What have been the costliest tropical cyclones in the United States?
This table lists the 30 costliest tropical cyclones to strike the U.S. mainland 1900-2004 (Blake et al. 2005). No monetary estimates are available before 1900 and figures are not adjusted for inflation. The 2004 hurricane season had the second, third, fourth and sixth most-costly systems to strike the United States. The second table reorders the first list and adds several other hurricanes after adjusting to 2004 dollars. Hawaiian, Puerto Rican and Virgin Island tropical cyclones are listed as addenda to these tables. The third table also lists the thirty costliest hurricanes 1900-2004 assuming that a hurricane having the same track, size and intensity as noted in the historical record would strike the area with today’s population totals and property-at-risk (Pielke and Landsea 1998). Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma during the 2005 season will most likely surpass all previous years in terms of damages.
