Hurricane Helene has devastated the southeastern United States, as it traveled across Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia. In parts of Appalachia, severe flooding has caused hundreds of roads to be closed. More than a week after the storm surged through the area, hundreds of thousand residents remain without electricity, as power outages are still being reported. It is being reported by mainstream media that at least 215 people have died, and hundreds are unaccounted for in the destruction.
Hurricane Helene is another string of examples of the evidence of climate change. Climate change is causing intense weather shifts in previously understood patterns. Flash flooding in mountainous areas such as Appalachia is not normal. The Guardian reports that the rainfall from the hurricane turned into a torrent on the Nolichucky River in eastern Tennessee, and that at its height, it was almost twice the normal flow of Niagara Falls. Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory say that “climate change may have caused as much as 50% more rainfall during Hurricane Helene in some parts of Georgia and the North Carolinas. Furthermore, we estimate that the observed rainfall was made up to 20 times more likely in these areas because of global warming.”
Many are arguing that Hurricane Helene is a climate disaster, and it is understood that climate disasters disproportionately affect those of lower socioeconomic status. The Appalachian region has faced generations of poverty due to a variety of reasons: declining coal industries, bad infrastructure development, and exploitation of the working class. The overall devastation in the aftermath of Helene can be understood by the connected links between climate change and poverty. Climate change is causing more intense storms because higher ocean temperatures and a warmer atmosphere is allowing for heavier rain over land. NBC News reports that for very 1 degree Fahrenheit of global warming, the atmosphere can hold about 4% more moisture, which increases the chances of flooding. This is what has caused the mountain towns of Appalachia to be the site of severe flooding from Helene.
The Biden-Harris administration has provided around $20 million to Hurricane Helene survivors as ongoing search and rescue options continue in North Carolina. However, many are criticizing the federal government as the US passed a new aid package to Israel – amounting to $8.7 billion. The same week that Helene coursed through the US, the government announced another round of aid to Ukraine as well, amounting to around $5.55 billion. Americans are frustrated with the lack of support to domestic issues, especially issues where disaster has struck average Americans.
