The Inside Story Podcast Can Southeast Asia keep rebuilding after its deadliest storm season?
Dec 8, 2025
Join experts Benjamin Horton, a professor specializing in climate impacts, Seher Raheja, a climate justice advocate, and Alexandre Borde, an environmental economist, as they tackle the aftermath of Southeast Asia’s devastating storm season. They discuss the extreme conditions that fueled these storms and the hidden toll on vulnerable communities. The trio also explores the limitations of insurance, the urgent need for adaptive finance, and innovative strategies like nature-based defenses to ensure resilience against future climate threats.
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Warmer Air Means Stronger, Surprising Storms
- Record-breaking storms in 2025 were predictable because higher temperatures increase atmospheric water vapor.
- Benjamin Horton warns more frequent and intense monsoon extremes will hit places unprepared for such disasters.
Hidden Social And Economic Losses
- Disasters cause wide-ranging economic and non-economic losses including demolished homes, crop failure, and disrupted schooling.
- Seher Raheja stresses these impacts are often unquantified yet crucial for recovery planning.
Insurance Covers Only Part Of The Bill
- Insurance covers only a fraction of disaster losses, with about 40 percent of global assets insured.
- Alexandre Borde notes the uninsured share is much higher in developing countries, leaving huge recovery gaps.