The Most Expensive Natural Disasters in U.S. History
Mother Nature has certainly wreaked havoc over the years. Storms, floods, drought and fire have taken a toll, both in lives lost and property damaged.
2019 has been a fairly quiet year - so far. Much of the southern plains experienced damaging river flooding this spring, delaying planting for farmers and tying up commercial boat traffic on the Mississippi.
Still, hurricane season is only halfway over, so keep your emergency kit ready and your fingers crossed, and have a look at the 10 most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history.
10. Drought and Heat Wave (2012), $33.9 Billion in Damage
Courtesy NOAA
Deaths: 123
The 2012 drought was the most extensive drought to affect the U.S. since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, according to NOAA. Moderate to extreme drought conditions affected more than half the country -- from California to Georgia -- for a majority of the year. Costly drought impacts in America's agricultural heartland led to "widespread harvest failure for corn, sorghum and soybean crops, among others," government scientists reported.
The heat wave
