I have been consumed trying to understand the scale of devastation from Hurricane Helene across the five states impacted, and I know it will be sometime before we do get a sense of the scale. You can see many videos and articles on my knowledge page if you’re trying to make sense of it too. I’m updating it every day.

I don’t know this area, but reports are talking about many mountainous towns cut off, and the BBC reported today that there are 11,000 missing persons requests. As with the Nepal floods, the final numbers could be staggering.

However, one issue that has really risen to the top of the news cycle is how quickly everyone is struggling to survive after the storm. This is a massive lesson for all of us to heed, because looking at how things are going around the world, we too, will face a catastrophic event.

What I’ve noticed so far

• Power – thankfully it’s not extremely hot or cold right now, or the power outages could be an even bigger issue, but two million people remain without power and repairing power sources will take a long time. The impact on survivors was fast too, because within days of the storm, all the food was gone or ruined because fridges had no power. With supermarkets also destroyed in the storm, this left people with nothing
• Roads and bridges collapsed – people can’t get in or out across huge parts of the areas impacted, and this is a major issue for search and rescue, food and water distribution, as well as for medical needs. The only way in or out is by air, and looking at the scale of the damage, this will make it even more challenging to get help where it’s needed. The road and bridge damage is so vast, it will take months to get the main roads working again. The back roads and bridges, even longer
• Medical – one of the recurring stories was how quickly we heard about people in dire medical need, not because they were harmed in the storm, but because of existing conditions. They had no access to life saving medicine or the machines they need to keep them alive
• Phone – we are all on mobile phones these days and all the towers went out, which has created a HUGE issue as people are still unable to speak to family and friends. Many have no idea if their loved ones survived the storm and because of the other issues – like roads destroyed – they can’t get to them or speak to them. We need to address communication channels urgently
• Water – the water supplies have been inundated because of the storm, so there is no access to fresh water, and it’s challenging to get water into affected parts. Survivors are collecting buckets of brown water from lakes and rivers to flush toilets and have no choice but to boil it to drink
• Sewage – the sewers were also inundated and that is going to be a major infrastructure repair job, which will take a very long time to fix. It’s also a risk for spreading disease
• Cash – because the power is out, people can’t pay for food at the supermarkets – if the supermarkets are still running. Just another example of how our reliance on digital technology, which requires power and mobile towers to operate – does not serve us when it comes to a disaster

What are the big take-aways?

• Infrastructure readiness for the climate we have coming, not the one we had in the past. This includes roads, bridges, power, water, sewage, etc… Vote for leaders committed to this, and do not vote for anyone who is not taking this seriously
• Communication channels/devices that don’t rely on towers that will be destroyed in major storms. We need to focus on traditional battery run devices, because you can’t charge anything when you have no power
• Stock up on tinned food and bottled water – every home needs to have a stash, so neighbours can take care of those who may lose their food. This is something I did in Thailand before we left. I was ready for anything
• Medical supplies – if the storms are coming through so fast there’s not enough warning to leave OR the severity is not understood until after-the-fact, make sure you have medical supplies for at least a couple of weeks. Add things like glasses and contact lenses too if you need them
• Cash is king when the power goes out. Have enough on hand to get through at least a couple of weeks

What would you add?

Looking at the extreme weather events impacting every corner of the world, it’s time to start thinking through what you’d do in an emergency, as well as thinking through the risks you face, as a community and personally.

Let’s all get prepared, based on the possible risks we know we could face where we live.

Cheers

Andrea

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