Get Ready for More Hurricanes

Beyond inflicting epic destruction and suffering, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have brought the U.S. face to face with the catastrophic flood dangers posed by climate change. Fed by deeply warmed ocean waters, the storms turned violent -- as climate-change models have predicted. Higher sea levels have intensified flooding.

Yet if history is a guide, no matter how great the losses, Harvey and Irma will not dampen Americans’ enthusiasm for living and working along coastlines vulnerable to hurricanes. The cycle of building, flooding, rebuilding -- and then ignoring the problem -- plays out repeatedly in every region that experiences big storms. And the costs just keep rising.