The average storm hitting the U.S. contributes to the early deaths of 7,000 to 11,000 people over a 15-year period, which dwarfs the average of 24 immediate and direct deaths that the government

It was just a month ago that Brooke Hiers left the state-issued emergency trailer where her family had lived after Hurricane Idalia slammed into her home on Florida's Gulf Coast in August of 2023.

A new development on Florida’s coast was designed to be as hurricane-proof as possible. So far, it’s working. Last Thursday, when Hurricane Helene hit the small town of Cortez, Florida—about four hours south of the eye of the storm—a storm surge filled the streets with waist-deep water near a new development.

Before and after satellite images show Hurricane Helene's destruction across Florida's coastline when it made landfall on Thursday as a Category 4 storm.

Hurricanes in the United States end up hundreds of times deadlier than the government calculates, contributing to more American deaths than car accidents or all the nation's wars.

By the numbers: Whereas NOAA reported that the 501 storms studied caused an average of 24 direct deaths, the paper estimates that the average tropical storm or hurricane "indirectly accelerated the death" of about 7,170 to 11,430 people.

Hurricanes are devastating when they make landfall, but their aftermaths are likely drastically underestimated.