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.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service