COTW: Hurricanes Cost A Lot

The passage of Hurricane Michael through the Deep South this week inflicted less damage than feared even though the storm came ashore as a Category 4--nearly a 5--with wind gusts of 155 mph.  Estimates of the economic cost are about $30-53 billion. That figure is exceeded only by Katrina, the most damaging hurricane in modern times:

The point to take away is that damaging storms will be more frequent and intense as the greenhouse effect radically alters the planet's climate system.  In fact, global warming is now viewed as a threat to national security by the military establishment.  Maybe this influential determination will be enough for the politicians to bring the US back to the Paris Climate Accord.  We have just twelve years left to avoid a dying planet.