US economic losses from natural disasters soared in 2024, even as they eased globally

Economic losses from hurricanes and other natural disasters soared in the U.S. last year and were above average globally, reflecting another year of costly severe storms, floods and droughts. Damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton helped push total economic losses from natural disasters in the U.S. to $217.8 billion last year, an 85.3% increase from 2023, according to insurance broker Aon PLC. The hurricanes, deadly floods in Spain and other natural disasters drove worldwide economic losses to $368 billion last year, according to Aon. That’s a 7.3% decline from 2023, but about 14% higher than the annual average going back to 2000.