Midwest Floods and Tornadoes Tally Billions in Damage
The Mississippi and Missouri rivers are slowly receding, and now Midwest communities must begin the cleanup process and add up the damage costs. AccuWeather estimates $12.5 billion in damages and losses from flooding across the Midwest this spring, which would make it one of the costliest flood events in the region in more than a decade. However, many state and local officials say they have barely begun tallying the costs. All but two of the 15 states through which the Missouri and Mississippi rivers flow have received federal disaster declarations for storms and multiple rounds of flooding this spring. The first half of 2019 is on track to be the wettest on record as a result of all the rain and snowmelt, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The agency said flooding in the Midwest in March has made its list of billion-dollar disasters, though an exact price tag has yet to be determined. Flooding in the Midwest in 2008 cost $12 billion, according to NOAA, while flooding on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in 2011 cost a combined $5.7 billion