Flash flooding in Texas last weekend is estimated to have caused $18 billion to $22 billion in total damage and economic loss, according to AccuWeather.
“The damage, impacts on future tourism, cost of search and recovery efforts, extensive cleanup that will be needed, as well as insurance claims after this catastrophic flash flood, will have long-lasting economic impacts in the Hill Country region of Texas,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather chief meteorologist, in a statement.
Texas has the most frequent severe weather events as well as the most expensive, accounting for 15% of the United States’ billion-dollar disasters in the last several decades, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
From 1980 to 2024, there were 190 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each affecting Texas. That includes 20 drought events, 9 flooding events, 1 freeze event, 126 severe storm events, 16 tropical cyclone events, 7 wildfire events and 11 winter storm events.
From 1980 to 2024, Texas averaged 4.2 billion-dollar weather disasters per year. But these events have increased in the last five years: from 2020 to 2024, the state averaged 13.6 events annually.
The slideshow above highlights five costly catastrophes in the state’s history.
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