A new report has revealed the most disaster-prone counties in the US and exposed communities in California and Florida as some of the most dangerous.
The results may come as little surprise to some, given the increased likelihood of natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires hitting coastal states.
Coincidentally, these phenomena, recently represented by raging Hurricane Ian and a series of summer fires, are the two most common culprits among the counties considered most threatening to residents.
A total of 25 counties were analyzed, 19 of which were split between the states of Golden and Sunshine.
The second riskiest state by number of counties represented was Louisiana – another place notorious for extreme weather events – with three of its southernmost counties, including New Orleans, making the top ten.
A new report has revealed the most disaster-prone counties in the US and exposed communities in California and Florida as some of the most dangerous
The worst offender was Los Angeles County, a region historically ravaged by wildfires. Pictured are firefighters battling a blaze in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in 2019 – a blaze responsible for one of the county’s 22 disasters in the past decade
But the worst offender, according to Forbes Advisor, was Los Angeles County, which had the highest number of Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster reports in the past decade when the results were tabulated.
The county, which is home to well-heeled cities like LA and Long Beach, has been responsible for 22 weather- and climate-related disasters since 2013, according to data released Monday.
For reference, the entire nation recorded $341 billion in severe weather and climate-related disasters over the past 43 years, with approximately $2.48 trillion in damage.
However, the county’s dodgy reputation did little to deter the approximately 9,861,224 residents estimated to have lived in the area last year — a population larger than that of 40 individual U.S. states combined.
For decades, the region has faced a spate of wildfires every summer — a phenomenon exacerbated this year by a blistering heatwave that prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
The region is also affected by earthquakes – yet another natural disaster that residents need to be on their guard against.
In second place was East Baton Rouge Parish and Orleans Parish in Louisiana, both in second place — and both are two of three counties in Bayou State’s top 25.
For decades, the region has faced a spate of wildfires every summer — a phenomenon exacerbated this year by a blistering heatwave that prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency. Here’s a Santa Ana firefighter fighting another wildfire in LA in 2020
In second place was East Baton Rouge Parish and Orleans Parish in Louisiana, both in second place – and both two of three counties in Bayou State, which is one of the most prone to the most common natural disaster, hurricanes
The three regions of Louisiana lie on the south side of the state on the Atlantic Ocean and are therefore bombarded by hurricanes annually
Coincidentally, Jefferson Parish, the third and final Louisiana county to grace the list, snagged the next top spot – tied with LA’s neighbor Riverside County in fourth place.
In addition, the three regions of Louisiana on the south side of the state are on the Atlantic Ocean and are therefore bombarded by hurricanes almost annually.
Cities in these counties include New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Jefferson, all of which are in zones prone to seasonal hurricanes.
At sixth place with another California county — NorCal’s Sonoma — was the only region that originated in arid Nevada, which while not on the coast is at extreme risk of wildfires.
Located on the state’s shared border with Northern California — whose redwood trees regularly serve as fuel for blaze spread — Washoe County is home to cities like Reno and Sparks and has seen 14 disasters in the past decade.
Sonoma, on the other hand, located 30 miles north of San Francisco, is across that line about 300 miles southwest in one of those heavily forested areas that are known to be at risk from wildfires.
LA’s northern neighbor, Ventura County, also made the list due to an abundance of wildfires. A man stares at the 2013 Springs fire from his home in Camarillo
Charleston, one of two South Carolina counties to make the list, rounded out the top ten, followed by another tie between LA’s northern neighbor Ventura County and Florida’s Duval – a region recently hit by flooding was overwhelmed by Hurricane Ian.
Several other Ian victims – all located on Florida’s East or Gulf Coast – also surfaced, as did Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
These three came as part of a 13-way connection between ten other Florida counties such as Hillsborough, Pinellas, Brevard, Seminole. All have experienced eleven disasters in the last ten years.