Weather or Wealth: An Analysis of Property Loss Caused by Flooding in the U.S.

Using fine-scale climate process, we investigated the relationship between extreme surface water runoff and property damages caused by flood in the U.S. Special attention was paid to disentangle effects of extreme weather and social wealth accumulation. We find it is still premature to claim that extreme weather events becomes more destructive due to anthropological climate change, if take into account the increasing values exposed to natural hazards.