The most disaster-prone U.S. counties
These U.S. counties have taken the hardest hit from natural disasters over the last decade, according to Forbes.
Since 1980, the United States has averaged 7.9 billion-dollar-damage weather disasters each year and around $57.1 billion in total losses. In 2022, however, weather-related disasters caused around $171.5 billion in damage, according to the NOAA, with 18 of these events each causing over $1 billion in damage. These major weather events included drought, flooding, winter storms, hurricanes and tornado outbreaks.
The number of billion-dollar weather events affecting the U.S. has crept upward over the past few decades. The NOAA reports from 1980 to 1989 the U.S. averaged 3.3 of these events a year; from 1990 to 1999 there were an average of 5.7 each year; from 2000 to 2009 there were an average of 6.7 billion-dollar weather events annually; and from 2010 to 2019, the average was 13.1 of each year. This change is even more striking when you look at shorter-term, recent data, which shows there were an average of 20 billion-dollar-plus weather events annually over the last three years (2020 to 2022).
Of course, severe weather events affect certain areas of the country more frequently than others – coastal areas being particularly vulnerable – and Forbes Advisor recently released a list of the U.S. counties (within the top 200 most populated in the country) most heavily affected by natural disasters over the last decade. These counties are:
1. Los Angeles County, California
Since 2013, Los Angeles County has had 22 FEMA emergency declarations issued, with 20 of those being for wildfires.
2. East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (tie)
According to Forbes, since 2013, East Baton Rouge Parish has experienced 10 disaster declarations for hurricanes alone, with 17 overall. Other severe events that occurred in that period included three coastal storms, two floods and two ice storms.
2. Orleans Parish, Louisiana (tie)
Orleans Parish tied for second place with East Baton Parish and has seen 17 FEMA disaster declarations over the last ten years; which included 11 hurricanes, three coastal storms, two ice storms and a tornado.
4. Riverside County, California (tie)
Since 2013, Riverside County has endured 13 fires, two floods and a severe storm, for a total of 16 FEMA disaster declarations.
4. Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (tie)
As the third Louisiana county to appear in the top five most at-risk, Jefferson Parish has seen 16 disaster declarations since 2013. This included 11 hurricanes, three coastal storms and two severe ice storms.
Other counties that round out the top ten most disaster-prone areas include Washoe County, Nevada; Sonoma County, California; Charleston County, South Carolina; Duval County, Florida; and Ventura County, California.