At 16 billion dollars of damage the year of drought, floods, hurricanes and fires has meant the last 12 months are the worst on record in the USA.
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The bill is in for America's 2017 of wild weather and the sums are astronomical, with damage from weather and climate disasters estimated at 16 billion dollars.
2017 was the third warmest year on record for the United States, which was tortured by drought, fire, hurricanes and floods and the effects were felt disproporionately wherever the pace of development, like on Houston's flood plain, has outstripped environmental considerations.
Infrastructural damage and lost production added to the bills, while at the same time the US government pulled out of the Paris climate accords and reopened land and sea concessions to oil and gas exploration, calling climate science a fraud that would load extra costs onto American businesses. Few however seem to want to discuss the rising costs of natural disasters.