Time Characteristics

How much warning time do we have that an event will occur?
Drought: up to a year, but often no warning at all (see "Can We Predict When Drought Will Occur?")
Flood: from seconds to months
Hurricane: 36 hours to months

How long do the events last?
Drought: months, years, or decades
Flood: from hours to weeks
Hurricane: from minutes to weeks

How often do the events occur?
Drought: each year, some part of the United States has severe or extreme drought
Flood: a stream typically overflows 2 out of 3 years
Hurricane: the United States averages 1.6 hurricanes every year

Fatalities

How many fatalities does this disaster usually cause every year?
Drought: drought is rarely a direct cause of death in the United States, although heat waves, dust problems, and stress associated with drought events may contribute to some deaths
Flood: an average of 94
Hurricane: an average of 162

Which specific events had the highest number of fatalities?
Drought: unknown
Flood: the 1993 Mississippi Valley floods resulted in 48 deaths; flash floods in Puerto Rico in 1985 resulted in 180 deaths
Hurricane: more than 6,000 people died in the Galveston hurricane in September 1900

Costs and Losses

What are the average annual costs of this disaster?
Drought: $6–8 billion
Flood: $2.41 billion
Hurricane: $1.2–4.8 billion

Which specific events had the highest costs?
Drought: the 1988–89 drought cost an estimated $39–40 billion
Flood: floods in 1993 cost an estimated $15–27.6 billion
Hurricane: Hurricane Andrew (1993) cost $25–33.1 billion