In 2021, 1 in 10 American houses were impacted by natural disasters, causing 14.5 billion dollars in losses. In a world where natural disasters like wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and blizzards are becoming more frequent and more intense, Americans should be concerned the risk climate induced natural disasters pose to their homes.
The risk is distributed by geographical area. In Northern states and states along the Eastern seaboard, winter storms ruined 12.7 million homes. In Western states, wildfires caused 1.5 billion dollars in damages. While more homes are destroyed by natural disasters, insurance rates are skyrocketing in impacted areas. Communities at risk have to pay for increased insurance rates and may have to pay increased costs due to not-covered damage.
This puts low income and marginalized communities at an increased risk. A study from Johns Hopkins and UCLA determined “climate-related damage [as a key contributor] to sudden homelessness surges from 2019 through 2024”. (Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp, 2026) Natural disasters cause a 3% increase in average poverty in American states. It is vital to create climate displacement plans for neighborhoods at risk.
Writing About the Environment 