By Paul Homewood
I have been comparing the cost of recent weather disasters with the 1980s.
One example stands out like a sore thumb – Hurricanes Laura and Hugo, both supposedly costing $19bn at today’s prices:
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events/US/1980-2020
Laura which hit Louisiana last August was a Cat 4 storm. There have been 30 hurricanes which have hit the US at Cat 4 strength and over since 1851, so Cat 4s are a regular occurrence.
As would be expected, Laura’s winds left a lot of damage in and around Lake Charles where it made landfall, leaving thousands homeless. The city however escaped the worst effects of the storm surge, which was much less than originally thought, and damage inland was not excessive.
All in all, the damage from Laura was no worse than many other major hurricanes.
Now contrast with Hugo, which hit the Carolinas in 1989. Hugo was also a Cat…
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