An excavator sinks in water at a lakeshore construction site. (Image: Adobe Stock)

show that most Americas (73%) support further regulation of the construction industry in areas vulnerable to extreme weather. But there was much lower support for moving people out of entire villages or regions (13%). They were also less likely to support outright building bans.

鈥淩espondents like more oversight of construction in areas vulnerable to weather disasters,鈥� explained Pew. 鈥淲hen asked about government setting stricter building standards in these high-risk communities, 73% say this is a good idea. In contrast, just 37% say the same of measures to ban new construction.鈥�

While respondents supported government intervention regarding construction logistics, they were mixed on financial support.

鈥淢ore than half (57%) support aid for communities to rebuild after extreme weather events, with a far smaller share (20%) saying this is a bad idea. Views on providing support to pay rising home insurance costs are more divided, with 40% saying this is a good idea and 34% saying this is a bad idea. But when asked about government buying people鈥檚 homes in high-risk areas so they can purchase ones in lower-risk areas, more say this is a bad (38%) than good (25%) idea,鈥� said Pew.

On climate, politics matter but not by much

鈥淎mong those who say they鈥檝e experienced any of these extreme weather events, a large majority say climate change contributed at least a little,鈥� said Pew, noting that political ideology did not weight as heavily on this question as others. 鈥淢ost Republicans 鈥� and nearly all Democrats 鈥� say climate change played a role.鈥�

Pew said Democrats (79%) and Republicans (68%) 鈥渟hare the view that stricter standards for new construction in high-risk areas are a good idea.鈥�

While Pew notes support of bans was 鈥渏ust鈥� 37%, it鈥檚 a considerable figure when extrapolated to the population: more than 120 million Americans support entire bans. On the other hand, 29% believe banning regions for dwelling are a bad idea (less than 100 million people, extrapolated over the population), while 33% were unsure.