Natural disasters

The credit outlook on individual credits in Florida is mixed as the first reports of damage from the hurricane start filtering in.

"We are extraordinarily well positioned to deal with this storm from a financial standpoint," said Ben Watkins, director of Florida's Bond Division.

AccuWeather says Hurricane Ian may turn out to be one of the costliest storms in the county's history due to its violent storm surge, damaging winds and overpowering flooding rains.

NOAA predicts six to 10 hurricanes and expects that between three and six of those will be classified as major storms in categories three to five.

Coordinated national efforts to share firefighters and other resources could be stretched thin this year as drought hammers the West.

The high court validated about $800 million of ratepayer-backed bonds to finance the recovery of fuel costs incurred by Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) during the February 2021 storm. 

Oklahoma joins Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana in allowing utilities to float securitized bonds to recover spending on fuel price spikes during Winter Storm Uri.

The climate change pilot program fund has attracted more than 40 interested parties seeking $47 million of funding.

Last week saw the first co-op securitization to finance storm costs, a $908 million deal that could set a national model for utilities.

The Marshall Fire burned 6,000 acres in 24 hours and destroyed more than 1,000 homes in suburban Boulder County between Denver and Boulder.

The weirdness of this storm adds yet another layer of complexity to the vexing problem of coping with climate change.

Long-term damage to municipal credits in the powerful hurricane’s path is not likely, according to early reports from analysts.

The question looms as to what point heightened wildfire activity becomes a significant risk for municipal debt.

Voters in Texas' most populous county approved the flood control bonds after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, but matching funds have been slow to arrive.

S&P Global Ratings gave California an elevated risk in the environmental category on an ESG scorecard, partly because of wildfire risks.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center predict a 60% chance of an above-normal season.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Biden outlined separate plans Monday to increase spending to prepare for natural disasters.

The report found that the White House Office of Management and Budget played a key role in prodding HUD to add additional requirements for Puerto Rico to access the disaster aid.

Fire scorched two million acres across both states, but muni credits remained relatively unscathed.

The office designs and implements a plan that coordinates statewide resilience and disaster recovery efforts.