ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the issues involved in defining the aggregate cost of a disaster and the current availability of reliable estimates, zeros in on the recent experience of Sandy as an illustration of how such estimates are produced and used. Much of the literature on evaluating the aggregate cost of disasters appears to be oriented around profound events, such as the Haitian earthquake, which involve severe disruptions to a nation's infrastructure. The major problems in estimating aggregate disaster costs by region are receiving timely, definitive figures on the value of property damage by geographic area, and estimating the output effects, especially the size and extent of any initial disruptions. Estimates of physical damage caused by disasters are relatively assessable. However, in the US, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), using data from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other sources such as private insurers, routinely compiles estimates of the dollar cost of the damage inflicted by major disasters.
