It's just a reality that we don't cope well with disasters of this scale.

NPR: 2 Years On, Slow Quake Recovery In New Zealand

Investors are not auditors, they don't have subpoena power, and they can't know about such disasters in advance.

FORBES

Moreover, alternatives were tricky: Trailers, often used after other disasters, weren't workable for New York City, the FEMA official in charge of Sandy response here has said.

WSJ: NYC post-Sandy home repair program passes 20K mark

In a way that doesn't hurt anyone or cause any natural disasters, she added, out of habit.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Criss Cross'

Plant owners are dispersing it on and near reactor sites but don't plan to upgrade it to resist natural disasters.

CNN: Our reactors still vulnerable, a year after Fukushima

Nuclear disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima don't run on a human timeline.

CNN: Chernobyl's 25-year shadow

" Says Democratic state representative Frederica Wilson, who is pressing Bush to open a grand jury investigation into the DCF's disasters: "If he doesn't stop and get a handle on this, he's going to look clueless and heartless come fall.

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Those demand spikes are unavoidable mini-disasters for energy companies -- their own grid doesn't have the power on hand, and the utility has to buy it elsewhere -- competing with other utilities trying to keep the lights on for their customers.

CNN: Nest's plan to stop brownouts before they start

Farmers don't know if they'll still be protected from crop failures or other natural disasters.

NPR: US Economy Hamstrung By Washington's Brinksmanship

Even for those who haven't, many people in the United States are being haunted this week by attacks and disasters of the past.

CNN: The week of terror flashbacks

Witt's team clearly was also successful with the sixth step, Produce Short-Term Wins, and at least to some extent the seventh, Don't Let Up--as evidenced by FEMA's successful response to hundreds of disasters, including the most costly flood and earthquake in the nation's history to that time as well as multiple serious hurricanes.

FORBES: Changing FEMA

Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, a California-based advocacy group that works with consumers on claims after disasters, said higher deductibles weaken the value of insurance, especially when premiums don't go down.

NPR: Coastal Homeowners Stagger Under Insurance Costs

But don't count on oil companies building more refineries across the country to spread the risk from hurricanes and other natural disasters.

FORBES: Magazine Article