Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed a large portion of the U.S., including a large part of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Many people have been left without power in their homes or stranded from flooding.
But what caused these hurricanes to be this severe? How extensive was the damage? What can people do to help?
The areas hit hardest by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, namely Florida and North Carolina, had it especially rough in the aftermath. It demolished homes, flooded cities and entire communitie got cut off from the outside world.
Checking on residents in the areas affected can prove difficult, but some still manage to check in with those people.
Sophomore Owen Hansen says that his family is doing “pretty good, actually.” But what’s actually helping the affected people?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the organization in charge of providing emergency relief after disasters, has been helping the areas recover, but it may not be enough.
According to the National Public Radio, in previous disasters FEMA is about twice as likely to deny housing assistance to lower-income disaster survivors, and they were also less likely to get help.
However, despite the government’s failings, it’s impossible to stop a natural process.
According to Environmental Science teacher Marie Kuhn, but “the problem with Milton is that our oceans are warming because of climate change.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in the last 100 years, the ocean temperatures have risen on average a little over a tenth of a degree per decade, but this small amount is still a huge change.
This may seem like a miniscule change, but it’s an incredibly significant change when it comes to a single century.
The major contributor to this is the large emissions of greenhouse gasses over the last 100 years, specifically carbon dioxide.
This may all appear to be a lot of bad news, but there is something that people are able to do.
Senior Mattias Eberhart, president of Student Environmental Advocacy, says that it’s not too late for change.
“I think what’s actually most important is to not demonize people who are making ‘bad choices’ because… for a lot of people it’s what they have to do.”
Instead, if people want to help reduce the severity of natural disasters, they should take it to the government or swap to using reusable water bottles, which end up cheaper in the long run.