The Unsustainable Trend of Natural Hazard Losses in the United States

Melanie Gall, Kevin A. Borden, Christopher T. Emrich and Susan L. Cutter
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Melanie Gall: Department of Geography & Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Kevin A. Borden: Digital Sandbox Inc., 8260 Greensboro Drive #450, McLean, VA 22102, USA
Christopher T. Emrich: Hazards & Vulnerability Research Institute, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29201, USA
Susan L. Cutter: Hazards & Vulnerability Research Institute, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29201, USA

Sustainability, 2011, vol. 3, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: In the United States, direct losses from natural hazards are on the rise with hurricanes, flooding, and severe storms contributing about three quarters of the total damages. While losses from severe storms have been stable over the past fifty years, hurricane and flood losses have tripled. Per capita losses are also increasing showing that impacts outpace population growth with high per capita losses occurring largely in the Southeast and Midwest. If the loss escalation of the past two decades continues into the future, then direct losses of $300 to $400 billion within a single decade are possible. In order to reverse this trend, sustainable development, vulnerability reduction, and hazard mitigation must become priorities and current loss reduction efforts need to be evaluated and re-assessed in terms of their effectiveness. These conclusions are drawn from the analysis of spatial and temporal trends in direct losses from natural hazards using SHELDUS TM data from 1960 through 2009. Loss data are adjusted for inflation, population, and wealth to capture both trends in total losses and per capita losses. The loss data are then compared to disaster-related federal government and private insurance expenditures.

Keywords: natural hazards; losses; hazard mitigation; United States; severe weather; climate change; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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