Natural disasters can capture the public imagination, as the box-office success of 2024’s Twisters shows. However, dealing with a real-life natural disaster can be harrowing and life-threatening. With hurricane season fast approaching, there are things you should know if you live in a natural disaster hotspot.
Our analysis reveals the natural disaster epicenters of the U.S., which potentially devastating issues are most common in those disaster-stricken areas, and the measures you can take to prepare for disaster.
The Damage that Natural Disasters Can Do
The term ‘natural disasters’ broadly encompasses a varied range of extreme weather events that can wreak havoc upon public health, safety, infrastructure, and the economy.
A natural disaster may follow seasonal patterns or occur with little or no warning. It can often result in widespread disruption, damaged property, wrecked services and systems, and wide-reaching local and national instability.
Our analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data reveals that, in the U.S. between 1980 and 2025, 403 weather and climate-related events wrought damage that cost over $2 trillion.
Those 403 events comprised 32 droughts, 45 floods, 9 freeze events, 203 severe storms, 67 hurricanes, 23 wildfires, and 24 winter storms and accounted for 16,918 lost lives – 7,211 to tropical cyclones. In 2024 alone, 27 separate natural disasters resulted in damage costing over $1 billion.
These included 17 severe storms, five tropical storms/hurricanes, two winter storms, one drought, one flood, and one wildfire. So, natural disasters are sadly frequent events in the U.S., with some states more vulnerable than others.
The Natural Disaster Epicenters of the U.S and the Safest Spots
The likelihood that you’ll need to negotiate a natural disaster in the U.S. largely depends on your locale. Although a natural disaster can happen in any state, as the following lists illustrate, you’re under far more threat in Oklahoma and Texas than in Hawaii and Delaware.
The 10 most vulnerable states (based on natural disasters occurring between 1980-2024):
Natural Disasters that Strike Nationwide
So, while the South and Midwest are tornado hotspots, and the eastern seaboard is where you might expect to find a hurricane, some natural disasters can occur anywhere. The following examples are the types of events that everyone should prepare for – just in case.
Floods
Simply put, a flood is when water submerges usually dry land. A flood can be caused by heavy rainfall, a storm, rapid snowmelt, or dam and levee failures.
Even a few inches of water can cause damage; in severe cases, cars and homes can be swept away. Floods are the most common natural disasters across the U.S, can occur in every state and territory, and cause more deaths each year than hurricanes, tornadoes, or lightning.
Wildfires
Aside from the devastation wildfires can inflict, wildfire smoke can drift for many miles, affecting people far beyond the source. Although wildfire smoke is harmful to everyone, it’s especially dangerous for children, pregnant individuals, and those with underlying health conditions.
Study data suggests that wildfire smoke contains gases and fine particles from burning trees, buildings, and other materials that can enter the lungs and bloodstream. This can lead to coughing, restricted breathing, runny noses, sore throats, and headaches.
More serious respiratory effects include asthma attacks, bronchitis, and badly damaged lungs – all of which can lead to visits to emergency rooms. Wildfire smoke can also cause heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes.
Winter storms
A winter storm is when abundant snow, sleet, and freezing rain are the main types of precipitation. Our analysis reveals that many winter storm-related deaths are in fact due to the subsequent conditions such weather creates.
Icy roads that trigger fatal car crashes; exhausting snow-shoveling that causes coronaries; hypothermia from prolonged exposure to extremely cold conditions. Around 70% of snow and ice-related injuries are due to car accidents, while 25% afflict those caught out in a storm. Most of the injuries are suffered by men over 40.
Thunderstorms
A thunderstorm is a rainstorm that features thunder and lightning, formed by rising warm, moist air (known as convection). Although they can happen throughout all seasons, thunderstorms are most common in the spring and summer, especially during the afternoon and evening.
A storm is classified as ‘severe’ if it produces over 1 inch of hail, winds over 57.5 mph, or a tornado. Each year in the U.S., there are around 100,000 thunderstorms, with 10% considered ‘severe’.
Thunderstorms can cause flash floods, lightning-related fires, hail damage, and strong winds. Some thunderstorms even produce tornadoes, making them one of the most potentially dangerous weather events.
In 2023 in the U.S., 75,104 weather-related events caused 877 deaths and 3,857 injuries. Most deaths were linked to heat, wildfires, and tornadoes, while heat, tornadoes, and winter storms caused the most injuries. Some of the deadliest events in recent years include the 2021 winter storm and heatwaves in 2021 and 2023.
How to Prepare for a Disaster
It’s one thing to know a natural disaster might hit your neighborhood. You also need to be aware that there are things you can do to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your friends, should such an event occur. Here are some measures you may need to take if disaster strikes.
Build an Emergency Kit
Pack at least a few days’ worth of water and food. Make sure you have other essentials such as a sufficient quantity of medication, a flashlight, batteries, matches, candles, and a first aid kit, plus anything else you think you might need.
Create a Family Plan
Set up an emergency family strategy: choose meeting points and evacuation routes, and review the plan with all family members so they’re all on the same page when the time comes.
Stay Updated
Keep your finger on the pulse by making sure you regularly monitor local weather alerts. And add a battery-powered radio to your emergency kit, if you don’t already have one.
Know Basic Safety Skills
You may already possess first aid skills and know how to perform CPR. If not, learn them, just in case. You should also become familiar with some other basics, like how to shut off home utilities and change a spark plug.
Protect Important Documents
Get more organized, if you need to: make sure all your important papers (identification such as passports and birth certificates, plus things like insurance and house-related documents) are safely stored in a waterproof or fireproof place.
Include your pets
Whatever disaster preparations you make, don’t forget your pets! Make sure you’ll have enough pet food stored safely and imperishably, that your water supply can also cover your beloved animals, and that you have all pet ID tags ready.
Plan with Neighbors
To improve your chances of getting through a local disaster, you might want to join forces with your neighbors and even your wider local community. A shared team effort can give everyone a much better chance of making it through a turbulent, dangerous event.
At Barcus Arenas, we know that when something difficult happens in your life, like a life-changing natural disaster, you may need urgent assistance. We’re here to help you every step of the way.
