Singular or Plural?

Some collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on the context. Here’s an example:

But only about 10 percent of the deaths and casualties in a hurricane are caused by wind itself. The vast majority of damage and casualties are caused by flooding and storm surge flooding, river flooding, excessive precipitation, as well as the wind pushing those waters on shore.

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13042024/meteorologists-predict-2024-hurricane-season/

“10 percent” is a plural, so no problem with “are caused” in that sentence. But look at the next one. The subject is “majority,” a singular collective noun. (“of damage and casualties” is the object of a preposition, so it doesn’t count.) Therefore, the verb should be singular, “is caused.”

This tendency to set singular or plural based on what’s closest regardless of its connection is called attraction. It’s legal in Latin, but not in English.

Here’s a picture that appeared with the article: