2011- The Most Expensive Natural Disaster Year

The year, 2011, has broken a record for the most expensive year due to natural disasters. The cost associated with natural disasters this year, has reached $52 billion in the United States alone. This is due in large part to 12 large scale disaster events that were each over $1 billion in damage. This broke the previous record, set in 2008, when there was 9 large scale disaster events that had over $1 billion in damage per event. The natural disasters that led to this 52 billion dollars of damage include 81 large tornadoes that struck the midwest and southeastern United States, a horrible drought that crippled the south and led to expensive wildfires. Some other events include the large snowstorms in the northeastern U.S. and the Tropical Storm Lee that ravaged the eastern coast. Flooding across several parts of the nation also added to the $52 billion in damage. Although some people like to blame these weather events on global warming, it is important to point out that as the population rises and new buildings are built, this leads to a "larger base" for natural disasters to strike in highly populated/developed areas of the nation which in turn leads to more expensive disasters.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/07/9279468-us-adds-more-billion-dollar-disasters-to-2011-list