Storm Surge/Tide in the United States

How dangerous are Storm Surge/Tide events in the U.S.?

The loss ranking is the stronger warning against reading frequency alone. Storm Surge/Tide is #35 of 54 by event count but rises to #8 for combined property and crop damage. Its losses make up 2.6% of the catalog total, while its fatalities rank #30 and represent 0.2% of recorded deaths. Fewer events can still produce an outsized financial record.

Annual totals swing noticeably from year to year. The peak year on record was 2020, logging 133 events and $184.6M in property damage in a single calendar year. The most recent year in the dataset is 2025 with 4 events recorded. Across the full 11-year window, annual event counts reflect seasonal climate cycles and, for some years, longer climate-driven shifts in frequency.

Per event, this hazard is far more dangerous than its frequency suggests. It ranks #35 by how often it is recorded among the 44 hazard types with at least 100 events, but #12 by fatalities per event, at 46.7 deaths per 1,000 recorded events. Recorded damage averages $14.3M per event. A reader scanning total counts would underestimate the risk of encountering one.

Geographic exposure skews toward a small cluster of frequently-hit states. The three states absorbing the largest share of events are Florida (148 events, 18 fatalities), Louisiana (128 events, 1 fatalities), Texas (85 events, 0 fatalities), a mix of underlying hazard climatology and how many people live in the exposed corridor. At the other end, states such as Guam, American Samoa, Hawaii report far fewer events, a meaningfully lower-frequency pattern there, though local vigilance still matters.

The NOAA file shows a substantial human toll without entering PlainHazard's highest band: 23 fatalities and 1 injury across 492 events. The high band covers hazard types with 20-99 cumulative fatalities in this 2015-2025 record. It compares catalog totals only; exposure and consequences vary widely from one event and location to another.

NOAA entries are reports filed by local National Weather Service offices. Counts therefore reflect both observed weather and reporting practice; they do not measure unreported events, household exposure, or the probability of a future event at one address.