It is a massive number, and it is climbing. Over the last four years it has averaged about a billion dollars, and it's getting off the chart.
If that is true, and the federal government is having to backstop climate change, we've gone from some sort of theoretical idea about climate change to a hit on the fisc, as Mr. Hamilton would know better than most. In fact, this one was about a $2-billion hit on fisc, which arguably kept the government from going into balance this year rather than next.
So what provision is being made for the almost inevitable increases of hits for disaster relief?