Main Topic: Calls for federal intervention to address extreme heat emergencies in the United States.
Key Points:
1. State and local officials are struggling to manage the crisis without federal intervention.
2. The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities are urging Congress to pass a bill to declare extreme heat emergencies.
3. The Biden administration has taken some steps to help Americans battle the soaring temperatures, but local officials argue that more needs to be done.
Main Topic: The ability of emergency systems and infrastructure to handle increasingly frequent and severe disasters in a warming world.
Key Points:
1. Climate change is intensifying wildfires, storms, droughts, heat waves, and floods, challenging the idea of how to stay safe from extreme events.
2. Recent disasters, such as the wildfires in Maui and heavy rains in California and New York City, have exposed the limitations of existing resilience systems.
3. Building climate resilience requires considering the convergence of multiple hazards, involving diverse experts, and including at-risk communities in decision-making processes.
Insurance companies are struggling to keep up with the rising prevalence of natural disasters and the potential for catastrophic losses.
Hurricane Idalia may become the costliest climate disaster in the US this year, with potential damages estimated between $9.36bn and $20bn, highlighting the increasing frequency and severity of weather-related events that are impacting the insurance and risk management industries.
The deadliest earthquakes of the 21st century so far include the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, highlighting the importance of disaster preparedness and government action in mitigating casualties.
The United States has already experienced 23 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2021, surpassing the previous record of 22 events in 2020, with a total cost of $57.6 billion and the potential for more to come.
Hurricane Idalia became the 23rd billion-dollar weather disaster in the United States this year, surpassing the previous record set in 2020, highlighting the increasing frequency and cost of such catastrophes, which experts attribute to factors including climate change and ongoing development in disaster-prone areas.
A new report by nonprofit First Street Foundation suggests that a quarter of residential properties in the U.S. are overvalued in relation to their climate risk, with homes in states like California and Florida being more vulnerable to damages from extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, fires, and earthquakes. The number of homes likely to be destroyed by fires each year is projected to double in the next 30 years, reaching nearly 34,000 in total, according to the research. The overvaluation of properties due to climate risk could potentially have disastrous consequences for the housing market, leading to a deflation of the climate bubble.
The White House has warned that the partial shutdown of the US government could hinder almost 2,000 long-term disaster recovery projects, impacting communities across the country.
Insurers in the US are struggling as climate change increases the likelihood of disaster, undermining their ability to profit from betting against such events.
As governments implement "homeland economics" or "global resilience" policies to reduce economic risks and protect national economies, this special report argues that it will create more harm than good, increasing inequality, hindering global cooperation, and failing to address climate change effectively.
