Infographic: The high cost of hurricanes

Over the last ten years, damage from hurricanes has resulted in the loss of 2,334 lives and more than $310 billion in damages. [email protected], the online component of the Master of Public Administration program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recently took a look at the last ten years of hurricanes and created the below infographic, entitled “Decade of destruction: The high cost of hurricanes.”

When it comes to extreme weather, climate change is constantly setting the stage for more frequent and more intense storms, an effect often compared to a baseball slugger taking steroids. Warming oceans and higher sea levels combine to give hurricanes extra power and reach, making them more destructive and deadly. The last ten years have brought unprecedented disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and have highlighted the need to take action on climate mitigation and adaptation now. As the graphic shows, one dollar invested in prevention now returns four times that in protection from extreme weather disasters.