The time to repair the roof . . .
. . . is when the sun is shining.

Climate-proofing actions can save loads!“Yeah, yeah, yeah. But money’s tight, and it’s tough to spend it guarding against future uncertainties. Rainwater storage, grading for safer drainage, building up our savings, a vegetable garden or chicken coop, courses for new job skills, installing solar – what are the chances all that time and money will really pay off?”

FEMA asked the same question awhile back: would investing in actions to reduce future hazard losses pay back the upfront cost? They commissioned a study by the National Institute of Building Sciences and got the answer. Money spent on stormwater drainage, warning systems, retrofitting public buildings, etc. cut future costs many times over. Creating evacuation routes, business continuity plans, and emergency stores pays off. Limiting growth in hazard areas has a big return. And so on.

All told, a dollar spent by FEMA on hazard mitigation actions provides the nation about $4 in future benefits.

Looking ahead at the many threats to your family from warming, you can probably see that dollars spent to climate-proofing actions to protect your property, your lifestyle, and your earnings will provide or save a whole lot of dollars in future benefits. And beyond those local actions, there could be an even bigger payoff if you spend the money to move. Yes, move. Relocate from your climate-doomed locality to a naturally safer hometown. Check our Where-To-Live Scorecard for your current place of residence, then consider what the mother of all climate-proofing actions – pulling up stakes and settling elsewhere – could save you in the long run. The long-term benefits are likely far more than four dollars for every dollar spent on the move.