(TNS) - In Congress, battles are raging over disaster relief spending. Who should get the help? Puerto Rico, still seeking emergency reconstruction money in the wake of 2017 Hurricane Maria (and yes, Puerto Rico is part of the United States and just as deserving of help as, say, North Carolina)? How about Hawaii, where volcanic eruptions have seen molten lava destroy homes, roads and other infrastructure? Nebraska and Iowa, which were inundated by some of the worst flooding in their history? California, trying to rebuild from the most widespread and deadly wildfires the state has ever seen? Or the Florida Panhandle and parts of Georgia, where homes and farms were wiped out by the violent Hurricane Michael last year?

All those disasters and more — they are a signature national wound of the 21st century, a growing roster of attacks by natural forces that are unprecedented in their power and frequency. The object of current congressional fisticuffs is a $13 billion disaster aid package that tries to address many of those violent and devastating acts of nature. And it's not nearly enough to repair what's been broken, let alone do what's needed to prepare for a future that's likely filled with more such fire, wind and water.

Government at every level should have seen it coming, two or three decades ago. That's when we first became aware that climate change had begun, with warmer air and water temperatures and changing weather patterns that were producing more and bigger storms, and droughts where the land was once verdant. As The Washington Post reported this week, taxpayer spending on federal disaster relief funds is almost 10 times greater than it was three decades ago — and that's adjusted for inflation.

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