The names of four deadly hurricanes that slammed parts of the United States, Central America and the Caribbean last year are being retired.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that hurricane names Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate will be replaced with Harold, Idalia, Margot and Nigel. The new names will make their debut during the 2023 hurricane season.
WMO Hurricane Committee has retired Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate from the list of rotating names because of the death and destruction they caused during the 2017 Atlantic season pic.twitter.com/MIbLJgSZuV
— WMO | OMM (@WMO) April 12, 2018
Eighty-six names have been retired from the Atlantic basin list since 1954. The names are retired if the storms were so severe that their future use would be insensitive.
Hurricane Harvey hit Texas on August 25. The flooding from the storm in the Houston metropolitan area caused $125 billion in damage and killed at least 68 people.
Hurricane Irma caused 44 deaths and 85 indirect deaths in the Caribbean and Florida in September. It became the first Category 5 hurricane on record to strike the Leeward Islands. Irma caused an estimate $64 billion in damage.
Hurricane Maria is caused the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica and Puerto Rico. The storm killed 31 in Dominica and 65 in Puerto Rico. It did $91 billion in damage and knocked out power for tens of thousands for months.
Hurricane Nate caused widespread destruction in Central America in October. The storm's torrential rains caused floods and mudslides that killed 45. Nate caused $787 million in damage.
