The Epicenter editors recently interviewed Daniel Zarrilli, former Chief Resilience Officer for New York City and current Chief Climate & Sustainability Officer at Columbia University, about his work during the post-Hurricane Sandy recovery effort.
Each time the federal government closes, it reinforces a simple truth: the center can no longer hold. The work of building resilient infrastructure and communities must now happen locally.
5 Early Insights from Hurricane Helene. Climate change exacerbated the impacts of Helene. Hurricanes are no longer just a coastal threat. And utilities face growing recovery costs alongside pressure to build more resilient grid systems.
The impacts of Hurricane Helene, and the lives and livelihoods lost, have been devastating. Here we offer some early considerations as the affected communities begin to recover.
1. Climate change exacerbated the impacts of Helene
📰 Why was Hurricane Helene so Damaging? According to one rapid attribution study by Berkeley Lawrence National Lab, climate change caused over 50% more rainfall during the Hurricane in Georgia and North Carolina. The massive category 4 storm strengthened rapidly due to warmer than usual Gulf of Mexico waters, which meant there was a lot of moisture in the atmosphere creating a wet storm that carried rain hundreds of miles inland. The storm devastated six states, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee with six months’ worth of rain landing in North Carolina. (BBC, 10/1)
2. Hurricanes are no longer just a threat for coastal communities
📰 Hurricane Helene’s Devastation Shows No Region Is Safe from Climate-Fueled Disaster Record-warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico supercharged the storm, clearly demonstrating the impacts of a changing climate on the intensity of climate hazards. For example, Asheville, North Carolina experienced some of the worst flooding in the nation as a result of Helene, despite previously having been named a “climate haven” due to its relative protections from typical impacts of climate change. (Scientific American, 9/30)
3. Adaptation is increasingly complex as climate hazards become ever more unpredictable
📰 In Booming Asheville, Residents Rethink Their Sense of Safety In 2016, the City of Asheville published an article titled “100 years after the Flood of 1916, the City of Asheville is ready for the next one.” In 2024, Asheville is largely considered one of the hardest hit communities from the hurricane. Asheville has become a haven for artists, craft brewmasters, entrepreneurs, millennials and retirees. The temperate climate is cited as one of the reasons that many residents have migrated to the city, which left flooding low on the list of concerns for city officials. (New York Times, 9/30)
4. Utilities face growing recovery costs alongside social and political pressure to build more resilient grid systems
📰 Widespread Power Outages Block Helene Recovery As of October 1st, 1.6 million customers (out of 6 million who lost power during Helene) were still without power. The devastation in many Appalachian communities can’t yet even be assessed, due to mudslides, flooding, and blocked roads. Utilities in the region face not just immediate recovery costs, but also the costs associated with preparing for the grid’s next major weather assault. And the increasing frequency and severity of climate disasters across the U.S. are raising the costs and political consequences for utilities whose infrastructure can’t withstand these associated impacts. Meanwhile, those impacts are shifting more onus on state regulators to pay attention. The severity of the energy infrastructure destruction from Helene is going to require entire parts of the energy system to not just be repaired, but be entirely rebuilt–ideally with resilience in mind. (E&E News by Politico, 10/1)
5. Building homes with resiliency works - Helene offers a real life example
📰 When Hurricane Helene hit, this disaster-proof Florida Neighborhood kept the lights on Disaster-proofing works and the impacts can be seen in the small town of Cortez, FL which was about four hours south of the eye of recent category 4 Hurricane Helene. The neighborhood of Hunters Point is a development of 31 homes that have been designed to withstand the impacts of Hurricanes. The innovations utilized to disaster-proof these homes include solar panels connected at the seams of steel roofs–to ensure they can’t fly off with high wind impact–and batteries equipped to provide 10 days of limited power. Insurers have been willing to cover the properties due to their high resiliency, at a time when many insurance companies are exiting Florida. However, the homes do not come cheap, with prices starting at $1.25M, and the developers are exploring opportunities to replicate the design in other locations and with cheaper homes. (Fast Company, 9/30)
>> On the ground content offers early lens into understanding Helene’s devastation
👥 October 2 @ 11 am CT / 12pm ET: 11th National Risk Assessment: Portfolio Pressures | According to First Street, an organization that connects financial risk to climate risk, 57 banks with a collective $627 billion in real estate loans could be exposed to "material financial risk," as defined by the SEC, due to climate change. Dr. Ed Kearns, Chief Science Officer, Dr. Jeremy Porter, Head of Climate Implications, and Matthew Eby, Founder and CEO will discuss "Portfolio Pressures," First Street’s 11th National Risk Assessment on October 2nd, 2024 at 11:00 AM CDT. Register here.
👥 October 3 @ 12pm CT / 1pm ET - U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation: Responding to Helene | Following Hurricane Helene, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber Foundation are mobilizing support for the victims; coordinating with organizations actively responding to the crisis, as well as the federal government, state governments, and others to explore ways to provide humanitarian assistance during this difficult time.
🤝 Support the Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund | Created by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, this fund provides resources to community-based organizations to address medium- and long-term recovery needs, such as rebuilding homes and livelihoods and connecting survivors to disaster case management and legal services to improve their chances of recovering fully after a hurricane.
Our "Curated Insights" are compiled based on recency and relevance for The Epicenter's audience overall – some editions will be tied to current events while others will offer more evergreen insights. Please send us your favorite finds for inclusion in the next roundup.
The Epicenter editors recently interviewed Daniel Zarrilli, former Chief Resilience Officer for New York City and current Chief Climate & Sustainability Officer at Columbia University, about his work during the post-Hurricane Sandy recovery effort.
When disaster strikes, the question is not whether we will rebuild, but how. The problem is that it costs more to rebuild a home to disaster-resilient standards. We need new flexible and dedicated financing products that make it easier for homeowners to make critical resilience investments.
