Report on the Proposed Restoration of NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Disaster Database

Executive Summary

A legislative initiative has been launched by United States Senate Democrats to reinstate a critical climate and weather disaster database previously managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The discontinuation of this database presents significant challenges to tracking the economic impacts of climate change and informing policies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). This report outlines the database’s function, the implications of its termination, and the current efforts to restore it as a vital tool for national resilience and sustainable development.

The Database’s Role in Advancing Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13: Climate Action

The NOAA database served as a primary instrument for quantifying the escalating financial costs of climate-related disasters in the United States. Its data was essential for:

• Providing evidence-based support for policies aimed at mitigating climate change.
• Informing adaptation strategies by illustrating the economic consequences of inaction.
• Raising public and legislative awareness regarding the tangible costs of extreme weather events, a key component of taking urgent action to combat climate change.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The annual reports derived from the database highlighted the intersection of climate change and settlement patterns. This information was crucial for making human settlements more resilient and sustainable by:

• Identifying areas of high vulnerability where development is increasing in disaster-prone zones like floodplains and wildland-urban interfaces.
• Guiding disaster funding decisions and resource allocation for building resilient infrastructure.
• Supporting urban planning and risk reduction strategies to protect lives and property.

Impact of Discontinuation on SDG Monitoring

Termination of a Key Data Source

The Trump administration retired the database in May, citing evolving priorities and staffing changes. This decision removed a decades-long, consistent data source that tracked billion-dollar disasters since 1980. The absence of this data hinders the ability to:

1. Monitor the increasing frequency and cost of climate disasters, a key indicator for SDG 13.
2. Assess the economic vulnerability of communities, impacting progress towards SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
3. Make informed decisions on building resilient infrastructure, a target under SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).

Data Scope and Limitations

While comprehensive, the database focused on direct costs, such as damage to buildings and crops. Its restoration offers an opportunity to expand its scope to better align with broader SDG targets by potentially including:

• Health-related costs, which would support SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).
• Losses to “natural capital” like forests and wetlands, relevant to SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Legislative Action and Institutional Strengthening (SDG 16)

The Proposed Bill

A bill introduced by Senator Peter Welch and co-sponsored by over a dozen Senate Democrats aims to mandate the restoration of the database. Key provisions of the proposed legislation include:

• Requiring NOAA to resume its accounting of billion-dollar disasters.
• Mandating updates at least twice a year using established methodology.

This legislative effort represents a move to strengthen public institutions (SDG 16) by ensuring that policy decisions are informed by reliable, long-term scientific data. However, the bill faces political hurdles as it currently lacks bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)

In the interim, the data gap is being addressed through cross-sector collaboration. Adam Smith, the former lead scientist for the project at NOAA, has been hired by Climate Central, a non-profit research group. This partnership between an experienced government scientist and a non-governmental organization exemplifies SDG 17, as they work to re-develop the dataset independently. This highlights the critical role of non-state actors in advancing the sustainable development agenda when governmental support falters.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • The article directly links the increase in natural disasters to climate change. It mentions that the NOAA database illustrated “how climate change is shifting patterns of extreme weather” and that “extreme weather is becoming more frequent, according to climate scientists.” The discussion revolves around the impacts of climate-related hazards like flooding, wildfires, and hurricanes.
2. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • The article discusses the economic and physical impact of disasters on human settlements. It notes the database captured “direct costs” of disasters, including “damage to buildings, infrastructure and crops.” It also highlights the vulnerability of communities by pointing out that people are “increasingly moving into areas prone to disasters like flooding and wildfires,” which directly relates to the resilience and safety of cities and communities.
3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The core issue of the article is institutional action and policy. It details the decision by a government agency (NOAA) under the Trump administration to retire a crucial database and the subsequent legislative effort by Senate Democrats to restore it. This speaks to the need for “effective, accountable and transparent institutions,” as the database is described as “absolutely essential in providing information” for disaster funding decisions and emergency preparedness.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Under SDG 13: Climate Action
   • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. The article emphasizes that the database is “crucial to emergency preparedness and reducing costs of natural disasters,” which are key components of building resilience and adaptive capacity.
2. Under SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters. The entire purpose of the NOAA database discussed in the article is to track and quantify these “direct economic losses,” specifically disasters that “exceeded $1 billion in damage.”
3. Under SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The debate over the discontinuation and proposed restoration of the NOAA database is a direct reflection of this target. The bill aims to force a government agency to restore a data-tracking project deemed essential for effective governance and public information.
   • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. The article states that the database reports “were used by lawmakers in disaster funding decisions.” The absence of this data hinders responsive and informed decision-making by policymakers.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Direct Economic Loss from Disasters
   • The article explicitly mentions this as the primary focus of the NOAA database. It tracked “disasters that exceeded $1 billion in damage” and captured the “‘direct costs’ of disasters, like damage to buildings, infrastructure and crops.” The article provides a specific figure: “Last year, NOAA counted 27 billion-dollar disasters, which cost about $182.7 billion.” This directly serves as an indicator for Target 11.5.
2. Number of Billion-Dollar Disasters
   • This is a key metric from the database mentioned repeatedly in the article. For example, “From 1980 to 2024, the NOAA database tallied a total of 403 billion-dollar disasters.” This indicator measures the frequency of high-impact climate and weather events, which is relevant to tracking progress on Target 13.1.
3. Availability of Public Data for Decision-Making
   • The article implies this as a crucial indicator for institutional effectiveness (Target 16.6 and 16.7). The entire conflict is about the existence and public availability of the database. The bill introduced would “require NOAA to restore the database and update it at least twice a year.” The existence, regular updating, and accessibility of such a database for lawmakers and the public is a measurable indicator of institutional transparency and support for informed decision-making.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nbcnews.com