2008 Atlantic hurricane season second costliest on record
mongabay.com
December 1, 2008
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Yesterday marked the end of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, which goes down as the second costliest (in nominal terms) on record at $54 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The damages trail only 2005 — the year that Hurricane Katrina and other storms caused $128 billion in damages.
2008 featured eight hurricanes — five of which were Category 3 or greater. Hurricane Hanna was the deadliest storm of the season, killing 537 people, mostly in Haiti, while Hurricane Ike was the most destructive and strongest of the season. Ike weakened significantly before making landfall near Galveston, Texas, averting much higher damages.
Hurricane Gustav caused up to $20 billion in damage to Haiti, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and the U.S.