Worldwide, natural disasters cost $155 billion in 2018, according to an insurance industry report.
"Natural disasters cost $155 billion this year, and several of them struck the United States particularly hard," reports Angela Fritz, sharing findings of a report published by reinsurance company Swiss Re.
Fritz focuses on the report's findings regarding disasters in the United States, namely the 8,500 wildfires that burned in California this year, charring 1.9 million acres; Hurricane Michael, which devastated Panama City, Florida and Mexico Beach, Florida; Hurricane Florence, which battered the Carolinas in September. Disasters from around the globe also get attention, like flooding in Japan, drought and wildfires in Europe, and a typhoon that struck the Philippines.
FULL STORY: The cost of natural disasters this year: $155 billion
U.S. Communities Increasingly at Risk of Extreme Weather Events
As development pushes into more wildfire-prone areas and climate change makes extreme weather conditions more common, more Americans are experiencing the destructive impacts of climate disasters.
2020 Was a Landmark Year for Climate Change
Many companies set goals to achieve by 2020 and came up short, while the effects of climate change were more obvious than ever in the year that was 2020.
2020 Sets Record for Billion-Dollar Disasters
Tropical storms, tornadoes, and wildfires, along with everything else.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
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Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.
Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.
From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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