Storm Struck (at Forbes.com)

Forbes Magazine dated October 27, 2008 We're getting better at predicting how many hurricanes will hit each year, when and where they'll make landfall and how destructive they're likely to be. We know that the temperature of the Atlantic has been 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer since 1995 and that the incidence of hurricanes has increased 60%. Thanks to modeling by the likes of Risk Management Solutions, air Worldwide, Equecat and others, we know that a category three hurricane hitting Pensacola, Fla. will cause $2.5 billion or so in damage, a category five slamming New Orleans, $23 billion. But we're not so smart about figuring out how to pay for the cleanup. Hurricane Katrina cost U.S. taxpayers $95 billion, mostly to cover flood damage; private insurers, who primarily pay for wind damage, ate another $40 billion. Many... [read full story]