The fear of losing everything in a natural disaster sits in the back of our minds no matter where we live. The same diverse physical geography that gives us sunny beaches and crisp mountain air also generates devastating storms and wildfires. Climate change is only making things worse.
Data collection for these events has never been more consistent. Mapping the trends in recent years gives us an idea of where disasters have the tendency to strike. In 2018, it is estimated that natural disasters cost the nation almost $100 billion and took nearly 250 lives. It turns out there is nowhere in the United States that is particularly insulated from everything.
floods
National Weather Service warnings
for floods and flash floods since 2008
0
150+
Baltimore
Miami
D.C.
Atlanta
New
Orleans
Chicago
Memphis
St. Louis
Houston
Austin
Denver
Phoenix
Seattle
Los
Angeles
Note: Alaska and Hawaii not shown.
Only includes areas where the NWS issued flood
warnings for specific areas, not the entire county.
National Weather Service warnings
for floods and flash floods since 2008
0
150+
Seattle
Chicago
Baltimore
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Memphis
Phoenix
Los
Angeles
Atlanta
Austin
Houston
New
Orleans
Miami
Note: Only includes areas where the NWS issued flood warnings for specific areas,
not the entire county.
National Weather Service warnings
for floods and flash floods since 2008
0
150+
Seattle
Chicago
Baltimore
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Los
Angeles
Memphis
Atlanta
Phoenix
Austin
Houston
New Orleans
Miami
Note: Only includes areas where the NWS issued flood warnings for specific areas, not the entire county.
National Weather Service warnings
for floods and flash floods since 2008
0
150+
Seattle
Portland
Chicago
Baltimore
Denver
San Francisco
D.C.
St. Louis
Los Angeles
Memphis
Atlanta
Phoenix
Austin
Houston
New Orleans
Miami
Note: Only includes areas where the NWS issued flood warnings for specific areas, not the entire county.
According to NOAA, floods kill an average of 90 people each year in the US., the highest average of any type of natural disaster. Most flood deaths occur as people are swept away in cars and other vehicles. The reasons vary with climate and topography.
In the middle of the country, tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers routinely overspill their banks, sometimes causing catastrophic flooding such as this spring’s deluge in Nebraska, Iowa and adjacent states. As seasonal temperatures rise, snow melts early and inundates the river system at the same time spring rains hit. The water has nowhere else to go.
In other places, intense rains can trigger flash floods in areas where the terrain funnels water into a narrow space. Ellicott City, Md., has suffered two 1,000-year floods in the past three years because it sits at the bottom of a hill where several streams converge.
Areas within a wide band of Texas, from north of Dallas to south of San Antonio, are so prone to flooding that the entire zone is referred to as “Flash Flood Alley.” Steep canyons and valleys of the desert southwest routinely channel torrents of water from storms at higher elevations.
Tornadoes and Hurricanes
Tornadoes since 2004
65
86
111
136
166
200
Wind speed (mph)
Hurricanes and tropical storms since 2004
Hurricane-strength winds (74 mph+)
Tropical storm (39 to 73 mph)
Florence
Sandy
New York
Miami
D.C.
Irma
Tampa
Atlanta
Michael
Ivan
Chicago
Katrina
New
Orleans
St. Louis
Rita
Ike
Harvey
Houston
Denver
Phoenix
Seattle
Tornadoes since 2004
Hurricanes and tropical storms since 2004
Hurricane-strength winds (74 mph+)
65
86
111
136
166
200
Wind speed (mph)
Tropical storm (39 to 73 mph)
Seattle
New York
Chicago
Sandy
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Florence
Atlanta
Phoenix
Birmingham
New
Orleans
Houston
Ivan
Michael
Tampa
Rita
Ike
Katrina
Harvey
Miami
Irma
Tornadoes since 2008
Hurricanes and tropical storms since 2004
Hurricane-strength winds (74 mph+)
65
86
111
136
166
200
Wind speed (mph)
Tropical storm (39 to 73 mph)
Seattle
New York
Chicago
Sandy
Baltimore
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Florence
Los
Angeles
Atlanta
Phoenix
Birmingham
New
Orleans
Michael
Houston
Ivan
Rita
Tampa
Ike
Katrina
Harvey
Miami
Irma
Tornadoes since 2004
Hurricanes and tropical storms since 2004
Hurricane-strength winds (74 mph+)
65
86
111
136
166
200
Wind speed (mph)
Seattle
Tropical storm (39 to 73 mph)
Portland
New York
Chicago
Sandy
Baltimore
Denver
San Francisco
D.C.
Irene
St. Louis
Los Angeles
Florence
Atlanta
Phoenix
Birmingham
Jackson
Austin
Houston
Ivan
Michael
New Orleans
Rita
Ike
Tampa
Katrina
Harvey
Miami
Irma
Hurricanes and tornadoes are woven into the fabric of life in certain parts of the country. Storm cellars and tornado drills are common in the Midwest. On the gulf and east coasts, hurricane evacuation route signs line major streets and highways. These areas are home to some of the most violent storms in the world.
“Tornado Alley” stretches from the Dakotas south to Texas. Warm, moist air from the Gulf travels north and collides with cold, dry air from Canada and the Rockies. But the deadliest tornado outbreak in decades — meteorologists called it a “Super Outbreak” — took place in “Dixie Alley” in Alabama in 2011. More than 350 tornadoes were confirmed, and 324 people died.
Extreme heat and cold
Percentage of days the temperature …
… fell below 0°F
… exceeded 100°F
17%
38%
0
Miami
D.C.
17% OF DAYS
BELOW 0°F
Atlanta
Rolette, N.D.
Chicago
St. Louis
Minneapolis
Austin
Denver
Phoenix
37% OF DAYS
ABOVE 100°F
Seattle
Death Valley,
Calif.
Los
Angeles
Note: Data is from Jan. 2008 through Sept. 2018.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
Percentage of days the temperature …
… fell below 0°F
… exceeded 100°F
17%
38%
0
17% OF DAYS BELOW 0°F
Seattle
Rolette, N.D.
Minneapolis
Chicago
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Los
Angeles
Phoenix
Atlanta
37% OF DAYS
ABOVE 100°F
Austin
Death Valley,
Calif.
Miami
Note: Data is from Jan. 2008 through Sept. 2018.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
Percentage of days the temperature …
… fell below 0°F
… exceeded 100°F
17%
38%
0
17% OF DAYS BELOW 0°F
Seattle
Rolette, N.D.
Minneapolis
Chicago
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Los
Angeles
Phoenix
Atlanta
37% OF DAYS
ABOVE 100°F
Austin
Death Valley,
Calif.
Miami
Note: Data is from Jan. 2008 through Sept. 2018.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
Percentage of days the temperature …
… fell below 0°F
… exceeded 100°F
17%
38%
0
Seattle
17% OF DAYS BELOW 0°F
Rolette, N.D.
Portland
Minneapolis
Chicago
Denver
San Francisco
D.C.
St. Louis
Los Angeles
Phoenix
Atlanta
37% OF DAYS
ABOVE 100°F
Death Valley,
Calif.
Austin
Houston
Miami
Note: Data is from Jan. 2008 through Sept. 2018.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
It is no surprise that it gets hot in the southwest and cold in the Upper Plains. But heat waves and cold snaps that extend into areas unaccustomed to them cause dozens of deaths each year. Even in areas where bitter cold is common, super-chilled air blasting down from the Arctic can catch people unprepared, as it did earlier this year when the extreme weather caused several deaths in Milwaukee, Detroit and Rochester, Minn.
Wildfires
Number of weeks of extreme
or exceptional drought since 2008
0
150+
Wildfire perimeters
2008-2017
2018
D.C.
Atlanta
Chicago
San Antonio
Denver
Seattle
Camp Fire
Los
Angeles
San Francisco
Mendocino Complex
Note: Alaska and Hawaii not shown.
Number of weeks of extreme
or exceptional drought
Wildfire perimeters
0
150+
2008-2017
2018
Seattle
Mendocino Complex
Chicago
Camp Fire
Denver
San Francisco
Atlanta
Los
Angeles
San Antonio
Number of weeks of extreme
or exceptional drought since 2008
Wildfire perimeters
0
150+
2008-2017
2018
Seattle
Mendocino Complex
Chicago
Camp Fire
Denver
San Francisco
Los
Angeles
Atlanta
Phoenix
San Antonio
Number of weeks of extreme
or exceptional drought since 2008
Wildfire perimeters
0
150+
2008-2017
2018
Seattle
Portland
Mendocino Complex
Chicago
Camp Fire
Denver
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Atlanta
Phoenix
San Antonio
Increasingly warmer temperatures and the extreme drought of the past decade have created perfect conditions for wildfires in the west in recent years. Last year’s fire season was the worst on record in California, with the largest (Mendocino Complex) and most deadly (Camp) fires in state history.
In addition to the drought conditions, infestations of bark beetles and other invasive species have killed off vast swaths of forests in the Mountain West, leaving thousands of acres more susceptible to wildfires.
Lightning
Number of strikes, 2018
0
35+
Miami
D.C.
Tampa
Atlanta
Chicago
Memphis
New
Orleans
St. Louis
Houston
Oklahoma City
Denver
Phoenix
Seattle
Los
Angeles
Notes: Number of strikes is for each 2 km by 2 km grid.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
Number of strikes, 2018
0
35+
Seattle
Chicago
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Oklahoma City
Memphis
Los
Angeles
Atlanta
Phoenix
Houston
Tampa
New
Orleans
Miami
Florida’s peninsula sticks out into the warm moist air between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, making it America’s lightning hot spot
Notes: Number of strikes is for each 2 km by 2 km grid.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
Number of strikes, 2018
0
35+
Seattle
Chicago
Denver
D.C.
St. Louis
Oklahoma City
Memphis
Los
Angeles
Atlanta
Phoenix
Houston
Tampa
New Orleans
Miami
Florida’s peninsula sticks out into the warm moist air between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, making it America’s lightning hot spot
Notes: Number of strikes is for each 2 km by 2 km grid.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
Number of strikes, 2018
0
35+
Seattle
Chicago
Denver
San Francisco
D.C.
St. Louis
Oklahoma City
Los Angeles
Memphis
Atlanta
Phoenix
Florida’s peninsula sticks out into the warm moist air between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, making it America’s lightning hot spot
Houston
Tampa
New Orleans
Miami
Notes: Number of strikes is for each 2 km by 2 km grid.
Comparable data for Alaska and Hawaii is not available.
About 17 million lightning strikes lit up the sky over the continental United States in 2018, according to Vaisala, which operates the National Lightning Detection Network.
On average, a few dozen people are killed every year by lightning, and that number has been slowly declining for decades. Strikes cause thousands of structure fires every year and also contribute to wildfires. The National Interagency Fire Center tracks lightning strikes and uses the data to position fire response crews in areas where wildfires may break out during storms.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Geologic faults
Volcanoes
Earthquakes since 2008, scaled by
the energy released
7.8M, Jan. 2018
Anchorage
Seattle
Detail
Asia
Mt. St. Helens
D.C.
S.
Amer.
Pacific
Ocean
Oklahoma City
Aus.
San
Francisco
Atlanta
Antarctica
Kilauea
The west coast of the U.S. sits along the Ring of Fire, a line of volcanoes and other geologic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
Fissures from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island opened up underneath a neighborhood in May.
Geologic faults
Volcanoes
Earthquakes since
2008, scaled by the
energy released
7.8M, Jan. 2018
Anchorage
Juneau
Detail
Asia
S.
Amer.
Pacific
Ocean
New York
Seattle
Aus.
Mt. St. Helens
D.C.
Chicago
Antarctica
Atlanta
Oklahoma City
The west coast of the U.S. sits along the Ring of Fire, a line of volcanoes and other geologic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
Fissures from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island opened up underneath a neighborhood in May.
San Francisco
Oil and gas exploration and the uptick in fracking have led to thousands of small earthquakes in Oklahoma.
Honolulu
Los Angeles
Kilauea
Geologic faults
Volcanoes
Earthquakes since 2008, scaled
by the energy released
Anchorage
7.8M, Jan. 2018
Juneau
CANADA
The west coast of the U.S. sits along the Ring of Fire, a line of volcanoes and other geologic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
Detail
Asia
New York
Seattle
Mt. St. Helens
Portland
S.
Amer.
D.C.
Pacific
Ocean
Chicago
Aus.
Yellowstone
Caldera
St. Louis
Antarctica
Oklahoma City
Atlanta
San Francisco
Oil and gas exploration and the uptick in fracking have led to thousands of small earthquakes in Oklahoma.
Los Angeles
Honolulu
Fissures from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island opened up underneath a neighborhood in May.
Kilauea
MEXICO
Earthquakes since 2008, scaled
by the energy released
Geologic faults
Volcanoes
Anchorage
7.8M, Jan. 2018
Juneau
CANADA
Detail
The west coast of the U.S. sits along the Ring of Fire, a line of volcanoes and other geologic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
Asia
Seattle
New York
Mt. St. Helens
S.
Amer.
Portland
Pacific
Ocean
D.C.
Mt. Hood
Chicago
Aus.
Yellowstone
Caldera
St. Louis
Antarctica
Oklahoma City
Atlanta
San Francisco
Oil and gas exploration and the uptick in fracking have led to thousands of small earthquakes in Oklahoma.
Los Angeles
Honolulu
Fissures from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island opened up underneath a neighborhood in May.
Kilauea
MEXICO
Earthquakes since 2008, scaled
by the energy released
Geologic faults
Volcanoes
data extent
Anchorage
Juneau
CANADA
Detail
The west coast of the U.S. sits along the Ring of Fire, a line of volcanoes and other geologic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
Asia
S.
Amer.
Pacific
Ocean
Seattle
New York
Aus.
Mt. St. Helens
Portland
D.C.
Mt. Hood
Chicago
Antarctica
5.8M,
Aug. 2011
Yellowstone
Caldera
St. Louis
Oklahoma City
Atlanta
San Francisco
Oil and gas exploration and the uptick in fracking have led to thousands of small earthquakes in Oklahoma.
Honolulu
Los Angeles
Fissures from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island opened up underneath a neighborhood in May.
Kilauea
MEXICO
The entire U.S. West Coast sits atop the Ring of Fire, a large horseshoe-shaped area that is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean and contains many of the world’s volcanoes. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates about 80 percent of all earthquakes on the planet happen here.
But earthquakes happen elsewhere in North America as well. In 2011, a 5.8-magnitude temblor near Mineral, Va., shook the D.C. area, damaging the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral. In Oklahoma, the injection of wastewater associated with fracking has been responsible for thousands of tiny earthquakes.
Though dangerous, these events have found a way into our identities. Sports teams embrace their local disasters: the cyclones, hurricanes, heat and avalanche. For disasters that hit large urban areas like Houston after Harvey or New York after Sandy, public resources are rushed and declarations that the communities will bounce back stronger than ever are made. Hashtags like #houstonstrong spread on social media.
But for some smaller towns, the question is not when they will rebuild — but whether they will rebuild at all.
Bonnie Berkowitz and Joe Fox contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Carr Fire was the largest in California state history. The Mendocino Complex is the largest. The graphic has been updated.
About this story
Tornado data is from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Hurricane wind history data is from the National Hurricane Center. Flood warnings are from the Iowa State University Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive. Lightning data is from Vaisala. Earthquakes data is from USGS. Volcano data is from the Smithsonian Institute and only shows volcanoes that have erupted in the last 10,000 years. Temperature and precipitation totals are calculated based on data models from the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University.
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