In the Eye of the Hurricane: Our Community in the Middle of the Climate Crisis.
This piece was written in Spanish for NewsLatino Today and published on 10/6/2024 titled: “En el Ojo del Huracán: Nuestra Comunidad en medio de la Crisis Climática.”
As victims of Hurricane Helene continue to be recovered after its path of destruction in the East Coast of the United States and survivors are quite literally left picking up the pieces of their lives, scientists assure us that these weather events have become such an unpredictable phenomenon because of climate change and its effects are undeniable. As NOAA) puts it, “The U.S. suffers more frequent, intense, climate-driven extreme events that impact public health, the economy and historical and cultural resources.” (1)
These disasters, along with economic instability and increased assaults on the rights of marginalized genders, LGBTQA+ people and undocumented workers in conservative states are creating an internal migration in the USA, and no matter where you live, climate disaster can quickly overcome your city. We are witnessing in real time that it is not just an issue that affects people living in hurricane paths anymore.
Far away from the coast, in places people from the coast are encouraged to go when these disasters approach, they suffer floods, mudslides, record rains, broken dams and roads and in some cases, destroy entire hospitals and towns. North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and other states are on a long road to recovering from these climate-driven extreme events which will take billions of dollars to accomplish. The lives lost are too precious to quantify and never deserving of being lost to climate change. Rebuilding a city or town is no easy feat, and with these violent climate-driven events becoming more frequent and volatile, no region of the US is safe. Nor where in the world is: Across the world, Kedah in Malaysia recovers from floods as the monsoons become more dangerous due to climate change at the same time. (2)
Migrants in the USA know the realities of climate disaster and ecological devastation deeply well as many of us have migrated here after catastrophes including land degradation and the displacement of Indigenous agricultural workers that historically kept those lands, health crises tied to climate change, natural weather phenomena exacerbated as climate-driven extreme events, ecological devastation due to mining, fracking, lumber and multinational agricultural enterprises. According to the UN Refugee Agency
“In 2022, 84% of refugees and asylum seekers fled from highly climate-vulnerable countries, an increase from 61 per cent in 2010. At the same time, a significant percentage of forcibly displaced and stateless people are living in the most climate-vulnerable environments in the world, where — together with their host communities — they lack access to environmentally sustainable resources and resilience to the impacts of climate change. Women, girls and other groups with specific needs often face higher risks and greater burdens from the impacts of climate change, due to existing roles, responsibilities and cultural norms.” (3)
When catastrophes like this happen many undocumented people in the community are unable to receive material support through federal and state funds to recover from the damage.
Even more tragic, and preventable are the news of Latina workers in East Tennessee lost on Friday due to flooding as first reported by News 4 Nashville. Employees that survived the Impact Plastics Flooding in Erwin, TN alleged that the company’s higher up’s, from a safe distance, ordered to not allow employees to call in or leave as warnings of dangerous weather approached. Although the company through a cold-hearted letter to the public laments the loss of these employees and maintains that people chose to stay and not evacuate and they plan to support survivors, survivors and family members maintain that this is not the case and heartbreakingly, family members describe their loved ones’ last moments.
A tragedy that could have been prevented.
The impact of this and the coming storm forming next week and the overall impact of the climate change we are experiencing is still hard to understand. The lives and land loss are unimaginable. And so has been the compassionate response of people across the country mobilizing their people to support these communities, the creative ways in which people are getting involved from far away.
I had the privilege of traveling to Rocky Mount. NC immediately after the tornado. Coincidentally, I was there for the RAFI Come to the Table Conference to speak about my work writing about farmworkers and climate change. I have seen the level of random destruction and chaos this crisis is creating in communities all over the US. Connected and heard the stories of workers in North Carolina, hearing of the summer droughts due to extreme heat that killed many crops, and of another a month prior.
As I arrived at the hotel after day one of the conference we all had to evacuate to the stairwells due to two tornado warnings in effect. As myself and other hotel guests waited and nervously chatted up the ‘evacuation party on the stairs’ my anxious mind raced. Finally as the storm passed and left us a double rainbow in the sky, I called my family. Grateful to even have that privilege.
Reverend Leonina Arismendi is an award winning writer, artist and a human and environmental rights advocate living and working on the East Coast of the US.
www.leoninaarismendi.com
IG: @RevolutionaryGirlYanina
You can read the original writing on News Latino Today: here.
Sources:
2 https://www.texilajournal.com/public-health/article/2487-social-work-study
