NOAA Storm Data Analysis

Synopsis

This report analyzes the NOAA Storm Database to identify weather events most harmful to population health and those with the greatest economic consequences across the United States.

Data Processing

library(dplyr)
library(ggplot2)
storm_data <- read.csv("repdata_data_StormData1.csv", stringsAsFactors=FALSE)
health <- storm_data %>%
  group_by(EVTYPE) %>%
  summarise(total = sum(FATALITIES + INJURIES, na.rm=TRUE)) %>%
  arrange(desc(total)) %>%
  head(10)
economic <- storm_data %>%
  group_by(EVTYPE) %>%
  summarise(total = sum(PROPDMG + CROPDMG, na.rm=TRUE)) %>%
  arrange(desc(total)) %>%
  head(10)

Results

Events Most Harmful to Population Health

ggplot(health, aes(reorder(EVTYPE, total), total)) +
  geom_bar(stat="identity", fill="steelblue") +
  coord_flip() +
  labs(title="Top 10 Events by Health Impact",
       x="Event Type", y="Total Fatalities and Injuries")

Events with Greatest Economic Consequences

ggplot(economic, aes(reorder(EVTYPE, total), total)) +
  geom_bar(stat="identity", fill="darkorange") +
  coord_flip() +
  labs(title="Top 10 Events by Economic Damage",
       x="Event Type", y="Total Property and Crop Damage")