From the Conversation: Government-funded buyouts after disasters are slow and inequitable – here’s how that could change
Assessment of Government-Funded Buyouts
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The Risk and Cost of H. Michael to the Military
Hurricane Michael showed how woefully unprepared the military is for extreme weather, The military says climate change is a “threat multiplier.”
New Push for Mitigation and Resilience – several perspectives
From BloombergNews: Devastating Storms May Spur Action on Disaster Preparation
- Tougher building codes, buyouts could reduce harm next time
- Scolding from FEMA head brings resilience debate into the open”Hurricane Michael’s devastation could spur policymakers to better prepare vulnerable communities for the effects of climate change.”
From the Insurance Journal: Latest Storms May Finally Shift Focus to Disaster Mitigation by Local Communities
Why is Florida risking future hurricane misery?
Hurricane Michael Reminds Us It’s Past Time to Get Smarter About Where We Build. Since 1970, the state has added nearly 15 million residents, most of them flowing into storm-prone counties that border the Gulf or the Atlantic.
After Hurricane Michael, Floridians must demand stronger building codes — everywhere
Why was there so much damage from Hurricane Michael? The easy answer: Michael was a spectacularly strong hurricane. Near the top of the scale.
The rest of the answer is, however, that important people decided that homes and businesses and Air Force bases housing billions of dollars in airplanes should be built to a lower standard than Mother Nature’s reality dictated. They bet that a superstrong storm wasn’t going to come along. They lost the bet.
“Insurers See Smoldering Risk After Huge Blaze”
Insurers see smoldering risk after huge blaze.One quote: While insurance rates are going up, homeowners aren’t necessarily heeding the message that risks are on the rise.
Thanks to Dave Calkin for this citation.
Costs of Last 20 Years of Disasters
Article about new UN report: United Nations Report Says 1.3 Million Killed by Natural Disasters in Last 20 Years as Costs of Climate Disasters Rise Dramatically.
Here is the URL for a direct connection to the 33-page UN report titled Economic Losses, Poverty, and Disasters, 1998 – 2017.
There are some startling statistics in this article.
Disaster Costs and Funding Mechanisms
Environmental Impacts of H. Michael
In addition to the impact on humans and structures, here is a run down of the likely environmental impacts. From USAToday: Hurricane Michael’s fury will have longstanding environmental impacts.
H. Michael – basic facts and stats
From the WSJ: ‘You Just Realize It’s All Gone’: Hurricane Michael’s Heavy Toll. One of the most powerful storms to ever strike the U.S. erased entire neighborhoods and leveled communities; ‘it looks apocalyptic.’
Article has interesting chart that ranks hurricanes in strength and costs.
Examining the FL Building Code
From the Miami Herald: Florida’s building code is tough, but Michael was tougher. Is it time for a rewrite?
The devastation wrought by Hurricane Michael may have exposed a weak spot in Florida’s lauded statewide building code, among the strongest anywhere when it comes to windstorms: Across much of the Panhandle, the rules may not be tough enough.
That’s because the code’s requirements for wind resistance vary widely by location. And while they’re most rigorous in famously hurricane-prone South Florida, they taper down the farther north you move along the peninsula. In most of the Panhandle, the code requirements are significantly less stringent.
The 4 Ds: denial, delay, disaster, drench and repeat
See this Toles cartoon from the Wash Post:
