Roger Pielke, Jr.'s Highly Recommended Perspective
Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr. has a wonderful piece in today's Wall Street Journal that explains that hurricanes like Sandy are not the "new normal" and that we are in a hurricane "drought." He also explains why hurricanes have become so costly.
So how can today's disasters, even if less physically powerful than previous ones, have such staggering financial costs? One reason: There are more people and more wealth in harm's way. Partly this is due to local land-use policies, partly to incentives such as government-subsidized insurance, but mostly to the simple fact that people like being on the coast and near rivers.
Please read his entire article at the link above.
So how can today's disasters, even if less physically powerful than previous ones, have such staggering financial costs? One reason: There are more people and more wealth in harm's way. Partly this is due to local land-use policies, partly to incentives such as government-subsidized insurance, but mostly to the simple fact that people like being on the coast and near rivers.
Please read his entire article at the link above.
Yes, good stuff. Also from the article:
ReplyDelete'While it's hardly mentioned in the media, the U.S. is currently in an extended and intense hurricane "drought." The last Category 3 or stronger storm to make landfall was Wilma in 2005. The more than seven years since then is the longest such span in over a century.'
Who would have thought...