As US hits record of costly climate disasters, Red Cross plans $1bn
effort
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[September 13, 2023]
By Andy Sullivan and Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. hits a new record of billion dollar
weather disasters this year, the Red Cross disaster relief agency is
launching a $1 billion response effort as these events are expected to
increase due to climate change.
This year has seen a record 23 disasters that have each done more than
$1 billion in damages, according to the U.S. National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration. That is already more than 2020's count of 22
billion-dollar disasters, with four months left to go.
"We don't have a break anymore," said Trevor Riggen, head of
humanitarian services at the American Red Cross. Riggen said the country
is now on pace for a billion dollar disaster nearly every week. "It is
constant."
Damages reported from this year's 23 disasters so far have cost $57.9
billion - not including the costs from last month's Hurricane Idalia.
Currently, 2023 is on pace to be the seventh most expensive year since
1980, according to a Reuters analysis of NOAA figures.
But that figure is certain to rise, with the costliest disasters tending
to hit during the North Atlantic hurricane season ending Nov. 30.
Meanwhile, the agency could soon be adding two more events – last
month’s Hurricane Hilary in California and the ongoing Midwestern
drought – but has yet to finish tallying those damages.
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That frequency is challenging the way the Red Cross operates, Riggen
told Reuters. As of this week, the Red Cross has 2,000 volunteers
deployed after the deadly fires in Hawaii and storm devastation in
Florida and other southern U.S. states.
While the Red Cross has treated past disasters on a case-by-case basis,
it now will be coordinating operations year-round along with local and
regional organizations, he said. The increased funding will also allow
the agency to add 69 new staff members, including a new leadership team
to coordinate efforts across the country.
The Red Cross received funding from the Lilly Endowment and other
philanthropies for the new $1 billion climate strategy and continues to
raise money from donations.
Earlier this month, the White House said it would be asking lawmakers to
boost disaster relief funding to $16 billion from $12 billion.
As both global emissions and temperatures continue to climb, experts are
bracing for increasing catastrophe. Higher temperatures are drying out
both farmlands and forests, which can lead to bigger wildfires in the
U.S. West. Increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and storms, meanwhile,
are causing flooding events in the U.S. East.
"A lot of these trends are going in the wrong direction for us," NOAA
climatologist Adam Smith said.
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![](../images/091323PIX/news_s10.jpg)
Hope Laird looks at the wreckage of a gas station near her home
after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Perry, Florida, U.S.,
August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo
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LIVING AT RISK
Beyond the dollar damages, this year's disasters have also been
deadly.
NOAA's billion-dollar disaster report counts 253 people killed in
the 23 tallied events, which do not include events that might also
have been deadly but cost less than $1 billion in damages.
One of the biggest risk factors is the fact that people are still
crowding into areas along coastlines where hurricanes hit or near
forests that can burn.
"The value of real estate along the coast in particular has been
rising as people continue to build new infrastructure and buildings
in high-risk areas," said University of Arizona climate scientist
Katharine Jacobs. That is courting trouble, given that "the
intensity and frequency of severe events is increasing due to
climate change."
Outdated building codes set before climate change began altering
weather can also increase risk in some areas.
"We have buildings that were built for the extremes of the past, not
those we are experiencing now," said energy and environment fellow
Alice Hill at the Council on Foreign Relations.
For the Red Cross, the escalation has been intense. Last year, the
agency responded to 354 disasters, a 4% increase from 2021. Each
deployment costs the agency at least $10,000, though last year
included 26 that needed $250,000 or more.
Riggen, who has worked for the agency since Hurricane Katrina
devastated Louisiana 18 years ago, recalled preparing for so-called
disaster seasons: hurricanes in late summer, tornados in spring, a
few floods in early summer – and reliable moments of reprieve in the
fall and early winter.
"There would be these breaks between these types of events that you
could rebuild capacity, rebuild the energy of volunteers," Riggen
said.
With the funding boost, the Red Cross plans to focus on helping
vulnerable populations in the face of climate-fueled disasters, he
said, including direct financial assistance to families in need and
support for local organizations in affected states.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Andy Sullivan; additional
reporting by Nathan Frandino in Oakland, California; Editing by Katy
Daigle and Josie Kao)
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