NOAA says 2017 the costliest year ever for natural disasters in the US

It’s official: 2017 was the costliest year on record for natural disasters in the United States, with a price tag of at least $306 billion. I know some of you will simply claim this is just "weather"... but the costs are starting to add up. This is almost half of our annual DOD budget, might want to save some money for a rainy day (pun intended)

www.vox.com...

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks billion-dollar disasters, reported in January that the record total came from 16 separate events with damages exceeding $1 billion. If that seems shocking, consider some of the record-breaking weather events that came our way:

California was drenched in the wettest winter on record, ending years of drought.

Then came California’s most destructive and largest wildfire season ever. The Tubbs Fire in Northern California killed 22 people and damaged more than 5,600 structures.

Hurricane Harvey broke a rainfall record for a single tropical storm with more than 4 feet of rain.

Puerto Rico is still mired in the longest blackout in US history after Hurricane Maria struck three months ago. More than 1,000 are estimated to have died in the storm and its aftermath.

2017 was the third-hottest year on record. San Francisco reported its highest temperature ever, 106 degrees Fahrenheit, while other parts of the countryset records for high-temperature streaks. For states like Arizona and South Carolina, 2017 was the warmest year ever.

14 places across Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas reported record-high water levels during floods in April and May.
Requests for federal disaster aid jumped tenfoldcompared to 2016, with 4.7 million people registering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency"

a reply to: Harpua

I should know better but...

At what point will the NOAA admit, even if weather becomes more stable, with geometrically increasing populations (and increasing attendant infrastructure) costs will naturally rise?

If you have coastal areas where no one but poor fishermen lived 100 years ago but now is chuck full of expensive summer homes, how could the cost of even average weather damage NOT increase?

At what point does someone living smack in the middle of where hurricanes hit regularly stop being a national crisis the rest of the nation needs to bail out?

a reply to: Harpua


How about humans being smart enough to not plant their ass in an area where mother nature most likely will bite em in the ass?


But it's all about paying higher taxes right? That'll fix it?

originally posted by: seeker1963
a reply to: Harpua


How about humans being smart enough to not plant their ass in an area where mother nature most likely will bite em in the ass?


But it's all about paying higher taxes right? That'll fix it?

I didn't say anything about taxes.

And leaving coastal cities across the entire southeast, south and california isn't going to be LESS expensive.

But I like how you blamed people for living in cities people have lived in since we arrived here.

originally posted by: Harpua

But I like how you blamed people for living in cities people have lived in since we arrived here.

Those cities weren't there when you "arrived". Just saying.

originally posted by: LightSpeedDriver

originally posted by: Harpua

But I like how you blamed people for living in cities people have lived in since we arrived here.

Those cities weren't there when you "arrived". Just saying.

In fact, when I arrived here, San Franciso had been existing for decades.

I am feeling this crazy sense of deja-vu from literally every year prior. Because every year this is the same headline.

Costs go up, more people spread out over more areas, places that haven't flooded in 100 years get a *surprise* 100-year flood. We won't learn, people are stubborn. Will see you again next year when this story comes out saying 2018 was the most expensive ever.

How about indexing for inflation for a start.

Truth is better than the fiction that pours from their lips. But, they want a greater and greater budget so ... these headlines occur every year.

P

Actually, this is highest costing year since 2005, so no... this doesn't happen every year, but I get your point, there is a lot of media attention on the climate and of course any disaster, natural or not.

originally posted by: pheonix358
How about indexing for inflation for a start.

Truth is better than the fiction that pours from their lips. But, they want a greater and greater budget so ... these headlines occur every year.

P

You beat me to it.
Land value - up
Home value - up
Business value - up

This IS NOT 2008

a reply to: Harpua

I live in a small valley in Montana.

Last fire season, I and others watched a lightning strike start a small fire on a mountain to the east of us.

We watched for a week helicopters with water bags flying directly over the fire to get to another fire. The fire we were watching continued to grow, despite that fact that it was 2 miles from the river the helicopters were drawing from to get to the other fire which was 5 miles east of that.

Eventually, after smoldering for a week, it DID catch fire, eventually burning enough acreage that I was given a pre evacuation order for my property .

A week after that, it had gotten over 28000 acres. Helicopters still flew over it to put out a fire in a remote part of a national forest.

Once the smoke got to where our area was considered unsafe for human health, they decided to put out the fire. It took two days.

Money allotted to put out fires in our area in 2017 was 32 million dollars.

Money spent to put out the fires in our area cost 32 million dollars.

This is state and federal governments fighting fires.

They spend what their budget is.

Multiply that by god knows what and there is your "costliest natural disaster season ever" answer.

Without those disasters, our economy would have been crap, we need a better way to stimulate the economy than having disasters.

a reply to: pheonix358

They do. However people like you will blindly attack NOAA and other organizations that go against your confirmation bias.

I knew 2017 was the costliest hurricane season on record, that was obvious.

Population control will fix both problems, but religious and political leaders demand inifinite growth, even though it will destroy us. Unfortunately most Americans are stupid enough to go along with it.

"inflation"

obviously didn't read the article

"this isn't 2008"

thanks Obama

a reply to: Harpua

Many folks have certain sites they wont got to, my protection software has blocked viruses from Vox before so I wont click on the link either.

Link for the breakdown on NOAA website.

NOAA

a reply to: Harpua

But some of you knuckleheads still don't believe theirs global climate change, even though climate scientists stated that the some of the effects would be more storms of greater intensity and more intense droughts leading to hotter and costlier wildfires.

a reply to: richapau

Thing to remember is (for hurricanes at least) the seasons were unnaturally light for several years, and mother nature has a habit of sending some nasty stuff at people after being quiet for a while.

Almost like she stores up the unexpended energy so when the release comes it is a little stronger than normal.