At this very time, right now, Hurricane Irma is raging over the Atlantic coast of Florida. He has already claimed ten lives and ravaged the Caribbean.
Devastating hurricane season
No one knows exactly how Irma will end her devastating journey across the United States, but with gusts of wind at 296 km / h, financial losses of incredible proportions can already be predicted.
And all this is happening while the United States has not yet come to its senses from the destruction inflicted on Texas and Louisiana by Hurricane Harvey. If this is not enough, then two new hurricanes - Jose and Katya - have begun their movement in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.
Unique disasters
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This year's hurricane season has been tragic and dire. Their real scale and destruction make us consider hurricanes as isolated events. Politicians, journalists and reporters unanimously talk about "unprecedented" hurricanes and their aftermath.
From an individual, subjective point of view, these are truly unique phenomena. For ordinary people, such as many Houstonians, who have never seen anything like it, it is understandable to want to call Harvey unprecedented and attribute his appearance to "deviations" in the natural cycle.
Systemic hurricanes and storms
But such natural disasters, unfortunately, are not one-time “deviations”. They are all too common and become more destructive every year.
And if we consider each such disaster in isolation from other similar ones every time it occurs, it threatens with dangerous and even fatal consequences in the future. This is because such an attitude towards strong hurricanes allows people not to think about adequate preparation for them in advance, about the adoption of new laws, a new budget.
Preparing for the consequences
There are quite objective ways to reduce the devastating impact of hurricanes on human lives and the economies of countries suffering from them. The problem is that to begin with, politicians, corporations and ordinary people must learn to look at the future differently, as well as objectively assess their impact on the environment.
This is a feature of human nature - unwillingness to spend efforts and resources to prepare for what may happen sometime soon, but may not happen at all.
It's like saving money on health insurance and then suddenly getting sick or having an accident. The money upfront to prepare for a disaster can save a huge amount in the face of the aftermath of the disaster itself.
Economic benefit
For example, the study found that for every dollar spent preparing for an emergency, the FEMA saved four dollars in remediation.
Of course, the exact amount saved will vary depending on the level of preparedness and the consequences of the emergency, but it is safe to say that the preparatory efforts and costs made in anticipation of natural disasters bring economic and social benefits to the affected regions.
Tough settlements
Organizations such as the Housing Authority or the federal government are required to objectively review all existing scientific and historical evidence and evaluate the benefits of correct legislation and adequate budgetary changes.
Sometimes they do that. In Florida, for example, where the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 led to the loss of several lives and incredible financial losses, policymakers have concluded that there is a need to tighten the requirements for the construction of buildings. Most of them are now reinforced with reinforced concrete pillars, protected by hurricane glass and covered with a more stable roof.
Scientific evidence
However, with budget priorities such as education, police and immigration, with construction companies struggling to resist regulation, with politicians interested in a future limited only by their years of rule, preparation for natural disasters always falls into the second, third, and then a very distant plan.
People often view severe natural disasters as random natural disasters. In fact, hurricanes are consistently getting stronger. According to NASA studies, compared to a quarter of a century ago, hurricanes are becoming stronger, developing faster, the wind speed in them increases by an average of 5%, and the water vapor content is several times higher.
Even places that have not historically been vulnerable are today at risk. For example, Harvey has become an event that historically repeats itself once every 500 years. It is tempting to call such an event accidental. However, over the past 10 years, Houston has experienced three such "rare" cataclysms.
Hope Chikanchi