Losses from natural disasters: County-level data on damages, injuries, and fatalities

Abstract

We introduce the first comprehensive publicly available dataset on county-level damages, injuries, and fatalities from natural disasters in the U.S. and present a few facts on the economic and human costs of extreme climate events. Our source is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Events Database, which reports losses for geographic areas largely defined based on meteorological science. We map these areas to counties using geographic tools together with the spatial distribution of population, housing stock, and economic activity. Our estimates are particularly accurate for severe disasters. The Losses from Natural Disasters dataset is regularly updated at https://newyorkfed.org/research/policy/natural-disaster-losses