Hurricane Season Ends After Catastrophic Events

Hurricane season officially ends on Thursday but it has left its mark with several catastrophic events.

According to KFDA-TV, 2017 has been logged as one of the worst seasons in years, with devastating hurricanes tearing across the Atlantic and setting records in their wake.

The news outlet noted a total of 17 named storms and 10 hurricanes occurring this year, eight of which were massive hurricanes and at least half of these making landfall in the U.S. or Puerto Rico.

Hurricanes Irma and Harvey made history as the first two Category 4 hurricanes to hit land in the continental U.S. during the same year, and September has been flagged as the most active and expensive month on record for Atlantic hurricanes, with five hurricanes and $202.6 billion in damages reported, KFDA-TV said.

Many are still suffering in the wake of the hurricanes that caused widespread devastation, with Puerto Rico, which was hit by Irma in mid-September, struggling the most, CNN noted.

The official death toll stands at 58 but, according to a CNN investigation, there have been 499 deaths recorded by funeral homes that may be linked to the storm.

It has been 85 years since Puerto Rico was hit by a storm as powerful as the Category 4 hurricane, which caused what is considered the largest blackout.

Now, weeks later, only about 61 percent of the power has been restored and residents are still trying to pick up the pieces.

Hurricane Ophelia also made the record books with its unusual path that saw the storm track farther east than any major hurricane to date in the Atlantic, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Harvey brought about record rainfall after unleashing about 27 trillion gallons of rain over Texas and Louisiana during six days, CNN added.

According to USA Today, meteorologist Steve Bowen said, "2017 will long be remembered as one of the costliest and most devastating hurricane seasons ever experienced in this country."

He said he hoped that "the season will provide many learned lessons to improve awareness and risk mitigation for when the next big storm arrives."

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