Ranking of states most impacted by natural disasters

Joshua Eferighe

2 years ago

Firefighter Davis Sommer lights a backfire to burn off vegetation while battling the Mosquito Fire in the Volcanoville community of El Dorado County, Calif., Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. He is part of Alaska's Pioneer Peak Interagency Hotshot crew. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

(NewsNation) — With Hurricane Ian estimated to have caused upwards of $57 billion in damages to Florida and South Carolina — including nine other natural disasters having already caused over $1 billion in damage each during 2022 — it brings to question if Americans can avoid the destructive power of Mother Nature.

Thursday, personal finance website WalletHub helps answer that question after releasing its report on the states most impacted by natural disasters.

WalletHub was able to determine the 10 states most impacted by natural disasters by comparing data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Centers for Environmental Information across two key metrics:

The number of climate disasters causing at least $1 billion in damage since 1980
The loss amount per capita of those disasters.

Most Impacted by Natural Disasters

Mississippi
Louisiana
Texas
Iowa
Alabama
Oklahoma
Kansas
North Carolina
Florida
Missouri

Least Impacted by Natural Disasters

Rhode Island
Washington
Arizona
Vermont
Nevada
Utah
Hawaii
New Hampshire
Alaska
Maine

View the full report and your state’s rank at WalletHub.com.