The state of Kentucky was hit with a massive flood last week. The effects are catastrophic.
So far, twenty-six people are confirmed dead, but it could take several more weeks until responders are able to fully gauge the extent of the damage of the flood on people’s lives. Dan Mosley, judge-executive for Harlan County says “the pure catastrophic loss is hard to put into words. I’ve never seen anything like this in my career or even my life.”
The areas that have been hit the worst are rural areas in the Eastern portion of the state. It is because of the location of worst it spots that the effects of the flood are magnified. These areas were not thriving economically before the flood, but now their economic crisis is going to decline even more.
There are many people doing their best to help rebuild. In places around the state that have not been affected as much, people have sent help and resources to the harder hit areas. Two examples of this are Harlan Country and the city of Bremen both sending trucks with tools to clear out debris.
Shelters have also been set up throughout the state, but there is not much they can do: there is no running water and no electricity in some areas. Judge Mosley says “[t]he strain has been immense. The federal government’s resources and out faith in God is the only thing that’s going to get us through this.”
Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be the last of these extreme weather events. Experts expect more powerful rain and floods as well as irregular weather patterns due to the effects of climate change. The only way people can prevent this is to mitigate the effects of climate change, because the next time, it could affect close friends and loved ones.
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/us/kentucky-flooding-natural-disasters.html
So far, twenty-six people are confirmed dead, but it could take several more weeks until responders are able to fully gauge the extent of the damage of the flood on people’s lives. Dan Mosley, judge-executive for Harlan County says “the pure catastrophic loss is hard to put into words. I’ve never seen anything like this in my career or even my life.”
The areas that have been hit the worst are rural areas in the Eastern portion of the state. It is because of the location of worst it spots that the effects of the flood are magnified. These areas were not thriving economically before the flood, but now their economic crisis is going to decline even more.
There are many people doing their best to help rebuild. In places around the state that have not been affected as much, people have sent help and resources to the harder hit areas. Two examples of this are Harlan Country and the city of Bremen both sending trucks with tools to clear out debris.
Shelters have also been set up throughout the state, but there is not much they can do: there is no running water and no electricity in some areas. Judge Mosley says “[t]he strain has been immense. The federal government’s resources and out faith in God is the only thing that’s going to get us through this.”
Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be the last of these extreme weather events. Experts expect more powerful rain and floods as well as irregular weather patterns due to the effects of climate change. The only way people can prevent this is to mitigate the effects of climate change, because the next time, it could affect close friends and loved ones.
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/us/kentucky-flooding-natural-disasters.html