At a glance
What this dataset shows
- 403 NOAA event records are included in the 1980–2024 archive.
- The annual cost column is CPI-adjusted and reported in millions of dollars.
- NOAA retired this product after the 2024 archive, so the page should not be silently extended beyond 2024.
01 / Visual summary
Billion-dollar disaster events by year
Annual event counts from the archived NOAA U.S. billion-dollar disaster file.
02 / Exact values
Annual NOAA archive values
U.S. billion-dollar disaster events, CPI-adjusted cost and deaths by event year.
| Year | Events | CPI-adjusted cost ($ millions) | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 3 | 45,673.8 | 1,303 |
| 1981 | 2 | 3,485.5 | 20 |
| 1982 | 5 | 15,180.7 | 243 |
| 1983 | 4 | 26,755.5 | 186 |
| 1984 | 2 | 3,213.8 | 81 |
| 1985 | 7 | 22,528.6 | 379 |
| 1986 | 3 | 7,869.6 | 123 |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 54,610.4 | 454 |
| 1989 | 6 | 40,330.6 | 228 |
| 1990 | 4 | 14,589.4 | 30 |
| 1991 | 4 | 19,611 | 43 |
| 1992 | 7 | 80,029.8 | 113 |
| 1993 | 5 | 65,718.9 | 339 |
| 1994 | 6 | 16,580.8 | 133 |
| 1995 | 7 | 35,519.5 | 977 |
| 1996 | 5 | 23,203.6 | 234 |
| 1997 | 4 | 17,157.3 | 246 |
| 1998 | 10 | 38,196.9 | 301 |
| 1999 | 5 | 24,500 | 659 |
| 2000 | 5 | 15,541.7 | 147 |
| 2001 | 3 | 21,787 | 46 |
| 2002 | 6 | 27,205.1 | 63 |
| 2003 | 7 | 38,429.8 | 180 |
| 2004 | 6 | 92,309.7 | 172 |
| 2005 | 6 | 268,618.2 | 2,002 |
| 2006 | 8 | 25,227.5 | 97 |
| 2007 | 5 | 18,868.5 | 37 |
| 2008 | 12 | 94,135.2 | 315 |
| 2009 | 9 | 19,812.8 | 43 |
| 2010 | 7 | 20,182 | 51 |
| 2011 | 18 | 97,935.9 | 765 |
| 2012 | 11 | 158,808.3 | 377 |
| 2013 | 10 | 32,317.5 | 114 |
| 2014 | 10 | 25,537.6 | 53 |
| 2015 | 11 | 30,909.4 | 158 |
| 2016 | 15 | 61,209.9 | 138 |
| 2017 | 19 | 395,936.2 | 3,280 |
| 2018 | 16 | 116,033.9 | 247 |
| 2019 | 14 | 55,515.5 | 44 |
| 2020 | 22 | 120,584.7 | 262 |
| 2021 | 20 | 164,298.8 | 724 |
| 2022 | 19 | 188,463.4 | 496 |
| 2023 | 27 | 90,468.6 | 470 |
| 2024 | 27 | 182,713.6 | 568 |
05 / Context
What the NOAA archive counts
The archived NOAA file contains 403 event records beginning in 1980 and ending in 2024. The annual table sums event count, CPI-adjusted cost in millions of dollars and reported deaths. NOAA's billion-dollar threshold and cost methodology are specific to this archive; they are not a property-level claims ledger.
The archive is historical context for disaster scale. It should not be used as a direct estimate of repairable property damage in a county, the number of affected households or the future probability of an event.
- The series is event-level, not claim-level.
- CPI-adjusted cost is reported in 2024 dollars in the NOAA archive.
- The current page ends at 2024 because NOAA retired the product after that archive.
06 / Context
How to reuse the annual series
Keep the archive end date with every chart or citation. If you need current events, replace this snapshot with a current NOAA product and document the new method rather than silently extending the line.
The table is intentionally separate from FEMA declarations: NOAA describes a disaster-loss threshold series while FEMA records federal declaration actions. Those datasets can provide context together, but they are not interchangeable.
Conclusion
Use the table with its definition.
This archive is a useful historical context series for disaster scale when its threshold and end date stay visible. For current events or property-level estimates, use a current source designed for that question instead of extrapolating this line.
Sources and limits
Read the source notes before reusing the numbers.
This page preserves the dataset scope, period and limitations. The figures are not a forecast, an insurance estimate, a measure of individual risk, or a ranking beyond the selection described above.
NOAA Billion-Dollar Disasters archive
Event-level billion-dollar disaster archive and cost methodology.
Open official source ↗NOAA archive notice
Notice that this product was retired after the 2024 archive.
Open official source ↗OpenAI assisted with explanatory prose. Tables and charts are rendered from checked local source snapshots.