NOAA Mandated to Create New Public Database Tracking All Billion-Dollar Disasters Since 1980

The Measuring the Cost of Disasters Act of 2025 is surprisingly straightforward: it’s all about making sure the public can easily find out just how much massive natural disasters are costing the country. Essentially, this bill tells the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to build a shiny, new, public-facing data hub for every “billion-dollar disaster” that hits the U.S. annually (Sec. 2).

This isn't just a basic list. The new database, which must be updated at least every six months, has to include the disaster’s estimated cost, its type (like a wildfire or hurricane), where and when it happened, and, importantly, visual maps and graphs showing how these disasters have trended over time. For transparency, the bill defines a “billion-dollar disaster” as any storm or weather event where combined direct and market costs exceed $1,000,000,000, as calculated by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

The New Disaster Scoreboard

For anyone involved in insurance, real estate, or even just budgeting for a home in a high-risk area, this centralized data is a big deal. Right now, this information exists, but the bill mandates a dedicated, easily accessible webpage and database that pulls it all together. Think of it as a central scoreboard for the nation’s most expensive natural catastrophes. By requiring the data to include historical visuals similar to NCEI’s past work, the bill ensures that researchers and city planners can quickly see, for example, how the frequency of billion-dollar floods in the Midwest has changed over the last few decades.

Why Data Transparency Matters to Your Wallet

When a disaster hits that billion-dollar mark, it affects everyone, not just those directly impacted. These costs drive up insurance premiums, influence federal aid decisions, and shape local infrastructure investments. By centralizing the data, the bill makes it easier for you to track the real, long-term costs of climate events. If you’re a small business owner considering opening a location in a coastal town, this database offers clear, standardized risk assessment data straight from the source. It also allows local governments to better justify requests for mitigation funding when they can point to a transparent, federally mandated database showing their specific, rising risk profile.

The Catch: Double the Workload

While the bill is great for data transparency, it does create a bit of a logistical challenge for NOAA staff. The bill requires the Administrator to not only create and maintain this brand-new database but also to continue updating the information from the old disaster database (the one running from 1980 to 2024) for research and archiving purposes (Sec. 2). Essentially, they’ll be running two systems simultaneously. This means more administrative and data maintenance workload for the NCEI team, who will be tasked with ensuring both the new, public-facing hub and the older archive remain accurate and accessible. While the bill allows NOAA to partner with other agencies to get this done, the core responsibility—and the potential strain—falls squarely on their shoulders.