Southern U.S. Drought: $5 Billion

The Southern U.S. is in the midst of an historic drought centered on Texas. Coupled with a record-setting heat wave, the ongoing weather disaster has ruined a majority of crops and cost $1 million a day in wildfire-fighting costs. The disaster's cost is $5 billion and climbing. The government counts these twin disasters, drought and wildfire, separately, and the cost of each exceeded $1 billion in 2011.

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