I’d love to be writing a more hopeful story about the ways in which renewables can power those left in the dark in the wake of major natural disasters like hurricanes Fiona and Ian. And that story likely will get written. But until there is solar for all, wind power for all, and we are truly in the midst of the just transition frontline communities demand and deserve, I’ve gotta hold that story. Right now, communities are still being impacted and only starting to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian. And those in the path of Hurricane Fiona are still suffering its devastating effects, from lack of power to lack of access to basic resources, to homes being simply uninhabitable.
As I type this, there are innumerable homeowners stuck with few options for a recovery that doesn’t just bring their homes back to livable but allows them to be more resilient in the face of climate-worsened storms. I remember speaking with a source from FEMA last year in the wake of Hurricane Ida who likened the agency’s own relief efforts to the difference between doing the bare minimum with recovery or doing the bare minimum and then slapping a new coat of paint on the whole thing. The paint will never even be purchased, given the mechanisms FEMA has in place. And given the historic inequities in who receives relief and recovery money, sometimes even that bare minimum restoration will never happen.
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FEMA has continually failed residents whose lives have been upended by storms and whose lives may never be the same because of their lack of access to proper resources. That also goes for the uninsured or those living in areas where adequate insurance will forever stay out of reach—especially if insurance companies have any say about it. As Hurricane Ian makes its way past Florida, officials are already trying to address insurance issues by temporarily blocking companies from dropping policies in the state. There is no guarantee that, after the policy lifts on Nov. 28, insurers won’t cancel or fail to renew insurance policies.
The New York Times found that just 18.5% of those in Hurricane Ian’s path who received evacuation orders were covered by flood insurance. That number is much higher in places historically prone to flooding, but we are in an unprecedented climate crisis in which even more communities than ever are vulnerable to the effects of hurricanes not measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. With storms also making their way further inland and devastating communities that have never experienced them, it’s more important than ever that we rethink what recovery and climate resilience looks like.
That process must include the most vulnerable populations caught in the crosshairs of natural disasters, including those who are incarcerated and those experiencing housing insecurity. The “proper channels”—insurance, FEMA, assistance from other states, even relief groups—simply aren’t enough to ensure that communities recover in a more climate resilient, environmentally just way. A climate emergency must be declared in order to free up the resources needed to properly aide those still recovering from natural disasters’ immediate aftermath, and those still suffering years—and sometimes even decades—later.