Disasters and Risk

I'm sharing a couple of older (2-4 weeks old) articles today.  This one looks at the costs of disasters, especially in the U.S.  The U.S. was hit hard in 2012, especially by a widespread drought that affected farmers over much of the central part of the country and Sandy, which set a course for the most populated corridor in the country.  The result?  90% of the world's disaster costs in the world were borne by the U.S.  At the same time, coverage of climate change in the media dropped a bit from 2011.  Sticking one's head in the sand never solved any problems....it's about time that we face the reality that disasters like this are inevitable, and that climate change is only stacking the deck in their favor.

U.S. hit with 90% of the world's disaster costs in 2012 

Shift in Politics of Disaster Aid

Whose responsibility is it to fund the re-building that must happen after a natural disaster?  It either falls on the government or on individuals and charities.  Either way, insurance companies bear some of the burden, but they can't afford to pay for everything, and government pretty much has to step in to some extent...the costs are otherwise too much to bear.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, some politicians are standing up to the status quo.  The way I read the article, Democrats tend to push through massive legislation with massive overspending in response to disasters, and some Republicans are getting tired of this.  Rather than approving the legislation for Sandy relief, they're voting "no" in hopes that they can get a streamlined recovery bill through Congress.  This is my interpretation of the article, anyway.

Give it a read yourself, it's short!

The Politics of Disaster Aid Are Starting to Shift