The Costs of Severe Weather Are Steadily Rising | SERVPRO® of Thomaston, Forsyth & Fort Valley

7/7/2021 (Permalink)

When storms do damage, we go to work to make things right. Contact SERVPRO of Thomaston, Forsyth & Fort Valley to start the restoration process.

So much can be said for the year of 2020, but in terms of the weather, we can safely say, it was a record-setting year. Of all the years in history for which we have data, 2020 was the most financially destructive.

For the year 2020, we saw 22 official weather disasters (which are defined as events that cause at least a billion dollars in damages), along many other damaging storms that weren’t counted in that total. There were so many named hurricanes and tropical storms that the NWS had to refer to the Greek alphabet just to name them all.

How Costly Can Severe Storms Be?

We all know and have seen how disastrous hurricanes can be for families and businesses, and sadly we are starting to see other types of severe weather have the same effect. In fact, the most expensive disasters of 2020 in the contiguous United States were thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Out of the official 22 weather disasters, 14 of these were severe thunderstorms, some of which brought along tornadoes.

Just how quickly can they turn? In eastern Nebraska in August 2020, what seemed to be a typical line of thunderstorms exploded into something called a derecho (think of something like a tornado, but with straight-line winds instead of swirling ones, combined with a heavy thunderstorm), which destroyed more than 10 million acres of corn fields, almost half the state’s corn crop. That’s over 11% of the entire country’s corn fields.

Here in Georgia, we see more than our fair share of thunderstorms, most of which bring really strong winds and hail! In 2020 alone, we saw 12 severe thunderstorms and the effects of one tropical storm.

Costs Are Steadily Rising

Statistics are showing that the steady climb of storms is becoming normal for us. 2020 was the 10th consecutive year with at least eight billion-dollar disasters.

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

When you own a home or business, it’s important that you take whatever precautions are possible to minimize any damage to your property.

While precautions don’t totally prevent damage, knowing your risk can help! If you still manage to get a stroke of bad luck, it’s important to know you have a friend in the restoration industry whose goal it is to recover your valued items and restore your property “Like it never even happened.”

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