After a record 22 billion-dollar disasters in 2020, it's time to overhaul US disaster policy – here's how

NOAA released its list of climate and weather disasters that cost the nation more than $1 billion each. Like many climate and weather events this past year, it shattered the record.

Deb Niemeier, Clark Distinguished Chair and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland • conversation
Jan. 8, 2021 • ~11 min
climate-change policy construction floods hurricanes storms global-warming natural-disasters wildfires government disaster-risk fema building disaster-management land-use building-codes 2020

After a record 22 billion-dollar disasters in 2020, it's time to make US disaster policy more effective and equitable – here's how

NOAA released its list of climate and weather disasters that cost the nation more than $1 billion each. Like many climate and weather events this past year, it shattered the record.

Deb Niemeier, Clark Distinguished Chair and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland • conversation
Jan. 8, 2021 • ~11 min
policy construction floods hurricanes storms natural-disasters wildfires government disaster-risk fema building disaster-management land-use building-codes 2020

Krakatoa is still active, and we are not ready for the tsunamis another eruption would generate

Indonesia has a warning system for tsunamis generated by earthquakes – but not volcanoes.

Ravindra Jayaratne, Reader in Coastal Engineering, University of East London • conversation
Oct. 9, 2020 • ~6 min
volcanoes indonesia disaster-risk tsunami krakatoa

Can your community handle a natural disaster and coronavirus at the same time?

If the forecasts are right, the US could be facing more natural disasters this year – on top of the coronavirus pandemic. Local governments aren't prepared.

Mark Abkowitz, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies, Vanderbilt University • conversation
April 30, 2020 • ~7 min
health climate-change covid-19 coronavirus flooding hurricanes disaster coronavirus-2020 natural-disasters weather disaster-planning disaster-risk

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