Recent Publications

Flood Damage in the United States, 1926-2000:
A Reanalysis of National Weather Service Estimates

Pielke, R.A., Jr., Mary W. Downton, and J. Zoe Barnard Miller, 2002: Flood Damage in the United States, 1926-2000: A Reanalysis of National Weather Service Estimates. Boulder, CO: UCAR.

Flood damage continues to increase in the United States, despite extensive flood management efforts. To address the problem of increasing damage, accurate data are needed on costs and vulnerability associated with flooding. Unfortunately, the available records of historical flood damage do not provide the detailed information needed for policy evaluation, scientific analysis, and disaster mitigation planning. To address this problem the authors reanalyzed flood damage estimates collected by the National Weather Service (NWS) between 1926 and 2000. Their report, as well as the reanalyzed estimates, are available online.