As crews continue to sift through the rubble in the aftermath of California’s deadly November fires, another battle is just beginning. Seven of the top 10 most destructive wildfires on record in the state have occurred in the last two years. The costs to federal agencies topped $300bn and experts agree that climate change will cause superstorms and wildfires to worsen, busting budgets at all levels of government. “When you are looking at the costs of disasters, and disaster spending, there’s not just the immediate response, which makes the headlines,” she added. A study released this year by the National Institute of Building Sciences found that $1 spent on hazard mitigation saved the country $6 in future disaster costs.

Source: The Guardian December 27, 2018 12:00 UTC