Global earthquake activity and U.S. disaster declarations over the past two decades — plus climate and space-weather records reaching back a century or more. The point is context: is right now unusually active, or an ordinary month? Drag the slider to zoom to an era, and hover any chart to read the exact count at that month.
Earthquakes and U.S. disasters, month by month.
The point is context: is right now unusually active, or an ordinary month?
A rising disaster count is not the same as rising hazard. Far more built value sits in harm’s way than in 1980, so exposure explains part of the trend and the data cannot separate the two for you. The cost by hazard type breakdown is more useful than the headline: tropical cyclones dominate the dollars, severe storms dominate the frequency, and drought is the one that reaches food prices.
Sunspots matter for preparedness because solar maximum is when to expect geomagnetic storms, HF radio blackouts and aurora. The flat stretch around 1800–1830 is the Dalton Minimum.
Big earthquake spikes are usually an aftershock sequence, not a global increase. This is a context chart, not a predictor — quakes and disasters can’t be forecast from a trend line.
