Counting the cost of calamities.

The article discusses the economic costs of natural disasters such as the March 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami in Japan, 2011 floods in Thailand, and the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Australia. The article argues that while death tolls have decreased, increased economic activity in places which are at risk for disaster has made them more costly. Government management of natural disasters in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Japan is discussed.