranking it as one of the most destructive storms of all time.[5]

2. Hurricane Milton

Estimated cost: Over $50 million 

Hurricane Milton was a powerful storm that made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on October 9 near Siesta Key, Florida. Milton was the strongest hurricane in 2024 and the second strongest ever in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane spawned deadly tornadoes and also led to widespread flooding in Florida.

3. Hurricane Beryl

Estimated cost: $3.5 billion 

Hurricane Beryl made landfall in the U.S. on the Central Texas coast on July 7 as a Category 1 storm after already causing significant damage in Jamaica and the Yucatan Peninsula. The greatest amount of damage was in Texas, primarily destruction due to wind damage.[6]

4. Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak

Estimated cost: $2.4 billion 

From Mary 6 - 10, there was a major outbreak of tornadoes that affected the Central and Southern United States. Millions of people were put on a tornado watch as dangerous storms were reported in Oklahoma, Michigan, Tennessee and Alabama, along with neighboring states. Overall, 179 tornadoes were confirmed as part of the outbreak.[7]

5. Colorado Hail Storms

Estimated cost: $2.3 billion 

On May 30, a hail storm hit Denver, Broomfield, Aurora and Commerce City in Colorado. It brought large hailstones and significant flooding, which combined to cause expensive damage to several Colorado cities. The storm hit overnight with hail growing to as big as baseballs.[8]

6. Hurricane Debby

Estimated cost: $1.4 billion

While it didn’t receive the media attention of some of the more destructive hurricanes on this list, Hurricane Debby did weave a path of destruction from Florida all the way up to Canada. It made landfall in Florida on August 5 as a Category 1 storm. The storm led to tornadoes and flooding, affecting parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.[9]

Wrapping up

All in all, 2024 continued to align with the new normal in weather and natural disasters. In fact, we finished even higher than the recent yearly averages of 20+ billion-dollar weather events. 

As we continue to build more densely and more expensive infrastructure and as the weather continues to become more volatile in response to global climate change, storms, fires, and floods with increasingly high insurable losses are simply a part of the future. 

Sources

  1. Billion dollar disasters. [National Centers for Environmental Information]

  2. Storm prediction center. [National Weather Service]

  3. Flood statistics. [National Weather Service]

  4. National Fire News. [National Interagency Fire Center]

  5. ‘Daunting’: Hurricane-battered researchers assess damage from Helene and Milton. [Science]

  6. Beryl cost Houston's millions. [Houston Public Media]

  7. The May 6-7, 2024 Severe Weather and Tornado Outbreak. [National Weather Service]

  8. Second worst hailstorm in Colorado history. [Colorado Roofers]

  9. How much will Hurricane Debby cost the insurance industry? [Insurance Business Mag]