NOAA put out a list that puts 2023 at the top of the number of billion-dollar disasters in a year.
WASHINGTON – A database used to keep track of some of the worst natural disasters in America is on the chopping block, according to NOAA.
In a notice posted Tuesday, the agency’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) announced it plans to retire the database of billion-dollar disasters. The archive includes information on the impact of weather-related disasters from 1980 to 2024, including wildfires, hailstorms, flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, winter storms and drought.
In a statement to FOX Weather, NCEI said that a shift in government priorities has led to the decision to shutter the store of information.
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Workers, community members, and business owners clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024.
(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“In alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) will no longer be updating the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters product,” the statement read.
According to NCEI, information from 1980-2024 will still be accessible. However, no updates will be made beyond last year.
The public has an opportunity to comment on the decision via email to ncei.orders@noaa.gov.
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A local police car is seen half engulfed in mud, in a flooded area of Lake Lure, North Carolina, October 2, 2024, after the passage of Hurricane Helene.
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The remnants of a home are seen in Lake Lure, North Carolina, October 2, 2024, after the passage of Hurricane Helene. The death toll from powerful storm Helene, which battered the southeastern United States, has climbed to more than 155, authorities said on October 1, as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris surveyed the damage. (Photo by Allison Joyce / AFP) (Photo by ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)
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BAT CAVE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 1: A house along the Broad River in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on October 1, 2024 in Bat Cave, North Carolina. The death toll has topped 140 people across the southeastern U.S. due to the storm, according to published reports, which made landfall as a category 4 storm on Thursday. Millions are without power and the federal government has declared major disasters in areas of North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Alabama, freeing up federal emergency management money and resources for those states, according to the reports. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
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A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field which has been torn open due to Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10, 2024.
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Damage from Hurricane Milton occurs in Punta Gorda, Florida, on October 12, 2024. Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm. Officials confirm that at least 23 people die from the storm. Milton moves across the Florida peninsula on Thursday and over the Atlantic Ocean. More than 1.3 million customers are without power in Florida on Saturday, according to a utility tracker. (Photo by Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Fallen power lines on Termini San Louis Pass Road on Galveston Island as a result of Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 8, 2024.
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A destroyed trailer sits near beach homes after Hurricane Beryl came ashore nearby Monday, July 8, 2024, in Matagorda. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
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Members of the O’Zion Baptist Church in Meadville, Mississippi gather after a tornado destroyed the church on Dec. 29, 2024.
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Tornado damage is seen in Sulphur, Oklahoma, on April 30, 2024.
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MALIBU, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 10: A firefighter sprays water as the Franklin Fire burns on December 10, 2024 on Malibu, California. The wildfire has scorched 1,800 acres near Pepperdine University prompting evacuations along the coast amid high winds with some structures destroyed. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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MALIBU, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 10: A firefighter pulls a water hose as the Franklin Fire burns near a building on December 10, 2024 in Malibu, California. The wildfire has scorched 1,800 acres near Pepperdine University prompting evacuations along the coast amid high winds with some structures destroyed. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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LOUISVILLE, CO – JUNE 19: Sara Pilot, left, looks at the hail damage to her car from a large hailstorm that raced through her neighborhood the night before on June 19, 2018 in Louisville, Colorado.
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Floodwaters in Mikum Leah Webster’s area in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
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A car covered with mud is pictured on a flooded street in Alora, near Malaga, on October 29, 2024, after a heavy rain hit southern Spain. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)
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TOPSHOT – People walk past destroyed vehicles swept away along with debris of logs due to heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm Trami in Laurel, Batangas province, south of Manila on October 25, 2024. Philippine rescue workers battled floodwaters on October 25 to reach residents still trapped on the roofs of their homes as Tropical Storm Trami moved out to sea after killing at least 40 people. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP) (Photo by TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Billion-dollar disasters increasing in US
Since 1980, the U.S. has endured 403 billion-dollar disasters, according to NCEI data. These catastrophes have resulted in nearly 17,000 deaths and a cost of more than $2.9 trillion.
In 2024, the country experienced 27 disasters that resulted in at least $1 billion in damage, placing it second to 2023 for the most billion-dollar disasters in a single year. Among them were hurricanes Beryl, Helene and Milton; winter storms in the Northwest and mid-South; wildfires in New Mexico and tornado outbreaks in the heartland.
The number and cost of disasters are increasing in the U.S., according to the NCEI. The agency cites increased exposure of property, where and how building happens and changes in frequency of some types of extreme weather as drivers for the growing number of catastrophes.
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This chat shows the number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. between 1980 and 2024.
(NCEI / NOAA)
