We have seen a drastic increase in weather-related disasters in recent years.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that the number of these disasters to hit the world has increased five-fold over the past 50 years or so. Scientists say that climate change and extreme weather are factors in more of these disasters.
The rise in global temperatures impacts these disasters that are related to weather. Between 1970 and 2019, there were more than 11,000 of these disasters.
Then, NOAA reports that in 2021 alone, there were 20 climate disasters in the U.S. that resulted in losses totaling close to $1 billion. Keep in mind this is just in the U.S. and doesn’t include the tragic situations that have occurred globally.
From blizzards to tornadoes to wildfires to hurricanes, the U.S. has gone through a lot recently. According to CNBC, about 1 in 10 homes (about 14.5 million homes) were impacted in some way by natural disasters. These are the findings from a new CoreLogic study conducted.
That’s millions of Americans suffering from these disasters. It also happens to be millions in damage, too. These natural disasters cost a total of $57 billion in overall property damage.
The most prominent cause of damage may be surprising to some. Winter storms impacted more than 12.7 million homes and caused $15 billion in damages. Hopefully, the impact of recent storms will cause a surge in better house building patterns that can fully handle dramatic winter weather.
Winter weather being at the top may seem surprising because of the number of hurricanes and wildfires we saw in the headlines over the course of this year. Between hard-to-put-out flames and destructive water, these natural disasters seem like they’d destroy more homes. Wildfires caused about $1.5 billion in property damages. Meanwhile, hurricanes caused a lot of property damage ($33 billion) but didn’t directly impact as many homes.
Repeating Patterns and Cost of Homes
Tornadoes and hailstorms caused over $7 billion in property damage.
These numbers may be from this year, but these are patterns that are going to repeat themselves in the future. As climate change worsens, natural disasters will only grow more prominent. For example, very dry conditions and abnormal heat are causing more wildfires that are also more destructive in nature. The Dixie Fire is the second-largest fire in California ever and managed to burn about 1 million acres of land.
There’s also no worse time to be looking to buy a home than right now. The mortgage rates have drastically risen in 2022. There is a high demand for homes, meaning prices are climbing far above the initial asking prices. Not only that but these houses are often sold within a week of being listed.
