Cost of Natural Disasters Has Quadrupled in Recent Decades, Official Says

Published: Jun 6, 2014, 3:07 PM EDT Associated Press
Link: http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/cost-natural-disasters-has-quadrupled-recent-decades-official-20140606

It's getting a lot more expensive to recover from natural disasters today than ever, according to a senior European official who urged world leaders Thursday to spend more on preparing cities and coastal regions for the impact of storms and other disasters to ensure a stable future.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis response, told a conference on disaster risk reduction and management of the Asia-Europe Meeting that costs related to natural disasters have increased from $50 billion a year in the 1980s to $200 billion in the last decade, an era when the United States has weathered the impact of storms like 2005's Hurricane Katrina and 2012's Superstorm Sandy.

In three of the last four years, disaster-related costs exceeded $200 billion.

She said only 4 percent of spending for natural disasters today goes to prevention and preparedness, with 96 percent spent on response. But, she said, evidence shows every dollar spent on prevention brings at least $4 in savings on damage.