AIR modeled the worst natural catastrophes to hit the US in the past Century and what they would cost in today’s terms
A catastrophe modeler has calculated the top ten most devastating hurricanes in US history and what they would cost if they were to strike again today.
Top of the list is the 1926 Miami hurricane, which would likely result in insured losses of around $101bn, based on reported insured losses at the time the event took place.
AIR, which conducted the analysis, said the actual losses would be much more than reported at the time because the number and value of properties have increased dramatically in the past century.
The following charts show the estimated impact of historical US hurricanes and earthquakes if they were to happen today.
Estimated Insured Losses for the Top 10 Historical Hurricanes Based on Current Exposures
Date/Event name/2009 Insured Loss
September 18, 1926 Miami Hurricane
$101 billion
August 24, 1992 Hurricane Andrew
$57 billion
September 17, 1947 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane
$55 billion
September 17, 1928 Great Okeechobee Hurricane
$51 billion
August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina
$42 billion
September 9, 1900 Galveston Hurricane of 1900
$40 billion
September 21, 1938 The Great New England Hurricane
$38 billion
September 9, 1965 Hurricane Betsy
$36 billion
September 10, 1960 Hurricane Donna
$31 billion
September 5, 1950 Hurricane Easy
$21 billion
