Disasters also known as climate violence, sudden or great misfortunes come in all forms and sizes. Immediately, one may describe a disaster as natural weather catastrophes such as cyclones, droughts, fires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and the like. As a relocator from New Orleans, Louisiana to Houston, Texas, I am all too familiar with natural disasters affecting the deep south. According to the Natural Centers for Environmental Information, in 2024 Texas experienced Central and Northeast Severe Weather 6/2024, Hurricane Beryl 7/8, Derecho 7/13 and Hurricane Francine 9/11. The state of Louisiana endured tornadoes and flooding as a result of heavy rains and severe storms in April and May of last year. These disturbances affected Ascencion, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, and Terrebonne parishes as per the Legal Aid Disaster Resource Center. As someone who actively works in the area of natural disasters, I’m here to inform you that these occurrences will continue to take place and may even worsen within the coming years.
Health calamities are also a specialty of mine as a Lupus, Leukemia, Sjogren’s Syndrome, and MGUS survivor dealing with Hypoglycemia, Scoliosis and degenerative diseases of the lumbar spine. According to the American Public Health Association, access to public health resources improves our quality of life, helps children thrive, reduces human suffering and saves money. Unfortunately, the United States has recently been experiencing a lack of public health through infectious disease outbreaks and uncontrollable gun violence which are serious disruptions of our current society and communities. National terrorists and racial attacks are also serious public health disasters since violence negatively affects physical health and mental disorders increasing economical and various disparities. Regrettably, I believe that this situation will only worsen as a result of the dissolution and dismemberment of governmental organizations which served to protect the public’s health and prevent massive epidemics.
Cataclysmic political actions have consequences that are adversely affecting this country like never before seen or experienced. The breakdown of long established and trusted international relationships have been annihilated. Intensifying climate change and lack of clean energy will exacerbate environmental pollution hindering any consideration of a sustainable future. Illnesses that are no longer preventable due to a lack of control will increase the likelihood of epidemics and pandemics as well as seriously strain our healthcare system. Relentless economy killers such as increased taxes, tariffs that we the people pay for, massive inflation, mass deportations, unemployment and financial downfalls will lead to an inevitable degree of homelessness. Lack of quality education, innovation, research, equity and equality will only set us back many years. Let’s not even talk about the lives lost in plane crashes this year alone. These are all tragedies that most would not normally categorize as disasters but in fact, they are.
Although some voters thought that their decision would positively affect them and negatively affect others, that’s never the case. Our decisions affect ALL of us.
