If the New Orleans region had invested more aggressively in disaster preparedness instead of disaster relief, the total cost of Hurricane Katrina could have been just $7 billion.

That’s compared to the estimated $125 billion to $170 billion economic fallout the storm—the most costly US natural disaster to date—caused, says Michael Bechtel, associate professor of political science and director of environmental policy at Washington University in St. Louis.

This year, similar to last, the country will be hit by an above-average number of extreme weather events, including major hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires. In addition to the potential loss of life, natural disasters are known to cause immense economic and environmental damage.

The situation in New Orleans is not unique. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has urged communities to act on these forecasts and prepare, the US government has for decades under-invested in disaster preparedness.

In a new study in Political Behavior, researchers examined how personal exposure to natural disasters and policy knowledge affect voters’ support for long-term disaster preparedness.

The findings suggest that it’s not lack of experience with natural disasters that drives opposition to preparedness spending, but rather lack of information or misconceptions about the advantages of these policies relative to disaster relief.

Read the full article about disaster preparedness by Sara Savat at Futurity.