The three states that will likely be the hardest hit financially this year by natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding are Texas, Louisiana and Florida, according to a new analysis from ValuePenguin.com.
The financial services website reports that the fiscal impact of natural disasters in Texas amounted to an annual average of $1,478 per household since 2014. And over that time period, the number of disasters declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency averaged 3.2 per year, the study found.
For Louisiana, the annual cost per household for natural disasters was $1,078 from 2014 to 2018, ValuePenguin.com reported. And the average number of FEMA disasters over the same period was 1.6 annually.
The cost per household annually in Florida was $451 with the average number of FEMA disasters in that same year reported at 2.4.
Nationally, 10 states pay more than 80 percent of the nation’s cost of natural disasters, with much of that damage concentrated along the Gulf of Mexico, according to the analysis. Hurricanes and flooding were identified as the primary causes of damage, but wildfires have become more common over the past five years, the report said.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the year 2020 is shaping up to be a record year for natural disasters, according to ValuePenguin.com
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States Facing Greatest Risk of Natural Disasters
| Cost Rank | State | Average Number of FEMA Disasters (2014–2018) | Cost per Household Annually |
| 1 | Texas | 3.2 | $1,476 |
| 2 | Louisiana | 1.6 | $1,078 |
| 3 | Florida | 2.4 | $451 |
| 4 | California | 16.4 | $319 |
| 5 | Colorado | 1.4 | $220 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 1.6 | $153 |
| 7 | Michigan | 0.8 | $150 |
| 8 | New Mexico | 1.4 | $119 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 1.6 | $115 |
| 10 | Georgia | 2.8 | $112 |
| 11 | North Dakota | 0.4 | $96 |
| 12 | Iowa | 1.8 | $90 |
| 13 | Idaho | 2.4 | $75 |
| 14 | Mississippi | 1.6 | $64 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 1.2 | $62 |
| 16 | West Virginia | 2 | $59 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 2.2 | $45 |
| 18 | Washington | 9.2 | $42 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 4 | $39 |
| 20 | Kansas | 3 | $32 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 1 | $31 |
| 22 | Alaska | 2 | $29 |
| 23 | Vermont | 1.4 | $26 |
| 24 | Nevada | 2.2 | $25 |
| 25 | Wyoming | 1.6 | $25 |
| 26 | South Dakota | 1 | $24 |
| 27 | Illinois | 0 | $23 |
| 28 | Missouri | 1 | $22 |
| 29 | Utah | 1.6 | $22 |
| 30 | Oregon | 5.4 | $17 |
| 31 | Tennessee | 1.8 | $16 |
| 32 | Virginia | 1 | $15 |
| 33 | Hawaii | 1.6 | $13 |
| 34 | Minnesota | 0.6 | $12 |
| 35 | Kentucky | 2 | $12 |
| 36 | Montana | 3 | $11 |
| 37 | Alabama | 1.6 | $10 |
| 38 | Ohio | 0.2 | $10 |
| 39 | Arizona | 2 | $10 |
| 40 | Indiana | 0.4 | $10 |
| 41 | Maryland | 1 | $10 |
| 42 | New Hampshire | 1.4 | $9 |
| 43 | Pennsylvania | 0.8 | $7 |
| 44 | New York | 1 | $6 |
| 45 | New Jersey | 0.6 | $6 |
| 46 | Maine | 0.6 | $5 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 0.6 | $3 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 0.6 | $2 |
| 49 | Rhode Island | 0.2 | $1 |
| 50 | Delaware | 0.2 | $1 |
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