As Hurricane Harvey moves away from the Gulf Coast, the storm leaves behind a massive amount of devastation in its wake.
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Hurricane Harvey is the 10th natural disaster in 2017 to cause more than $1 billion in damage
Hurricane Harvey is a historically devastating storm, but there have already been nine other catastrophic events in 2017 so far.
Flooding and storm damage in Texas and Louisiana is expected to cost as much as $100 billion to clean up and repair the damage.
While Harvey is on pace to be one of the most costly disasters in US history, it isn't the only devastating natural disaster to hit the US this year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information, Harvey is the 10th weather even to cause over $1 billion in economic damage this year.
According to NOAA, these statistics take into account all forms of spending to recover from damage.
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Hurricanes are the most frequent $1 billion disasters and are also the costliest on average between 1980 and 2017.
The number of events is also noteworthy because the average since 1980, even adjusting for inflation, is just five and a half $1 billion events a year. In the last five years the average is 10.6, meaning one more event would put 2017 above average.
According to NOAA, the trend indicates a recent increase in $1 billion disasters.
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Congress is expected to allocate the first relief package, reportedly just over $5 billion, as soon as it returns from recess on Tuesday.
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