As devastating floods replace record heat, U.S. insurers reduce cover over climate risks

C: Carol M. Highsmith

After the heat comes the floods. A northern hemisphere summer, which has upended climate models and redefined extreme weather on land and seas, continues to set nearly daily records.

After record fires and temperatures have hit Greece, now comes record flooding, with some models suggesting three feet of rain in three days. Already, one person is reported to have been killed by record flooding. Commentators on X are alarmed at what they are seeing in the country:

2-3 feet of rain in 3 days! “Unbelievable amounts of rain in Greece, as I have never seen them. Over 700, some models do more than 1000 mm in 3 days. No area can cope with this mass of rain without catastrophic events. The warm Mediterranean provides the fuel.” https://t.co/6dFN9vevTk

— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) September 4, 2023

Absolutely unreal. Latest ECMWF based Swiss 4×4 km HD model run remains off the charts with forecast rainfall across Thessaly, Greece over the next 48 hours. +2,000 mm in 48 hours is highly unlikely to occur but it shows the extreme rainfall potential of this event.

I can't… https://t.co/UcYYym2YG2 pic.twitter.com/SuNymSIXiG

— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) September 4, 2023

Greece is not alone.

Here it is, the omega blocking in all its glory, responsible for the annotated extreme weather events in Europe this week. pic.twitter.com/0TUmZMQzoT

— Mika Rantanen (@mikarantane) September 4, 2023

As some parts of Europe remain stuck in the heat, others are flooding, too. Like Spain, there have been reports of major casualties and flooding alerts. In Madrid alone, there have been nearly 200 call-outs for the emergency services.

Torrential rain caused major flooding in Spain. Authorities reported that there were at least two fatalities from the flooding. pic.twitter.com/8mFJ0phQ7S

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) September 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/WxNB_/status/1698789524703256929

Like a war zone

The aftermath of flash flooding in El Alamo Spain this morning.

Heated air holds more water. We’ve heated the air by 1.2°C globally with man made warming.

Expect much more of this.pic.twitter.com/nw7seuxmKl

— Dave Throup (@DaveThroup) September 4, 2023

There have been floods in Turkey, too:

Severe flash flooding from Samsun on the north coast of Turkey today 🇹🇷

Result of slow-moving heavy downpour since last night.pic.twitter.com/FFWuj94iFU

— Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) September 3, 2023

And nor is it just Europe. In recent days, there has been flooding reported in Sri Lanka:

Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, flooded today pic.twitter.com/6zv9iA3oE6

— Green Cllr Scott (@cllrLisaScott) September 3, 2023

and Guatemala:

Houses collapse due to flooding in San Miguel Petapa, #Guatemala yesterday.#ClimateActionNow pic.twitter.com/jqIfJZUDGL

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) September 3, 2023

In the U.S., the departure from the Burning Man festival continued after revellers were stranded after heavy rain and flooding. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas:

Major flooding in Las Vegas https://t.co/osEY0R58mw

— Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) September 3, 2023

And New Orleans:

Heavy rainfall is causing widespread flooding across the New Orleans area.
Here you can see the top of a fully submerged car at the train crossing on Canal Boulevard and Homedale Street in Lakeview. @WGNOtv pic.twitter.com/Amoj991id6

— Reilly Cook (@ReillyGCook) September 4, 2023

This comes just days after Florida was hit by flooding due to Hurricane Idalia.

Water as far as the eye can see! #Idalia Cedar Key, FL pic.twitter.com/7D6rXfMMax

— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 30, 2023

And now it seems that insurers, in the U.S. at least, have had enough. U.S. insurers have handed out a staggering $300 billion in natural disaster claims in the last three years. And in the first six months of 2023 alone, climate-related claims amounted to $40 billion.

Once seen as potential allies in the climate fight as they had much to lose, it seems that some, at least, are cutting their losses and stopping cover altogether.

Back in the 1990s I foolishly thought that insurance companies, because they had so much to lose, were potential allies in fight over climate against fossil fuel companies. What I hadn't considered was insurance co. would just screw policy holders. https://t.co/I7q7JA0APo

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) September 3, 2023

The Washington Post reports, “In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.”

According to the Post, at least five of the largest property insurers in the country, including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway, have told regulators “that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles.”

Some insurers are limiting availability, cutting out cover for damages caused by hurricanes, wind and hail, or for those properties near the coast or in areas prone to fires.

As our world warms, as this summer has shown, more extreme weather is now inevitable. There is no longer a fire season. Fires are all year round. All areas are at risk of flooding. Even areas not prone to extreme winds or hurricanes are now being hit. This is the new normal.

And if our homes are becoming uninsurable, leading climate scientist Professor Michael Mann points out that it is the first step to our homes being uninhabitable. The rich will move, but the poor and most marginalized in society will once again suffer.

As I've said before of climate change-driven extreme weather disasters, uninsurability is the first step down the path to uninhabitability:https://t.co/Yz0wPZT3wm

— Prof Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) September 4, 2023