09-29-2005, 06:44 PM
[font "Arial"][size 4]Mother Nature Strikes[/size] [/font]
[size 3]"Preliminary figures indicate 1998 losses due to storms, floods, droughts and fires are 48% greater than 1996, the previous record year." —World Watch Institute[/size]
![[Image: tornado.gif]](http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/images/tornado.gif)
Weather-related events can become deadly, and recovering from them can be expensive. Numerous government agencies and organizations track the costs associated with natural disasters, and property and economic losses are increasing. [[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#1"]1[/url],[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#2"]2[/url],[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#3"]3[/url]] Losses from natural disasters impact every region of the United States, and the costs are significant. The figure below illustrates the 17 U.S. natural disasters that cost $1 billion or more, and related deaths that occurred from 1994 through 1998. During this period, more than 800 lives were lost. Total immediate costs exceeded $50 billion from fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice, and snowstorms. Bestweek reports that the insurance industry has averaged catastrophe losses of $8.1 billion during the past decade, and, for 1998, losses totaled $10.1 billion.[[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#4"]4[/url]] [center]![[Image: damage.gif]](http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/images/damage.gif)
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]Source: [url "http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html"]National Climatic Data Center[/url][/font]
But this is only part of the picture. Not shown in the data above are the costs incurred long after the event has passed. Just one example is the flooding of the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, North Dakota, in April 1997. Reported damages from this event totaled $3 billion. And this total, as large as it is, does not include the lost employment or the reduced city, county, and state tax base. One year later, 150 businesses had yet to reopen, and those that did carried significantly larger debt. [[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#5"]5[/url]]
Of particular importance is the loss of electric power. The effects of weather-related disasters vary by region and by the type of event, but when a storm hits, the area frequently loses power. Although the outages may not last long, they can be widespread. For example, when Hurricane Fran struck North Carolina in September 1996, 1.7 million North Carolina utility customers and an additional 400,000 Virginia customers lost power. During the January 1998 snow and ice storm in the Northeast, more than 500,000 utility customers went without power, and 80% of Maine's population lost electrical service. Southeastern Canada reported more than 3 million customers without power. [[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#6"]6[/url]]
These are a few examples illustrating the need for action to prepare for natural disasters to better survive these events, as well as to improve safety and the ability to continue functioning after the disaster. [/center]
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[size 3]"Preliminary figures indicate 1998 losses due to storms, floods, droughts and fires are 48% greater than 1996, the previous record year." —World Watch Institute[/size]
Weather-related events can become deadly, and recovering from them can be expensive. Numerous government agencies and organizations track the costs associated with natural disasters, and property and economic losses are increasing. [[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#1"]1[/url],[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#2"]2[/url],[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#3"]3[/url]] Losses from natural disasters impact every region of the United States, and the costs are significant. The figure below illustrates the 17 U.S. natural disasters that cost $1 billion or more, and related deaths that occurred from 1994 through 1998. During this period, more than 800 lives were lost. Total immediate costs exceeded $50 billion from fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice, and snowstorms. Bestweek reports that the insurance industry has averaged catastrophe losses of $8.1 billion during the past decade, and, for 1998, losses totaled $10.1 billion.[[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#4"]4[/url]] [center][/url] [font "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"]Source: [url "http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html"]National Climatic Data Center[/url][/font]
But this is only part of the picture. Not shown in the data above are the costs incurred long after the event has passed. Just one example is the flooding of the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, North Dakota, in April 1997. Reported damages from this event totaled $3 billion. And this total, as large as it is, does not include the lost employment or the reduced city, county, and state tax base. One year later, 150 businesses had yet to reopen, and those that did carried significantly larger debt. [[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#5"]5[/url]]
Of particular importance is the loss of electric power. The effects of weather-related disasters vary by region and by the type of event, but when a storm hits, the area frequently loses power. Although the outages may not last long, they can be widespread. For example, when Hurricane Fran struck North Carolina in September 1996, 1.7 million North Carolina utility customers and an additional 400,000 Virginia customers lost power. During the January 1998 snow and ice storm in the Northeast, more than 500,000 utility customers went without power, and 80% of Maine's population lost electrical service. Southeastern Canada reported more than 3 million customers without power. [[url "http://www.nrel.gov/surviving_disaster/value_nature.html#6"]6[/url]]
These are a few examples illustrating the need for action to prepare for natural disasters to better survive these events, as well as to improve safety and the ability to continue functioning after the disaster. [/center]
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