Weather disasters and the future
By now we have all seen the pictures of the Texas Hill Country flooding that has killed so many innocents as they were camped along the river.
All deaths are sad, however the young children who were victims is especially difficult to even understand.
On my way home from Pittsburgh this morning I listened to a radio broadcast of a father whose son is believed dead but joined the rescue party to hunt for victims. His son has not yet been found but they did discover and recover the bodies of other victims of this terrible disaster.
Last year when Hurricane Helene devastated Ashville, North Carolina we heard the politicians talk once again about thoughts and prayers. The same was true for the California fires that destroyed over 9,000 homes and resulted in many deaths. Fires, storms, floods and droughts continue to ravage our homes and no one would argue they are not getting worse and more frequent.
We even know why, but still so many will not own up to the problem and offer solutions along with their thoughts and prayers.
I just finished looking at the NOAA website to obtain information on recent weather disasters through the National Centers for Environmental Information and was saddened by the news that “In an alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes this product will no longer be updated.”
Prior disaster info will continue to be on the site but no new data.
WHY we ask in a time of increasing weather disasters and the need for additional research that may help with better forecasts would we compromise the safety of the American public with such stupid behavior? Why we ask are the number of deaths, destroyed homes and the cost of this destruction not important to be told?
Since 1980 there have been 403 weather disasters in our country, costing almost 3 trillion dollars and killing thousands. Last year we experienced 27 of these disasters, killing 568 and costing $182,000,000,000.
Our weather people did their job last week with Flood Watches two days prior to the event and Flood Warnings hours before the rains came. The rains were terrific, causing the river to rise 25 feet in less than an hour while most people were sleeping.
I can’t get the image of these children out of my mind nor can I let go of the image of Chain Saw Elon slashing funding and jobs; and the administration and their continued denials of the ongoing climate problems.
This stuff is real and denial and cover-ups are not the answer.
Perhaps Musk and Trump could resurrect their friendship while they volunteered to dig into the debris in search of victims and afterwards they could return home, wipe the mud off their boots and write checks to the families of the victims and a special check for research into better forecasting methods.
The tobacco industry played this game for decades, costing millions of American lives. We can and must do better. Weather forecasts are not perfect but research and proper staffing can do a lot to help save lives and better prepare us for the future.