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This essay updates a 2019
article by Philip M. Dodd-Nufrio, Roseanne Mirabella, and Bev Cigler in Public Administration Times. The
2019 article resulted from a national panel at the 2019 National American Society for
Public Administration conference (ASPA). The panel
included: U.S. Representatives Garret Graves (R), District 6, Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, Stacey Plaskett, (D) U.S. Virgin Islands; Mark S. Roupas, Deputy Chief, Office
of Homeland Security, United States Army Corps of Engineers.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 219 weather and climate disasters of all types (https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/mapping-us-climate-trends). Damage costs per disaster reached or exceeded $1 billion (including Consumer Price Index adjustments through December 2017), with the cumulative costs for the 219 events exceeding $1.5 trillion. Fewer lives are lost to natural hazards in recent years due to better forecasting, warning, and emergency response. There are, however, disproportionate effects on people and groups in terms of their ability to anticipate, cope with, and recover from disaster events, with special needs populations often the most vulnerable.
In Disaster Politics and Policy (2019), Sylves reported that 2017 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. on hurricane damages, with ten hurricanes that collectively inflicted $265 billion in damages. Table 1 showed federal spending as of April 30, 2018, for the five most financially devastating storms since 2005. Federal spending for Maria, Harvey, and Irma will continue for ten more years and may exceed spending for Hurricanes Ike, Sandy, Rita, and Wilma.