Recent hurricanes and sustainable development

Hurricane Milton and Helene 

Two hurricanes just hit Florida: hurricanes Milton and Helene. Milton was devastating, affecting millions of people and causing 34 billion dollars in loss and damages, not including the effects of the tornados and deaths. Additionally, hurricane Helene cost almost 47 billion dollars in damage. These hurricanes have been devastating and many scientists and officials are worried about the strength of future hurricanes. Beth Zimmerman, a senior executive adviser with IEM, an emergency management consultant firm, says, “Everybody needs to be looking not to what they experienced in the past, but what is happening now in terms of hurricanes and extreme weather.” This plan is in response to how hurricane Helene did not die at the coast, but instead moved all the way to North Carolina. 

Climate Implications for the Future

Climate change is something that has always happened, however, in the last decade humans have impacted the climate to increase at dangerous levels, creating unstable environments. The planet is being warmed by the very things we find the most helpful and efficient in our lives. Food, gas, heat… all things we need, but at what cost? We find these resources the most helpful, but ultimately they could lead to a lack of all resources. Power outages, a lack of food, insatiable weather and dry mines are all possibilities we will most likely face soon, if not now. Humans take and take for our gain now… but for our ultimate and greater loss later. And that “later” is here, “later” is happening. Hurricanes are becoming more intense; in the last decades we have seen an increase in hurricanes, and at the same time we have seen an increase in the heat of our oceans and our air. According to the NOAA, the warming waters in the ocean lead to larger hurricanes due to heightened moisture, creating more rainfall. And even though we have always had intense hurricanes, these are said to be some of the deadliest hurricanes in over two decades. NASA says that although “the global frequency of storms may decrease or remain unchanged…hurricanes that form are more likely to become intense.”

The hurricanes that occurred these past couple of weeks point toward this reality. Damage to livelihood, houses, power and families are leaving us in the wake of billions of dollars. 

My question: How do we stop this? Hurricanes will happen for the rest of time, but how do we create a sustainable future for our families, for the world, and a future that will quite literally cost us a lot less overall. 

And, there is always hope for a better future! Recently, a hurricane resilient town was built in Florida, and it withheld the tests. Babock ranch was opened in 2018, in hopes of creating a safe haven for climate-driven storms. During these past storms the town never lost power, due to its sustainable and reliable power sources of solar farms and underground transmission system. Florida is attempting to make waves in sustainable homes. Instead of rebuilding over and over again, there are hopes towards resilient homes with large one time costs, helping reduce continuous rebuilding costs. Though these homes are cheap, and not everyone can have a brand new home… Floridan sustainable development workers are working hard to attempt and help give access to sustainable futures. This task is not easy, and won’t be for a long time, but it’s a step. Amy Kowel said, “We look for any opportunities we have to build resilience, We have to reduce risk now.” 

This is just one example of a way we could move towards a sustainable future. However, The diversities of development, economics and socioeconomic classes can cause a lot of different needs for different approaches. So that leads to the question, what approaches do we need to take first to combat these issues and create a better future for all? 

(Featured image source: New York Times)