Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – The horrific 2004 and 2005 storm seasons produced seven of the nine costliest hurricanes to strike the U.S. coastline since 1900 and a staggering $167 billion in total damage, according to a report released Wednesday.
All seven hit Florida: Charley, Ivan, Frances and Jeanne in 2004, and Katrina, Wilma and Rita in 2005.
The report, prepared by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, revises the lists of costliest as well as deadliest hurricanes. For instance, when data from 2004 and 2005 are included, hurricanes such as Agnes, which hit Florida in 1972; Betsy, which hit Florida in 1965; and Camille, which hit Mississippi and Louisiana in 1969, dropped out of the 10 costliest.
The lists are kept mainly as a source of information for residents and meteorologists, said Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the hurricane center and one of the study’s authors.
The current report provides perspective on how destructive two recent back-to-back seasons were over the course of recorded storm history, said hurricane specialist Eric Blake, lead author of the study.
“The impacts of 2004 and 2005 totally rearranged the costliest list,” he said.
With the rapid buildup of the coastline, any major storm could end up being one of the costliest, said Paul Milelli, Palm Beach County’s director of public safety. He should know; his county has been whacked three times since 2004.
The report notes that Katrina was by far the costliest system to hit the United States, causing $84.64 billion in damage in New Orleans and on the Gulf Cost. Hurricane Andrew, which struck Miami-Dade County in 1992, was second with $48.05 billion and Wilma was third with $21.52 billion. The figures reflect 2006 dollars.
As for the deadliest storms to hit the U.S., Katrina was the only recent hurricane to break into the top 30, based on records kept since 1851. Ranked third, it killed 1,500 and was indirectly blamed for killing about 300 more.
The 1900 Galveston Hurricane remains the deadliest U.S. hurricane on record, killing at least 8,000. The Great Florida Hurricane of 1928 is ranked second, killing about 2,500, with most of the deaths around Lake Okeechobee.
