Comment by tndl

Yeah, it's a shocking number, and it's just for the US. The global estimates for severe weather are even higher [0], and in places with less infrastructure, the costs are usually more heavily weighted toward human life lost.

Obviously what we're doing can't prevent severe weather from happening, but even very small improvements in accuracy and timelines can have a massive beneficial effect when a disaster does happen. My cofounders and I are all from Florida, so hurricanes are the most visceral examples for us. When hurricanes hit, there are always issues along the lines of "we didn't have the right resources in the right places to respond effectively." Those types of issues can be combated with better info.

[0]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/818411/weather-catastrop...