The Financial Burden of Severe Storms | SERVPRO® of Cedar Mill/Oak Hills

7/23/2021 (Permalink)

If your home is damaged by storms or any other reason, SERVPRO of Cedar Mill/Oak Hills is ready and able to repair any damage.

The year 2020 is one for the history books for sure, and one of the records it will be known for is it was a record-setting year for natural disasters. Of all the years in history for which we have data, 2020 was the most financially destructive, weather-wise.

During 2020, there were 22 official weather disasters (which are defined as events that cause at least a billion dollars in damages), along with many other storms that weren’t even counted in that statistic. In 2020, for example, there were so many hurricanes and tropical storms that the National Weather Service had to refer to the Greek alphabet just to name them all.

The Cost of Storms

Yes, hurricanes can bring immense damage and destruction, but sadly, it’s not the hurricanes causing all of the monetary damages. The most expensive disasters of 2020 in the contiguous United States were thunderstorms and tornadoes.

There were 14 official weather disasters that were thunderstorms and tornadoes out of the storms in 2020. Thunderstorms, as we all know, happen anywhere and during any season throughout the year. No matter what you do, there is no avoiding them.

This is how impactful a single storm system can be: In August 2020, a typical line of thunderstorms in eastern Nebraska exploded into a derecho.

A derecho is something like a tornado that has straight-line winds instead of swirling ones, combined with a heavy thunderstorm. This derecho impacted more than 10 million acres of corn fields, which is almost half the state’s corn crops. That means that 11% of the entire country’s corn fields were affected.

Is This the New Normal?

Even though these facts can be astonishing, when it comes to the weather, 2020 seems to reflect what the new “normal” is. This was the 10th consecutive year with at least eight-billon dollar disasters.

In 2018 and 2019, there was a combined $136 billion in damages, and 2017 had a damage total of over $300 billon, which was the highest total on record.

Storms are going to happen, and with what we’ve seen, their frequency and intensity are showing no signs of slowing down. As a home or business owner, you need to take whatever precautions are possible to help minimize the damage to your property.

If you do experience property damage, you’ve got a friend in the restoration industry! It is our goal to recover your valued items and make it seem “Like it never even happened.”

When storms wreak havoc, we go to work to make things right. Contact SERVPRO today to see how we can help.