Latest news with #Labowitz
Axios
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Extreme rainfall in Chicago underscores rising climate disaster costs
This week's sudden outburst of rain in Chicago has some sounding the alarm on climate-related weather disasters and the resources needed to mitigate them. The latest: More severe storms hit the Chicago area last night, with reported flooding in parts of the city and suburbs. The big picture: Tuesday's fast-moving storm dropped about 5 inches of rain in just 90 minutes on the near West Side, flooding viaducts and basements. That's more rain than what is usually the average for the entire month of July. Why it matters: This sudden burst was similar to storms that caused flooding in Texas and New Mexico, offering a sobering reality: Climate disasters are now a regular occurrence in Chicago. Reality check: It was just two years ago that a similar storm system whalloped the same West Side community, flooding basements and prompting the Biden administration to offer resources for cleanup assistance. Both Illinois U.S. Senators secured over $800 million in federal funds to help unmet needs for past state climate disasters in 2023 and 2024. Yes, but: That was before President Trump took office, and his administration wants to shrink the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is used to help states with disaster recovery. Between the lines: Trump was quick to swoop in to help with the floods in Texas, but the backlog of other states' federal disaster requests is staggering. In May alone, the national average for outstanding requests was 13, while the normal average is just under four. For example, it took almost two months for the federal government to provide aid for cleanup after the massive tornado outbreak in St. Louis. The intrigue: Some Democratic governors are accusing the Trump administration of playing politics, responding faster to Republican-led states. What they're saying:"If you want to make a major change in the way that we as a nation do disaster recovery, that should be a process where people can anticipate what is going to change and what they can rely on right now," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace senior fellow Sarah Labowitz tells Axios. "With disaster relief, you need predictability," Labowitz, who publishes the Disaster Dollar Database, says. By the numbers: Extreme weather events cost the U.S. economy an estimated $180 to $496 billion per year in 2023 dollars, according to a 2024 report from the Senate Joint Economic Committee. The analysis found that the U.S. needed to invest between $69 billion and $345 billion to upgrade infrastructure to protect against just flooding. In Illinois, the average cost of federal assistance for climate disasters in 2024 totaled just under $55 million per disaster. If the state had to shoulder the cleanup burden alone, it would take just over 30 days to deplete the funds available, according to Labowitz. Zoom in: Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration has announced climate plans to improve stormwater infrastructure, but these recent storms may force the city and the state to think bigger about investing in mitigation efforts.
Axios
20-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Why Texas could face a steeper burden if Trump slashes FEMA
Texas could face greater financial burdens than other states if President Trump slashes federal resources for disaster relief, a new analysis finds, with Houstonians feeling the strain given the city's exposure to major storms. Why it matters: Trump floated"fundamentally overhauling or reforming" FEMA, or "maybe getting rid" of it entirely — fueling concerns that U.S. disaster relief could be thrown into chaos. By the numbers: Texas would be hit especially hard by reductions in federal relief funding, according to the Carnegie Disaster Dollar Database. The state received an average of about $1.4 billion a year in FEMA and HUD relief funding from 2015 to 2024, covering 16 disasters. That's equal to 1.8% of Texas' approximate $79 billion in overall spending in fiscal year 2023. Zoom in: FEMA doled out about $880 million for Hurricane Beryl last year, with HUD adding another $469 million for recovery from the July storm. Beryl battered Houston, causing more than $2.5 billion in damage, per early estimates. When a derecho last May left many in the Houston area without power, FEMA provided $318 million, and HUD again contributed $469 million. What they're saying: "Up to now, when there is a disaster, the [federal] government responds," says Sarah Labowitz of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Labowitz leads the spending database. "They clean up the debris, they rebuild the schools, they run shelters, they clean the drinking water," Labowitz says. Flashback: For Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Houston in 2017, FEMA put in $4.5 billion — the largest disaster payout in Texas since 2015 — to help rebuild the city. Driving the news: Trump is reportedly mulling an executive order empowering state and local governments to handle disaster readiness and relief, and he has already created a "FEMA review council." FEMA and other federal agencies funnel billions of dollars to people and communities affected by disasters, ranging from building and infrastructure assistance to financial and direct services for households. It's unclear how or whether Trump's order could change that. Part of FEMA's utility is also overseeing people, including relief experts who can be dispatched to states as needed after disaster strikes. The bottom line: The U.S. currently relies on "a federal disaster relief ecosystem that spreads the risk around the country, spreads the costs around the country," Labowitz says.
