Study: Bay Area not adequately prepared for climate disasters
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Firefighters try to contain the Glass Fire in Napa County in the fall of 2020. Photo: Kent Nishimura via Getty Images
California is the worst state for climate disasters, with several Bay Area counties ranking high in lack of preparedness, a recent study finds.
Why it matters: We're heading into wildfire season after a period of historic winter flooding, and the rise of weather-related power outages and climate impacts have become a major point of concern for people buying homes in California.
Driving the news: Several Bay Area counties made the top 50 least-prepared places, according to homeowners insurance resource ClaimGuide's risk assessment of over 3,000 U.S. counties.
- San Francisco came in at 35th, with a $306 million expected annual loss to natural disasters.
- Alameda was ranked the fifth least-prepared for a natural disaster due to its location on the Hayward Fault, which the U.S. Geological Survey has described as a "tectonic time bomb."
- Santa Clara, with its wildfire hazard and earthquake potential, followed in sixth place. Neighboring counties including Contra Costa, San Mateo and Sonoma were also in the top 50.
By the numbers: The Bay Area is estimated to lose $4.6 billion to climate and weather events this year, per ClaimGuide's study. That includes impacts on buildings, people and agriculture.
- That's 28% of the state's total expected loss for climate disasters ($16.3 billion).
- California declared 155 disasters between 2014 and 2024, far surpassing the next closest state of Washington, which had 88.
The fine print: ClaimGuide's analysis is based on data from FEMA's National Risk Index, which determines an overall risk score for 18 different natural hazards.
- Key metrics include expected annual loss, community resilience and social vulnerability.
The big picture: In the past year, several major insurers have decided to stop offering new homeowner policies in California as climate change-related threats ramp up.
- A recent survey found that Americans now believe climate change is a major threat and are open to making lifestyle changes, such as drinking recycled wastewater.
What we're watching: Bay Area counties received federal funding to help shore up their infrastructure and climate adaptation plans as part of an effort to minimize disproportionate impacts on the most at-risk communities.