Natural disasters

The White House has asked for an additional $37.3 billion to send to states and communities that faced natural disasters last year, including $600 million to Jackson, Mississippi, for its water crisis.

The spiderweb of funding sources for natural disaster recovery makes it hard to track the actual costs to state and local government of fighting wildfires.

After four hurricanes and 11 insurer insolvencies, a $458 million deal for the Louisiana Insurance Guaranty Association supplies capital to pay claims.

"No bonding will be needed to pay for Ian-insured losses," says Ben Watkins, director of Florida's Division of Bond Finance.

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.