Disasters Are Costing Too Much

It is slowly beginning to sink in that disasters are getting more frequent, bigger and more costly. Just think about all the flood and tornado disasters that have been grinding their way across the middle of the United States for the past few weeks. I think we have to be up over 200 tornadoes that have touched down. As for flooding, it will be getting worse.

Why do I say that about flooding? The rivers have been running high for weeks and in some cases months. That means the levees are getting weaker with every high-water event and there are bound to be more levee failures and perhaps a dam or two will fail.  

As for the cost of disasters, there was this NPR story from this morning. Over a billion dollars for cleaning up/debris removal for the city of Paradise, Calif. I don't know what the disaster numbers have to be in order for legislators to take note, but with their ability just to keep borrowing money and giving tax breaks at the same time, I don't expect them to reverse course anytime soon. 

Rethinking Disaster Recovery After A California Town Is Leveled By Wildfire

The other impact from all of these disasters is that FEMA staff are surely running ragged, and it is going to get worse. Just these smaller events (compared to a hurricane) suck up lots of resources. Add in another big hurricane this summer/fall, and they won't see their families for months.