Tuesday, September 3 2019
Communities Need Immediate and Long-Term Support for Climate Disasters
Miami, FL – On Sunday evening, Hurricane Dorian landed in the Bahamas, continuing to hurtle towards Florida. Thousands have been evacuated, but many more are staying through Dorian, limited in resources and ability to leave the impacted regions. The storm passed over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with less damage, but left the island shaken as a result of enduring climate grief since Hurricane Maria. Dorian came alongside the Trump administration’s diversion of disaster relief funds towards a so-called border emergency. Dorian only promises to get worse.
In times of climate disasters we must support and uplift the needs and demands of impacted communities. We are keeping an eye out for community led disaster support and relief efforts.
The following is a statement from 350.org’s Executive Director, May Boeve:
“In the days ahead of Hurricane Maria’s two year anniversary, the region saw continuing climate devastation now in the form of Hurricane Dorian. This is a lethal storm, made slower and deadlier by climate change. The question we are asking is: what will it take to pursue systems-change on the scale that is required in order to defend communities from the reality of climate-fueled disasters? Countries like the Bahamas, where there’s never a moment of respite from climate impacts, deserve more than shocked thoughts and prayers.
“As stronger climate impacts hit coastal regions, we see the most vulnerable communities facing devastating inequities and lacking in resources to evacuate from these storm when necessary. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is diverting disaster relief to the border wall as part of his preposterous agenda that continues to exclude and deny refuge to communities fleeing the combined effects of the climate crisis, economic inequity, violence and more. Communities deserve a Green New Deal that invests in resilience and adaptation to climate change, provides funding for disaster relief and grassroots recovery, and creates a just transition to 100% renewable economy that creates millions of jobs for workers. Instead of people, it’s fossil fuel billionaires who should pay for the level of damage caused by Hurricane Dorian.
“Disasters like Dorian are never just one moment. As we have seen in the case of Hurricane Katrina, Sandy, and Maria — communities facing these climate impacts barely have moments to recover before the next disaster hits. With each disaster, it becomes ever clearer that we need transformative, bold climate action at scale with the crisis. This is why thousands are mobilizing to disrupt business as usual as part of the global youth-led climate strikes on September 20th.”
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Press Contact: Monica Mohapatra, U.S. Communications Specialist, [email protected]