A laundry machinesits in a flooded section of what used to be a four-lane nationalscenic byway and is now covered in sand after Hurricane Matthew hitthe tiny beach community of Edisto Beach, S.C., Saturday, Oct. 8,2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season was excessively active andextremely destructive, ranking as the fifth-most active hurricaneseason since record keeping began in the mid-19th century.

There were several record-breaking natural disasters during the2017 disaster season, including hurricanes Harvey, Irma andMaria, which were followed by wildfires that killed dozens ofpeople and destroyed thousands of homes. These storms, combinedwith other natural disasters, such as mudslides, fires, floods andstorms, led to the realization that Americans need to be betterprepared to deal with the repercussions of a disaster.

Federal disaster aid typically becomes available to declaredareas or counties based on the extent of devastation. According toa November article in the Washington Post, the number of Americanswho registered for federal disaster aid jumped 10-fold this year.By November 2017, more than 4.8 million Americans had registeredfor disaster aid from the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA).

That number probably grew because victims of Harvey initiallyhad a two-month window after the storm during which they couldregister for federal assistance. That deadline had to be extendedin order to give survivors some extra time to file their claims,since the filing deadline fell during the Thanksgiving holiday, andthe storm knocked out internet and electricity for thousands ofresidents. The numbers from 2017 blew past years out of thewater.

Historically, the number of Americans who have registered fordisaster aid has varied from 480,000 in 2016, to fewer than 180,000during 2015, 2014 and 2013.

FEMA to the rescue?

Not everyone qualifies for aid from FEMA when a disasterstrikes. FEMA's objective is to make sure that survivors are in asafe, secure and functional environment as soon as possible after adisaster. If an insured is not displaced or in an emergencysituation, they do not qualify for disaster aid. For example,cosmetic damages to a home are not covered, but if the damage ismore substantial and renders the home uninhabitable, FEMA willprovide coverage.

FEMA is not an insurance company and it does not replace homeinsurance. Instead, it fills gaps in home insurance and providescoverage for damages that home insurance generally does not cover.After a flood a home may be full of silt and debris, have moldstarting to grow, and be uninhabitable. People in these situations,even if they did not have flood insurance, qualify for disasteraid.

Some insureds might be under the impression that insurance willsave them from having to pay out of pocket for damage that occursto their property due to climate changes, but this may not be thecase. According to NASA, although the Earth's climate has changedthroughout history, the current warming trend is particularlysignificant because it is more likely a result of human activitythan any of the other warming trends in history.

There are several indications of this warming trend includingthe global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets,glacial retreat, decreased snow cover, sea level rise, and extremehigh temperature and intense rainfall events. With these changes toour climate, the landscape to our country is also going to changein the near future. Many of these changes will create damagingevents such as flooding that is not covered under standardhomeowner policies. As the number of wildfires grows, this in turncauses greater risk of flooding, mudflows and landslides, againfactors not covered by the average policy.

Increasing global temperatures and warming oceans result in agreater likelihood of hurricanes and flooding in some areas. Thishappened in 2017, when 60 inches of rain fell from Hurricane Harveyin Texas alone, destroying the U.S. storm record.

According to the Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National ClimateAssessment, global sea level has risen by about seven to eightinches since 1900; three of those inches have occurred since 1993.Human-caused climate change has made a substantial contribution tothe sea level rise since 1900. Based on this trend, it is likelythat sea level will rise by six inches by 2030, and from 1.00 to4.3 feet in 2100.

Assuming that storm characteristics do not change, the predictedsea level rise will increase the frequency and extent of extremeflooding that is associated with coastal storms, such as hurricanesand nor'easters. A Zillow climate change report states scientistspredict that by the year 2100, almost 300 U.S. cities will lose atleast half of their homes, and 36 U.S. cities will be completelylost.

If the climate trends continue, insuring beachfront propertywill soon be much more of a risk than it will be worth.

Related: Rising seas may wipe out Jerseytowns

Hannah Smith ([email protected]) is an editor withFC&S Online, the authority on insurance coverage interpretationand analysis for the P&C industry. It is the resource agents,brokers, risk managers, underwriters and adjusters rely on toresearch commercial and personal lines coverage issues.