What is Drought?
Understanding
ENSO and Forecasting Drought
Economic
Impacts of the 1982–83 El Niño
| Location | Anomaly | Major Social Impacts | Costs |
| U.S. Mountain and Pacific States | storms | 45 dead | $1.1 billion |
| U.S. Gulf states | flooding | 50 dead | $1.1 billion |
| Hawaii | hurricane | 1 dead | $230 million |
| Northeastern U.S. | storms | 66 dead | n/a |
| Cuba | flooding | 15 dead | $170 million |
| Mexico & Central America | drought | n/a | $600 million |
| Ecuador & Northern Peru | flooding | 600 dead | $650 million |
| Southern Peru & Western Bolivia | Drought | n/a | $240 million |
| Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina & Eastern Paraguay | flooding | 170 dead, 600,000 evacuated | $3 billion |
| Bolivia | flooding | 50 dead, 26,00 homeless | $300 million |
| Tahiti | hurricane | 1 dead | $50 million |
| Australia | drought, fires | 71 dead, 8,000 homeless | $2.5 billion |
| Indonesia | drought | 340 dead | $500 million |
| Philippines | drought | n/a | $450 million |
| Southern China | wet weather | 600 dead | $600 million |
| Southern India, Sri Lanka | drought | n/a | $150 million |
| Middle East, chiefly Lebanon | cold, snow | 65 dead | $50 million |
| Southern Africa | drought | disease, starvation | $1 billion |
| Iberian Peninsula, Northern Africa | drought | n/a | $200 million |
| Western Europe | flooding | 25 dead | $200 million |
From The New York Times, August 2, 1983
© 2006 National Drought Mitigation Center