The New Abnormal as Revealed by 2022’s Natural Disasters

The winter storm and deep freeze that has affected large parts of the U.S. over the last week is ushering out a year that has been notable in many ways for its natural disasters, as an article providing a recap of 2022’s most significant incidents reminds us.

While many water systems across the South have been affected by the recent freezing conditions, perhaps the most impactful events to the sector were the extreme rainfall and flooding over the summer in places like Montana, eastern Kentucky, Jackson, St. Louis, and Dallas. Those don’t even include hurricanes Fiona and Ian, which brought destruction to Puerto Rico and parts of Florida. While many communities dealt with too much water, other communities, especially in the West, had the opposite problem: extreme and ongoing drought. There have been other types of natural disasters too, including tornadoes, extreme heat, and wildfires. While many of these calamities seemed to catch communities by surprise, climate models forecasted these risks were coming. This year, therefore, might provide a glimpse of our near future. However, to say this is the “new normal” is misleading, suggesting we have reached a new stable state. It’s even more important for communities to understand the risks of today (and tomorrow) and plan accordingly. Read more at the Conversation.