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We’re reporters who cover climate change for The Times and we want to hear about experiences with home insurance. The Times has reported that home insurance bills are rising and we want to learn about what that means for you and your community. Here are a few topics we’d like to hear about, though we also hope you’ll share anything else that’s important for us to know:

Organizations: The Times, Times

☆ As Climate Shocks Worsen, U.S. Disaster Agency Tries a New Approach to Aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | More About Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those changes would especially help renters and people with low incomes, according to Frank Matranga, who runs the agency’s aid programs for disaster survivors. And because people in those groups are more likely to be people of color, the changes should reduce the racial inequity in federal disaster aid, he said. About one million Americans each year receive some sort of direct aid from FEMA, according to the agency. Weather-related disasters pushed more than 3.3 million American adults out of their homes in 2022, census data shows. “We heard that survivors found it confusing and challenging to apply for an S.B.A.

Persons: Frank Matranga, “, ” Ms, Criswell Organizations: FEMA, Small Business Administration

☆ Rich Nations Cut Aid for Climate Shocks, Even as Risks Grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | More About Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Developing nations will need between $215 billion and $387 billion annually this decade to protect against climate shocks, such as worsening storms, crop failures and loss of access to water, the report found. That’s as much as 18 times greater than the total amount that wealthy countries committed for climate adaptation in 2021. The new data comes weeks before the start of a major United Nations climate summit in Dubai, where aid to developing countries will be a top agenda item. At a similar summit two years ago in Glasgow, countries agreed to double their climate adaptation funding by 2025, compared with 2019 levels. Even if nations make good on that pledge, the report said, it would provide just a small share of the additional money needed.

Persons: ”, Georgia Savvidou, Paul Watkiss Organizations: Stockholm Environment Institute, United Nations Locations: United Nations, Dubai, Glasgow, Georgia, Stockholm

☆ A Record for Billion-Dollar Disasters Shows the Limits of America’s Defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | More About Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States has suffered 23 billion-dollar disasters so far in 2023, a record for this point in the year that highlights the country’s struggle to adapt to the effects of climate change. In one sense, the growing cost of disasters is unsurprising. The burning of fossil fuels is causing air and water temperatures to increase, which in turn makes it possible for hurricanes to become stronger, rainfall to become more intense and wildfires to spread faster. The NOAA data, which tracks the number of billion-dollar disasters in the United States, adjusted for inflation, shows a relatively steady upward march, from three such disasters in 1980 to 22 in 2020. The current year has already exceeded that record set in 2020.

Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA Locations: States, Maui, Florida, Minnesota, United States

A New York Times investigation has found that America is depleting its invaluable reserves of groundwater at a dangerous rate. The majority of U.S. drinking-water systems rely on groundwater, as does farming, one of the nation’s most important industries. Aquifer water levels are falling nationwide. Some 45 percent of the wells the Times examined showed a statistically significant decline in water levels since 1980. Four in 10 sites reached record-low water levels during the past decade, and last year was the worst yet.

Organizations: New York Times, Times Locations: America, U.S

☆ Fire Exposes Flaws in Hawaii’s Defenses Against Climate Shocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | More About Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Part of the problem is the sheer diversity of threats. “Hawaii is a leader among states in its approach to adaptation planning, particularly as it relates to sea level rise, extreme storms and infrastructure,” said Mark Rupp, adaptation program director for the Georgetown Climate Center in Washington. Josh Green of Hawaii issued an order that stops the state from adopting new or updated building standards. The governor said the move was necessary to address a severe housing shortage. Attempts to block tougher building codes in the name of affordability are common nationwide, even if it sacrifices safety, said Michele Steinberg, wildfire division director for the National Fire Protection Association.

Persons: ”, Mark Rupp, “, Josh Green, Michele Steinberg Organizations: Georgetown Climate Center, International Code Council, National Fire Protection Association Locations: Hawaii, Washington, California

The fires in Hawaii would be shocking anywhere — killing at least 36 people, in one of the deadliest wildfires in the United States in modern history. The explanation is as straightforward as it is sobering: as the planet heats up, no place is protected from disasters. The story of this week’s blaze arguably began decades ago, when Hawaii started experiencing a long-term decline in average annual rainfall. Since 1990, rainfall at selected monitoring sites has been 31 percent lower in the wet season, and 6 percent lower in the dry season, according to work published in 2015 by researchers at the University of Hawaii and the University of Colorado. There are multiple reasons for that change, according to Abby Frazier, a climatologist at Clark University who has researched Hawaii.

Persons: Abby Frazier Organizations: University of Hawaii, University of Colorado, Clark University Locations: Hawaii, United States

☆ As Climate Shocks Multiply, Designers Seek Holy Grail: Disaster-Proof Homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | More About Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

John duSaint, a retired software engineer, recently bought property near Bishop, Calif., in a rugged valley east of the Sierra Nevada. The area is at risk for wildfires, severe daytime heat and high winds — and also heavy winter snowfall. But Mr. duSaint isn’t worried. And it can withstand high winds and heavy snowpack. “The dome shell itself is basically impervious,” Mr. duSaint said.

Persons: John duSaint, duSaint isn’t, Mr, duSaint Organizations: Calif Locations: Bishop, Sierra Nevada

This week’s flooding in Vermont, in which heavy rainfall caused destruction far from rivers or coastlines, is evidence of an especially dangerous climate threat: Catastrophic flooding can increasingly happen anywhere, with almost no warning. And the United States, experts warn, is nowhere close to ready for that threat. The idea that anywhere it can rain, it can flood, is not new. But rising temperatures make the problem worse: They allow the air to hold more moisture, leading to more intense and sudden rainfall, seemingly out of nowhere. “It’s getting harder and harder to adapt to these changing conditions,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Persons: “, ”, Rachel Cleetus, “ It’s Organizations: Union of Concerned Locations: Vermont, United States, New Orleans, Miami, Houston, Charleston, New York City

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