Hurricane Helene to Typhoon Yagi: Worst climate disasters of 2024 that caused billions in damage
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US alone suffered 71 per cent of losses from 10 worst disasters this year. The climate crisis took a hefty economic toll in 2024, with just 10 disasters causing over $200bn in damage, according to a new report by Christian Aid. The report, released on Monday, lists the storms, hurricanes, floods, and typhoons which caused the most damage in monetary terms this year.
![[A tattered American flag flaps outside a home as furniture and household items damaged by Hurricane Helene sit piled along the street awaiting pickup on Anna Maria Island, Florida]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/05/08/YE-Top_Photos-US-Photo_Gallery_56265.jpg)
Top of the list is Hurricane Milton, which caused $60bn in damage when it tore through the US in October and killed 25 people. Hurricane Helene, which struck the US, Cuba and Mexico in September, caused at least $55bn in losses as well as 232 fatalities.
![[A general view of damaged shelters and houses in the town of Vahibe, on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/24/15/2190709171.jpg)
Floods in China caused a loss of $15.6bn and claimed 315 lives. Storm Boris and flooding in Spain and Germany combined for at least $14bn in damage and 258 fatalities. The growing intensity of such disasters, scientists say, is being “supercharged” by fossil fuel emissions. “There is nothing natural about the growing severity and frequency of droughts, floods, and storms,” said Christian Aid CEO Patrick Watt. “Disasters are being supercharged by decisions to keep burning fossil fuels, and to allow emissions to rise.”.
![[Cars are piled in the street after flash floods in Sedavà area of Valencia, Spain, in October]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/23/13/GettyImages-2181933622.jpg)
The charity analyses insurance payouts to calculate losses from disasters every year. For the first time since it started compiling the list in 2018, there have been two disasters in a year amounting to losses of over $50bn in a year. The US alone suffered almost 71 per cent of the losses from 10 worst disasters.
