On Tuesday, six days after Hurricane Francine smashed into Louisiana’s coast as the strongest storm of this year’s hurricane season, the Biden administration announced a major disaster declaration for the state and ordered federal aid to supplement the recovery process. How quickly states and local counties can help individual households largely depends on how quickly […]
Extreme Weather
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing
Flooded, Foreclosed, and Forgotten: The Unkept Promises to Hurricane Katrina’s Victims
NEW ORLEANS – Robert Green guesses it was about 5 a.m. when the water first broke through. By 5:10, he, his mother, brother, cousin, and three grandchildren, ages 4, 3, and 2, were on the roof. Within five minutes, their house was floating down the street. By 5:20, the home, pinned against an oak tree, […]
Posted inExtreme Weather, Housing
Hurricane Francine Leaves 400,000 Louisianans Without Power
Hurricane Francine zig-zagged through southern Louisiana on Sept. 11, leaving widespread power outages and flooding behind. Some parts of the state experienced winds of 100 mph and 10 inches of rain. As thousands of Gulf Coast residents were under mandatory evacuation orders, those remaining, particularly in the state’s largest city, New Orleans, were left riding […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Partner Content
As Baltimore’s Sewer System Buckles Under Extreme Weather, City Refuses to Help Residents With Cleanup Efforts
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here. A sewage cleanup program meant to assist Baltimore residents with backups in their homes has been in limbo for more than a year because of […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather
More Than Half of Houstonians Say They Might Move. Here’s Why.
After learning that forecasters predicted a record-breaking hurricane season this year, Marilyn Rayon and her husband, Leo, spent thousands of dollars to trim trees and shrubbery around their home so a storm wouldn’t throw them into their house. They took a practical precaution, heeding the warnings of elected officials and weather experts. Their utility company, […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Technology
Crypto-Mining Creates New Environmental Injustices for Black Texans
Bitcoin is more than just a shiny new way to lose money. It’s also fueling Texas’ energy struggles as the state prepares for another year of record-breaking heat. And Black communities are caught in the crosswires of climate change, those booming data centers, and the power plants needed to meet both demands. Last year, during […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather
‘We Can’t Wait’: How Black Neighborhoods Are Preparing for the Summer Heat
After closing out May with four days of triple-digit temperatures and New Orleans’ first heat advisory of the season, the group of mainly Black elders welcomed the “dip” in temperature on June 1. Still, it swelled to 96 degrees that morning as roughly 35 people huddled in a community center in the city’s Upper Ninth […]
Posted inClimate Change, Extreme Weather
NOAA Predicts a Record Hurricane Season. Will Black Communities Be Protected?
Edward Buckles was 13 when Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown in 2005. In the aftermath, 1,400 — mainly Black — New Orleans residents died. That spring, researchers predicted the 2005 season to be the most intense in U.S. history, but a 2007 study concluded that confusing directions from authorities, religious faith, and financial barriers led […]
Posted inClimate Change, Extreme Weather, Health, Maternal Health, Partner Content
‘How Did We Miss This for So Long?’: The Link Between Extreme Heat and Preterm Birth
This story was originally published by Grist. This story is part of the series “Expecting Worse: Giving Birth on a Planet in Crisis,” a collaboration between Grist, Vox, and The 19th that investigates how climate change impacts reproductive health — from menstruation to conception to birth. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. When Rupa Basu was […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather
Will FEMA’s New Rules Shorten Black Communities’ Road to Recovery?
EDGARD, La. — Flapping in the wind, blue roof tarps still mark Hurricane Ida’s wrath. It has been 29 months since the second-most damaging storm to hit Louisiana, bringing gaps in the country’s federal aid and recovery process to the forefront. Beneath the tarps, idle homes sag into the earth as the shadowy bloom of […]
