Atlantic hurricane season ends with potentially record-breaking loss

HOUSTON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The half-year long Atlantic hurricane season in 2017 officially ends on Thursday, potentially breaking the storm-related financial loss in the U.S. history.

The storm-related financial loss for 2017 has been estimated at more than 206 billion U.S. dollars, and accounts for more than half of the estimated 370 billion dollars worldwide, local media reported.

If this estimate holds true after the U.S. Federal Government's tally, this will be the costliest hurricane season in history.

The 2017 season produced 17 named storms and the greatest-ever accumulated cyclone energy, the ninth most in recorded history. That's five more than the average year.

Of all the storms, ten of them became hurricanes and six intensified to the status of Category 3 or higher, a so-called major hurricane.

Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria helped make this the worst year in recorded history for overall tropical storm damage. The intensity and the path of them made this year's hurricane season so devastating.

Thursday was the deadline to apply for assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which so far has paid out more than 2 billion dollars in disaster assistance. The National Flood Insurance Program has paid out more than 6.3 billion dollars.

The U.S. Congress is discussing supplemental allocations for long-term recovery. Enditem