It's hurricane season. For those in hurricane paths, and even those just outside the typical reach of the storms, a better understanding of flood risk and insurance needs is one way to prepare for these intensifying seasons.
June 1 officially kicked off hurricane season, lasting through November, and another storm-packed, potentially deadly and expensive few months are predicted.
As the burning of oil CL00, +1.17% and gas send the bulk of carbon and other emissions into the atmosphere, 2021 was the world’s sixth-warmest year on record. Land and ocean temperatures were 0.84°C above the 20th century average, by some measures. “Multi-peril” events are on the rise. For instance, Hurricane Ida, which cost more than $75 billion in economic losses, hit several U.S. states in late summer 2021. Ida was not limited to its coastal impact along the Gulf of Mexico. Powerful storm remnants hit the populous Northeast, bringing costly flooding inland as well as tornadoes as far as Pennsylvania and other places.
A recent report looked deeper into how climate change is impacting retirement plans. Read: A retirement safe from climate change? Ask the tough questions about real estate and property insurance The report also showed that weather disasters are killing far fewer people since the 1970s and 1980s as preventative measures, including flood walls and evacuation plans for those who can afford them, are more common.
Read: As drought ravages the West, any investor not focused on climate risk is ‘really kidding themselves,’ says this portfolio manager