Climate Changed
Devastating Storms May Spur Action on Disaster Preparation
- Tougher building codes, buyouts could reduce harm next time
- Scolding from FEMA head brings resilience debate into the open
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Hurricane Michael’s devastation could spur policymakers to better prepare vulnerable communities for the effects of climate change.
The images of entire towns in Florida’s panhandle all but erased by storm surges, as well as accounts of bodies pulled from shattered homes, offer potent evidence of the need to rethink how and where Americans build homes, according to safety advocates, insurers and policy experts. They say that together with last year’s record storms and Hurricane Florence last month, the latest scenes of destruction could generate better laws and regulations around the country.