Hurricane Threat Upends Everything People Have Been Taught Is Safe During A Pandemic
With hurricane and wildfire seasons looming, officials struggle to figure out how to keep Americans safe from natural disasters in the midst of a pandemic.
The Washington Post:
Hurricanes Present A Dangerous Scenario Amid The Pandemic: Stay At Home Or Risk Infection?
As Tropical Storm Cristobal churns through the Gulf of Mexico en route to likely landfall Sunday in Louisiana or Texas, it carries on its winds a message for residents of the United States’ hurricane-prone coastlines that runs counter to everything they have been taught during the pandemic: If a dangerous storm is coming, leave home and seek refuge, with strangers if necessary. But the hurricane season has just begun, and already there have been three named storms, including the one swirling above the warm gulf waters right now that dumped a deluge of rain and caused deadly flooding in the Mexican state of Chiapas. (Sellers and Freedman, 6/6)
NPR:
California Was Set To Spend Over $1 Billion to Prevent Wildfires. Then Came COVID-19
With the coronavirus pandemic eroding state budgets across the country, many communities risk having this disaster make them less prepared for looming climate-driven disasters. Still recovering from devastating wildfires, California was poised to spend billions of dollars to prepare for future fires and other extreme weather disasters. The infrastructure projects, designed to make communities and homes more resistant to wildfire, have long been overlooked, fire experts say. (Sommer, 6/7)
