Teban54 wrote:CrazyC83 wrote:HurricaneRyan wrote:At the moment, Gilbert is the costliest hurricane in Jamaican history at 2.98 billion (1988 USD). Wouldn't take much for Melissa to break that unfortunately
This could be the costliest hurricane on record that did not significantly affect the US. I'm not sure what storm currently has that mark? (Meaning the US did not experience at least tropical storm conditions or major flooding impacts)
I'm basing off Wikipedia so take it with a grain of salt, but:
List of highest monetary damages of Atlantic hurricanes in non-US territories: (Non-normalized USD, excluding Puerto Rico and USVI)
- Irma 2017: $25.07 billion
- Ike 2008: $8 billion
- Matthew 2016: $6.47 billion
- Wilma 2005: $6.34 billion
- Mitch 1998: $6.04 billion
- Eta 2020: $5.59 billion
- Ike 2008: $5.57 billion
- Stan 2005: $3.96 billion
- Karl 2010: $3.9 billion
- Sandy 2012: $3.68 billion
- Dorian 2019: $3.48 billion
- Georges 1998: $3.37 billion
- Gilbert 1988: $2.98 billion
- Luis 1995: $2.81 billion (plus any Virgin Islands damage in US territories)
- Michelle 2001: $2.35 billion
- Gustav 2008: $2.31 billion
- Debby 2024: $2 billion
- Marilyn 1995: $2 billion
- Beryl 2024: $1.85 billion
- Joan 1988: $1.85 billion
- Fifi 1974: $1.8 billion
- Dean 2007: <$1.66 billion
- Maria 2017: $1.61 billion
- Alex 2010: $1.52 billion
- Hugo 1989: $1.51 billion
- Roxanne 1995: $1.5 billion
- Ingrid 2013: $1.5 billion
- Dennis 2004: $1.48 billion
- Iota 2020: $1.4 billion
- Rafael 2024: $1.35 billion
- David 1979: $1.22 billion
- Fiona 2022: $1.09 billion
This list simply removes all monetary damage in the US and its territories from overall costs. To meet your stricter criterion that the storm must not have impacted the US at all (not even as a TS like Mitch), the costliest is Stan 2005 at almost $4 billion. Melissa will almost certainly surpass that.
Whether Melissa could replace Irma's $25 billion as incurring the greatest cost outside the US remains a question.
I never even thought about that one! I know for the whole hemisphere, Otis is by far the costliest to not affect the US.




