Missouri and Illinois have planned annual statewide tornado drills for Tuesday as part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week.

The past decade broke new records in terms of economic damages and insured losses, according to Aon’s Weather, Climate & Catastrophe Insight: 2019 Annual Report.

In 2019, the U.S. experienced 14 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each and totaling approximately $45 billion.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the average cost of damage from a winter storm is $3 billion, inclusive of business interruptions.  And with no control over Mother Nature, organizations are left to figure out how they can best minimize damage from adverse weather.

Natural disasters caused $306 billion in total damage across the U.S. in 2017 – the largest amount for one year.

Storm surge and rainfall flooding combined for 75 percent of all deaths in the U.S. from hurricanes, tropical storms or tropical depressions from 1963 to 2012.