It may have been a quiet hurricane season up until Hurricane Isaias hit parts of Florida and Alabama over the weekend. For Gulf Coast residents, the impact was another clear example of how human-caused ocean warming is changing what was deemed normal for generations. With more than a month until hurricane season ends, Isaias’ wrath […]
Extreme Weather
Posted inExtreme Weather, Infrastructure, Politics & Policy
From Memphis to Gary, Black Communities Are Being Left in the Dark
In the pews of a Memphis, Tennessee, church on Monday morning, the Rev. Earle J. Fisher wasn’t getting a headstart on next Sunday’s sermon, he was preparing a resource hub. “This can’t be my normal Monday because like so many others, we’re without power,” said Fisher, who teaches at LeMoyne-Owen College, an HBCU in Memphis. […]
Posted inCommunity, Extreme Weather
I Grew Up in Gary. I’ve Never Seen a Power Outage Like This.
I’ve experienced dozens of power outages growing up in Gary. But usually an outage had boundaries. A neighborhood, a section of a city, or maybe part of a county. You could drive a few miles and eventually find light again. But last Tuesday, as my wife and I drove through Merrillville, Hobart, and Portage in […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather
Black Americans Face Heightened Risk in Record-Breaking Heat
Karen Leader has lived in public housing in Brooklyn, New York, for over 30 years, so she is no stranger to the “unbearable” heatwaves that have spread across the city and her housing complex. But this year, the 71-year-old retiree tried to get ahead of the curve. The sticker price of $300 to $800 for […]
Posted inExtreme Weather, Sports
The World Cup’s Biggest Opponent This Summer Might Be Extreme Heat
On a Saturday morning in August 2020, when the temperature was climbing toward 111 degrees, John and Valerie Thomas watched their son Shane finish soccer practice from a shaded area near the field. He looked fine. He was joking with his coaches. Then he didn’t come back. His teammates found him unresponsive near the batting […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing, Politics & Policy
Trump Weakened FEMA, and a Black St. Louis Neighborhood Is Paying the Price
ST. LOUIS — The tapping sound drew Jeffrey Bingham to his front window. Outside, the world was folding in on itself. Trees bent sideways. Power lines snapped. Across the street, a two-story brick house crumbled and disappeared instantly. Then his windows blew and the front door ripped open. He ran for the basement as pressure […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing
Insurance Crisis Leaves Black Homeowners One Disaster Away From Homelessness
The insurance check to rebuild Zaire Calvin’s family properties came in at just under $300,000, a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $2.1 million they had been worth. His family had five homes sprawled across two lots in the leafy suburb of Altadena, California, before the Eaton Fire unleashed its wrath, leveling both […]
Posted inExtreme Weather
For Rural Black Communities, Winter Storm Fern Hits Where Recovery Never Finished
The storm came, and just as Monica Coleman predicted, it hit places least equipped to handle it. On Monday morning, she was one of roughly 1 million Americans without power because of Winter Storm Fern. Officials in Lafayette County, Mississippi, where she lives, are warning residents that they could be without power for multiple days. […]
Posted inClimate Change, Extreme Weather, Public Safety
A Storm Is Coming for the South’s Most Vulnerable Black Communities
For millions in the South, an impending storm could become unforgettable. “I can’t stop watching the forecasts,” said Shemekia Stringer, speaking by phone Thursday afternoon as she moved through near-empty aisles at a Walmart in Southaven, Mississippi, just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. “I’m trying to make sure we’re fully prepared. In my area, the map […]
Posted inBlack Migration, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather
As Altadena’s Trees Fell, So Did the Roots of a Black LA Neighborhood
Photos by Grace Mahoney This story was published in partnership with High Country News. Altadena used to disappear under the trees. Adonis Jones’ neighborhood was once defined by thick oaks and pines, their canopy guarding winding trails where Black cowboys rode, shaping his childhood memories. Now, standing on the bare site of his future master […]
