Hurricane Harvey and other floods in Houston, 2017
Hurricane Harvey was at fault for causing widespread disaster when it made landfall, as its extreme rainfall made historic flooding all over Houston. Over 30,000 people were displaced, and more than 200,000 homes and businesses were ruined. Harvey was probably the second-costliest U.S. tropical hurricane ever registered, besides Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Post-drought Firestorms hit California, 2015-2018
Did you know that seven of California’s 10 extremely destructive wildfires took place in only four years? All of them combined burned 1 million acres and around 32,000 structures. However, the firestorms in 2017 and 2018 are the deadliest and most destructive ones so far.
They completely ruined the city of Paradise and killed more than 85 people, causing $43.2 billion in damages, as NOAA stats showed. The firestorm onslaught came right after a year of drought, as the Weather Channel reports, and it might become the new “normal” for the Golden State.