The 2024 hurricane season has ended after 18 named storms, including 11 hurricanes, but not without major destruction.
Countless deaths occurred due to these hurricanes in the “U.S., Central America, and the Caribbean” (NPR).
The season began with tropical storm Alberto hitting the western Gulf of Mexico on June 19. Following that was Hurricane Beryl, which started as a tropical storm and quickly turned into a Category 4, “then grew to a Category 5. It was the earliest Category 5 on record, the most rapid 24-hour intensification before July 1 on record, and the strongest hurricane before August on record” (UPI).
Hurricane Ernesto in Puerto Rico, Hurricane Francine in Southern Louisiana, and Tropical Storm Gordon in the Atlantic all took place between mid-August and Late September.
The hurricanes hit the U.S. hard with more than 150 deaths caused by the deadly storms, including, “Hurricane Helene, which tore through Florida and Georgia and brought severe flooding and destruction to North Carolina and in eastern Tennessee” (NPR). Hurricane Helene left a major stamp on the southeast, with the storm being labeled a category 4 storm with winds up to 140 miles per hour and up to 30 inches of rain. “Helene’s impact and number of fatalities were the greatest seen in the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina almost two decades ago” (NPR).
The Caribbean and Central America were hit with Tropical Storm Isaac, Joyce, and Hurrican Kirk all during September. When Hurricane Milton and Leslie hit, it marked, “the first time there were three simultaneous storms in the Atlantic basin after September” (UPI).
Hurricane Milton was the second category 5 hurricane which became the first in 5 years that multiple category 5 hurricanes hit in one season.
Tropical Storm Nadine on the coast of Belize, Hurricane Oscar in the Bahamas, Tropical Storm Patty in the northeast of the Azores, and Hurricane Rafael in the southwest of the Caribbean were some of the more recent storms to hit.
This Storm season marks one of the deadliest and most costly ones, with the following death rates:
Nearly 40% of the 241 deaths were reported in North Carolina and only 15% in Florida, where Helene made landfall.
Deaths have been reported by state and local officials, the National Weather Service and the hurricane center.
Beryl – More than 40 deaths after landfall in Matagorda County, Texas on July 8.
Debby – 9 deaths in Florida and South Carolina, after its August 5 landfall in Taylor County, Florida
Francine – No deaths were reported after its Sept. 11 landfall southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana.
Helene – At least 241 deaths in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia after the Sept. 26 landfall in Taylor County, Florida.
Milton – 44 deaths across Florida after landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9. (USA Today)
It is said that damages have caused nearly $500 billion in economic loss making this “one of the most costly [season] on record according to AccuWeather” (The Independent).
