NCDC/NOAA - Irene 10th $1 Billion+ Weather Disaster Of 2011; New 1-Year Record For # of Events

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Estimates are periodically updated as more data/information become available. Sources include the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Department of Agriculture, other U.S. government agencies, individual state emergency management agencies, state and regional climate centers, media reports, and insurance industry estimates. NOTE: In some cases, the "special reports" provided via html links below include preliminary damage and fatality statistics, which are now updated in the chronological listing below with our final figures. Therefore, we will always attempt to have our final compilation of damages and fatalities in the billion dollar weather disasters report.
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---- 2011 (preliminary) ----

Economic damage costs to date in the US exceed $35 Billion. This damage amount does not yet take into account the losses from Hurricane Irene. Here is a preliminary summary of 10 U.S. Billion dollar disasters that have occurred so far in 2011:

Hurricane Irene, August 20-29, 2011 While it will take several months to determine an accurate estimate of the damage from Hurricane Irene, there is no question it will rank as the 10th billion-dollar weather event of the year. This 10th U.S. billion-dollar disaster officially breaks the annual record dating back to 1980.

Upper Midwest Flooding, Summer, 2011 Melting of an above-average snow pack across the Northern Rocky Mountains combined with above-average precipitation caused the Missouri and Souris Rivers to swell beyond their banks across the Upper Midwest (MT, ND, SD, NE, IA, KS, MO). An estimated 11,000 people were forced to evacuate Minot, North Dakota due to the record high water level of the Souris River, where 4,000 homes were flooded. Numerous levees were breached along the Missouri River, flooding thousands of acres of farmland. Estimated losses exceed $2.0 billion as the event continues to unfold (as of 8/15). The flooding also stretched into the Canadian Prairies, where property and agriculture losses were expected to surpass $1.0 billion, at least 5 deaths.

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http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/billionz.html#chron