So what happens if a real disaster/crisis shows up?

[robkelk]

We're talking about climate, not weather. And the evidence we have for climate - including ice cores from glaciers - goes back for millennia.

As for Pensacola, Irma has already wiped every town on Barbuda off the map, has already wiped every town on St Martin off the map (including the third-largest airport in the Caribbean), and is still going. And Jose is hot on its heels. Katia has "jumped the queue" and has already made landfall - but you might not have heard about that because it hit Mexico, not the USA. Veracruz state has taken damage.

Climate is changing - we have four major hurricanes (H, I, J, and K) active at the same time.