Wx Infinity Forums

Costliest American Hurricanes From 2000-2009
1.) Katrina-2005
2.) Wilma-2005
3.) Ike-2008
4.) Charley-2004
5.) Ivan-2004
6.) Rita-2005
7.) Frances-2004
8.) Jeanne-2004
9.) Allison-2001
10.) Gustav-2008

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/damage.asp

You really need to compare "normalized" damage from past hurricanes. See the paper below for a comparison with past hurricanes normalized to 2005:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NormalizedHurricane2008.pdf

wxman57 wrote:You really need to compare "normalized" damage from past hurricanes. See the paper below for a comparison with past hurricanes normalized to 2005:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NormalizedHurricane2008.pdf

I remember seeing something like that and it had the 1926 Miami Hurricane as the most costliest. I notice that both 1900 and 1915 are in the top 5 list when it comes to normalized damage, which has a total of $139.7 billion in damages. Of course, more lives were lost at Galveston when you add the total up (1900-12,000; 1915-213). I think it is a good way to assess how much damage a hurricane does. Still, the 1926 Miami Hurricane did more damage at $157 billion.