Inside the chaotic, lucrative world of disaster recovery
The Disaster Economy
EDITOR’S NOTE
From floods in Texas to wildfires in Los Angeles to back-to-back hurricanes ripping through the Southeast, extreme weather has become a regular part of American life. People across the country are losing their homes, their communities, and their lives at a rapid clip as rising global temperatures fuel more severe and frequent natural disasters.
In the aftermath of these tragedies, another story often unfolds — one of predatory contractors, fraudulent cleanup crews, price gouging, and billion-dollar firms profiting from the pain of disaster. Residents must navigate a complex and sometimes exploitative system while grieving what they’ve lost. Disaster recovery and rebuilding now costs communities tens of billions of dollars a year.
In our new series, The Disaster Economy, Grist exposes the systems that turn recovery into a marketplace — and gives readers like you the tools to navigate and challenge them.
Katherine Bagley
Editor-in-Chief, Grist
Featured
First came the wildfire. Then came the scams.
As extreme weather becomes more frequent, so too have post-disaster contractor scams like excessive billing and shoddy repairs.
All stories
-
![A couple looks at the charred remains of their home burned in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, January 9, 2025. Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles remained totally uncontained January 9, 2025, authorities said, as US National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. Swaths of the United States' second-largest city lay in ruins, with smoke blanketing the sky and an acrid smell pervading almost every building.]()
![A couple looks at the charred remains of their home burned in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, January 9, 2025. Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles remained totally uncontained January 9, 2025, authorities said, as US National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. Swaths of the United States' second-largest city lay in ruins, with smoke blanketing the sky and an acrid smell pervading almost every building.]()
Illegal price-gouging is rampant after disasters. Can it be stopped?
Rents jumped 20 percent after this year’s Los Angeles wildfires, forcing displaced residents to scramble for housing in an already-tough market.
-
![An empty lot with a sign]()
![An empty lot with a sign]()
Two years after a wildfire took everything, Maui homeowners are facing a new threat: Foreclosure
A Native Hawaiian mother’s fight to keep her family in Lāhainā despite soaring costs, mortgage limbo, and land-hungry investors eager to own a piece of Hawaiʻi.
