The rising toll of climate change across the United States has been measured. Which parts of the country have suffered the most federal declared disasters?
Disasters of that severity overwhelm the ability of state and local officials to respond. Disasters like these have become more and more common, according to the report.
More than 700 counties suffered five or more disasters in the last year, according to the report, and 90 percent of U.S. counties have experienced a flood, Hurricane, wildfire or other calamity in the last year. 29 states had at least one federal disaster declared within their borders during that time. There have been 20 disasters in five states.
Disaster declarations related to the coronaviruses epidemic are excluded.
The managing director of Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit that helps communities recover from disasters, said that climate change is here. Climate change is paid for by every taxpayer.
Climate change is hitting different parts of the country in different ways. Extreme weather events are more likely to occur in wealthy and populous cities. The report can be compared to a true accounting of which places are most exposed to climate shocks by focusing on federal disasters.
Five counties have experienced more than a disaster in the last year. There are two areas in which those counties are concentrated.
Louisiana is ahead of the rest of the US. According to the report, the state has received more federal disaster money per capita than any other state. New York State is the only state that can be reached.
Climate shocks are not limited to the Gulf Coast and Appalachia. $2.5 billion in federal money was spent on public infrastructure in California after 25 federal disaster declarations over the last six years. The states of Mississippi and Oklahoma have had many disasters. Most of Iowa's 21 have been for severe storms.
Some counties have had a lot of disasters. In the last four years, eight federal disaster declarations have been made in the state of Connecticut. Grafton County has had seven. West of Manhattan, Morris County, N.J., has had nine.
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The areas least exposed to climate shocks have been shown. States in the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, have an average of one disaster per two years.
The authors of the report say that even though a state has had fewer federal disaster declarations, it doesn't mean it hasn't been damaged.
Nevada has only had three federal disaster declarations in the last four years. The state of Arizona has had six. The report states that Nevada and Arizona had the highest number of heat-related deaths.
Ms. Chester stated that heat has the highest mortality of all climate impacts. Property damage is more important than human consequences when it comes to federal disaster declarations.
One way to gauge the effects of climate change is by the prevalence of federal disasters.
Victoria Salinas is the acting deputy administrator for resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She said, "We can more effectively take action together to accelerate resilience and adaptation in our nation's most at-risk and disadvantaged communities"
A surcharge on insurance premiums is proposed by Rebuild by Design.
The proposal was rejected by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association because it could make insurance less affordable. Adding a surcharge to insurance policies is not the right way to go.
It is already used to pay for disasters by using an insurance surtax. In the wake of Hurricane Ian, Florida will likely impose surcharges on private insurance policies to make up for shortfalls in its state-run insurance program.
It is suggested by Rebuild by Design to reverse the chronological sequence. Rather than taxing insurance payments, a state would come up with additional funds before a storm, then use that money to better prepare communities before a disaster strikes.
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