Climate risk research tells us how the wind blows.
By Steven M. Rothstein and Christopher S. Stark, Rhode Island Current
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Global insured losses from natural catastrophes alone reached over $100 billion for the sixth consecutive year in 2025. In 2015, these numbers were between $27 billion and $37 billion across the globe. California wildfires alone in 2025 exceeded 2015 losses.
In the coming decades, millions more homes and businesses along the East Coast will be threatened by wind damage. According to a 2023 study by the First Street Foundation, the average cost of damage in Rhode Island caused by extreme weather is projected to rise by more than 50% from $10 million to $15.6 million in 2053.
Rhode Island’s 400 miles of coastline and several rivers have risen above flood stage in the past. That means an increased risk of waterborne diseases, mold growth, bacterial contamination, psychological trauma, and long-term effects on local economies in the years ahead, state officials say.
Such potential changes to our local climate require us to move even more quickly to develop additional programs that promote a culture of resiliency — and building strong coalitions is the key to advancing common-sense resiliency reforms. That is precisely why Ceres, a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and resilient economy, and the Rhode Island Insurance Federation are teaming up to advocate for the legislature to adopt H.7865 to create “Strengthen Rhody Homes” in the Ocean State. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, a Westerly Democrat.
This program is based on the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s FORTIFIED standard for retrofitting homes to withstand high-wind catastrophes. The FORTIFIED Home program aims to minimize damage from winds up to 130 mph, torrential rain and hail up to 2 inches in diameter.
From sealing the roof deck, to impact-resistant shingles and better attachment, this roof standard has already proven to help reduce losses. According to the Alabama Insurance Department, more than 95% of properties retrofitted to a FORTIFIED standard did not receive any significant damage from the 2020 landfall of Hurricane Sally, a Category 2 storm.
Importantly, the Strengthen Alabama Homes program has delivered grants to only about 8,700 homeowners, but over 51,000 homes have been upgraded to a FORTIFIED roof since the program began. This data illustrates that this program is working so well that it is incentivizing upgrades to protect homes even without grant dollars from the state. Developing such a culture of resiliency is important to mitigate the impacts of climate change at the personal level and is important to the future of our coastal and other wind-prone communities.
Ceres and the federation look forward to working together with the Rhode Island General Assembly and Department of Business Regulation to pass this legislation, but our work for resiliency cannot stop at Strengthen Rhody Homes. We must start here but then must also look to incorporate resiliency into the Rhode Island Building Codes, promote the purchase of private or public flood insurance, and take steps to make the Rhode Island coast more resilient to the risk of flooding.
Together we must find affordable solutions at the personal level to combine with major public projects to protect personal property assets across Rhode Island. Implementing the Strengthen Rhody Homes Program is a great next step.
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Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
