Climate Disasters

From extreme heat waves and catastrophic flooding to devastating wildfires and hurricanes, human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events in the United States and its territories more frequent, more intense, and more severe, exposing more communities to harm every year. Federal and state actions to regulate planet-warming polluters, invest in disaster preparedness, and rebuild stronger communities and infrastructure in the wake of a disaster would save lives, protect public health and safety, and substantially reduce rebuilding costs.

A Cal Fire helicopter makes a water drop on the Airport Fire in Lake Elsinore, California, on September 11, 2024. (Getty/Jon Putman)
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Child Care Professionals Are on the Front Lines as Climate Change Risks Children’s Health and Development Report
A teacher prepares a classroom at Woodbury Village Preschool that sustained smoke damage during the Eaton fire in Altadena, California

Child Care Professionals Are on the Front Lines as Climate Change Risks Children’s Health and Development

Amid a changing climate and federal rollbacks to disaster relief and preparedness, early educators face an increasingly untenable child care landscape that will require state and local action.

About Extreme Heat, We Need to Prioritize Children In the News

About Extreme Heat, We Need to Prioritize Children

In an op-ed published by InsideSources, Hailey Gibbs highlights proven strategies that communities and policymakers can adopt to better mitigate the deadly effects of climate change for young children and infants.

InsideSources

Hailey Gibbs

The Destruction of Disaster Relief: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Emergency Disaster Preparedness and Relief Aid Past Event

The Destruction of Disaster Relief: The Trump Administration’s Attack on Emergency Disaster Preparedness and Relief Aid

Join the Center for American Progress for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans; this event will highlight how the Trump administration’s harms to federal disaster relief will affect Americans and how we can keep up the fight against these disastrous policies.

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With Americans Facing Utility Bill Increases This Year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Threatens To Drive Costs Even Higher Article
A utility lineman works to restore service in Perry, Florida

With Americans Facing Utility Bill Increases This Year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Threatens To Drive Costs Even Higher

Across the country, nearly 60 electric and gas utilities are hiking or trying to hike utility bills this year, totaling nearly $38.3 billion for 56.7 million electric customers and $3.5 billion for 26 million natural gas customers; if the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passes, these bills will spike even higher.

Managing the Climate Change-Fueled Insurance Crisis Past Event

Managing the Climate Change-Fueled Insurance Crisis

Please join the Center for American Progress for a virtual event featuring keynote remarks from U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and a panel of experts who will discuss the interconnected issues and potential solutions of the climate change-fueled insurance crisis.

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Managing the Climate Change-Fueled Property Insurance Crisis Report
A couple stands to the left of the remains of a home burned down in January 2025 during a massive wildfire in and around Los Angeles.

Managing the Climate Change-Fueled Property Insurance Crisis

As private insurers pull back services in the face of mounting losses, governments are looking to spread the costs of more frequent and severe natural disasters while confronting insurance availability and affordability challenges.

Lilith Fellowes-Granda, Marc Jarsulic, Alexandra Thornton

The Trump Administration’s Cancellation of Funding for Environmental Protections Endangers Americans’ Health While Draining Their Wallets Fact Sheet
People walk in Central Park amid hazy conditions in New York City.

The Trump Administration’s Cancellation of Funding for Environmental Protections Endangers Americans’ Health While Draining Their Wallets

The Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate environmental protections and funds that reduce pollution in working-class communities threaten public health and increase costs for families.

Forecasting Disaster: How DOGE’s Cuts to NOAA Will Affect Weather Awareness and Well-Being Past Event

Forecasting Disaster: How DOGE’s Cuts to NOAA Will Affect Weather Awareness and Well-Being

Please join the Center for American Progress for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans; this event will focus on how cuts to NOAA will harm the weather forecast and Americans' safety.

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In the Wake of Hurricane Helene, Congress Must Invest in Rebuilding Strong, Prosperous, and Climate-Resilient Communities Article
A bridge across Mill Creek damaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene is seen in Old Fort, North Carolina.

In the Wake of Hurricane Helene, Congress Must Invest in Rebuilding Strong, Prosperous, and Climate-Resilient Communities

The Biden-Harris administration has rapidly mobilized disaster relief aid to Appalachia and other hard-hit areas. Congress must act quickly to deliver the funds required to rebuild communities that can prosper and withstand future climate disasters.

Project 2025 Proposes Eliminating Aid for Families and Businesses Rebuilding After Storms Article
A person walks through a flooded street in Cedar Key, Florida, following Hurricane Debby.

Project 2025 Proposes Eliminating Aid for Families and Businesses Rebuilding After Storms

As climate change makes extreme weather events more common and more costly for Americans, the far right’s new authoritarian playbook would leave communities with fewer resources to rebuild after disasters like Hurricane Debby strike.

David Ballard

Transparency and Accountability in Insurance: Next Steps on Climate Risk Data Collection Article
Photo shows brown water flooding streets within a neighborhood against a partly cloudy sky, with homes and trucks partly submerged

Transparency and Accountability in Insurance: Next Steps on Climate Risk Data Collection

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Federal Insurance Office are collecting data to learn how climate change affects insurance markets, and they should consider these recommended next steps to maximize the effectiveness of this effort.

Lilith Fellowes-Granda

What the U.S. Must Bring to the 2023 U.N. Loss and Damage Negotiations To Address Climate Change Impacts Article
Photo shows people at the edge of a road town apart by flooding, with a giant crater in between the broken sides.

What the U.S. Must Bring to the 2023 U.N. Loss and Damage Negotiations To Address Climate Change Impacts

The United States must show up to loss and damage discussions this year with solidarity, constructive negotiating positions, and credible finance solutions so that the world can not only address the losses and damages of climate change, but also continue to pursue ambitious climate mitigation goals.

Cassidy Childs

How FEMA Can Build Rural Resilience Through Disaster Preparedness Report
Photo shows a flooded street in Kentucky.

How FEMA Can Build Rural Resilience Through Disaster Preparedness

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is vital to the nation’s climate resilience, but pre-disaster resilience funds are not reaching the rural communities most vulnerable to climate risk and least able to prepare.

Kevin Manuele, Mark Haggerty

How FEMA Can Prioritize Equity in Disaster Recovery Assistance Report

How FEMA Can Prioritize Equity in Disaster Recovery Assistance

Current disaster recovery efforts in the United States exacerbate racial disparities, as people of color experience greater harms from natural disasters, receive less support, lose wealth, and take longer to recover.

Justin Dorazio

A Perfect Storm Report
Residents survey the flooding at the Trent Court public housing complex in New Bern, North Carolina, following Hurricane Florence, September 2018.

A Perfect Storm

Extreme weather events fueled by climate change are exacerbating the intertwined crises of affordable housing and homelessness and thus require timely intervention by federal, state, and local governments.

Guillermo Ortiz, Heidi Schultheis, Valerie Novack, 1 More Aleah Holt

Trump Is Creating More Problems When It Comes to Wildfire In the News

Trump Is Creating More Problems When It Comes to Wildfire

Ryan Richards explains how a recent executive order will cause more problems for communities and national forests that face wildfires.

Inside Sources

Ryan Richards

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