Climate lessons from floods in Florida
Difficult as it would seem, the US State of Florida has been struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian that has actually left behind a huge trail of destruction out there.
As a matter of fact, news reports from the West in newspapers like The New York Times including a lot of visual news feeds on CNN have been spilling the beans about the sorry state of affairs in American states like Florida.
First up, the Floridians have been the worst-affected by floodwaters that have overwhelmed and submerged so many dwelling areas and houses out there.
Literally speaking, the people out there have been under water, still scrambling for help from the government and authorities concerned.
So quick assistance is the need of the hour. Plus, there have been so many sad stories of hard-working people like boatmen emerging from Florida.
Well, the other day a boatman had vented his outpourings of feelings and helplessness in the wake of terrible Hurricane Ian to a newsman on CNN.
And that was difficult to see and hear. So do the stories of other people affected — having been left orphaned and jobless.
The East or the West, countries like the US, should learn lessons from natural disasters like this.
First off, “advanced” forecasts of weather patterns and conditions apart from appropriate and immediate ways of alerting people to bad weather conditions like tropical storms will go extra mile to save the people and ecosystems out there.
Added to this, the international community should wake up to the impending threats from climate change crisis.
In my native areas such as Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, there have been numerous greenery activities going on in the wake of the presence of big trees and rigorous agricultural operations out there.
Straight from my childhood and schooldays out there, I have been in awe of all the natural resources in those areas including rivers, mountains, seas, trees, fields and crops.
Incidentally, only those greenery activities and green spaces will go a long way towards mitigating the effects of climate change.
All things considered, countries from Australia to the US and continents from Asia to Africa to Europe should come forward to chalk out immediate plans for handling the bad effects of nature.
To cap it all, technology, cooperative measures and public awareness/participation could be the last word in the fight against climate change.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Mumbai, India.
