This summer, 12 people let me into their lives to tell me about their experiences in the aftermath of disasters, including hurricanes, floods, freezes, wildfires and derechos. All said, they did not receive the aid they expected, and the effects have been devastating. “It’s been a very humbling experience, to say the least, to go from ‘We’re fine, we just got a new house, we have a huge savings, biggest we’ve ever had’ to ‘You have nothing and you lost everything and you have to go to food pantries for food,’” said Aleasha LeClere, whose life was turned upside down by a 2020 derecho in Iowa. According to research on disasters and advocacy groups, these survivors’ experiences are very much the norm.

The help Americans receive after disasters isn’t just inadequate, it’s complicated to navigate and painfully slow to arrive. From the amount of time it takes to complete recovery — measured in years, not months — to the labyrinth of policies, regulations, false promises and lawsuits, the reward for surviving a disaster is being forced into a system so cruel it constitutes a second disaster.

So few resources are available to survivors that some become homeless or live on the brink of homelessness for years, while others have no option but to continue living in their mold-filled homes. According to a 2023 survey of people in Houston, 8 percent of those experiencing homelessness cited a disaster, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, as the cause.

The emotional toll of recovery is breaking people. Researchers have found that the circumstances of disaster recovery help to explain increases in domestic violence, a range of mental health issues, worsening physical health in people with pre-existing conditions and suicide. With climate change and its effects accelerating and intensifying, this post-disaster hell is one in which more people in more places are going to find themselves. Our system isn’t ready.

Insurance was supposed to be a safety net, but as the risks from a warming world increase from North Carolina to California, major insurers are placing new limits on the kinds of hazards they cover — or leaving altogether. Government is far from ready to make up the difference. But it needs to find a way to keep up — and get significantly more money in survivors’ hands.