The eyes of the nation were tuned to the dramatic and tragic events that unfolded this month as two hurricanes ravaged two regions of the South within the space of just two weeks.
Hurricane Helene brought flooding, cut power to millions, and killed more than 200 people.
Around Asheville, N.C., national news outlets reported that some 15 inches of rain fell, overwhelming roads and other infrastructure. Many of the deaths were caused by people drowning in their cars.
Even as Helene was pounding down, forecasters were predicting that yet another devastating weather event would hit central Florida — Hurricane Milton. Perhaps you saw the video clip of a meteorologist, overwhelmed by emotion, struggling to get through the forecast as he was noting the intensity of Milton.
His emotions, and likely the reason the video was so viral, are something we are feeling: overwhelmed and worried.
These two major hurricanes serve as another clear example of what climate scientists have been predicting, that torrential rainstorms will become more and more extreme and more frequent, and that they can happen anywhere. Research is showing that storms are dropping almost 40 percent more rain, compared with a half-century ago.
It is hard to watch the images of these hurricanes and calamitous weather events around the world as they unfold, week in and week out, and not wonder about our own Island. Are we going to see a hurricane this season? Are we ready?
As many national and local officials and meteorologists have speculated, it is only a matter of time before we’re hit with a big one. It’s been 33 years since Hurricane Bob, which was the last major hurricane to hit the Island. With sea levels rising due to climate change, the predictions are that the next one is likely to be worse.
Living on an Island on the edge of the Atlantic, we should be more in tune to this new reality. Over the winter, repeated storms with strong winds devastated South Beach, ripping away sand dunes that the town has struggled to build back. Roads and other infrastructure were badly damaged. And those were just powerful storms, not hurricanes.
One striking example of the Vineyard’s vulnerabilities is in Vineyard Haven at the Five Corners, a crossroads that provides a critical pathway connecting us all to the main ferry terminal for travel on and off the Island. It is the intersection through which most traffic travels to the hospital, and ambulances would need to cross to rush a patient off-Island. As we’ve witnessed right outside our newsroom, a seemingly average rainstorm can quite often lead to flash flooding. Cars are more frequently stalling out trying to pass through puddles that resemble small ponds. We worry what the regular flooding could mean for ambulances rushing to and from the hospital.
State officials have discussed study after study, but nothing has been done, and, as we learned recently, it could be a decade before shovels get into the ground on a preferred upgrade. In the face of more intense and aggressive storms, we can’t afford this type of inaction.
On the logistics front, local officials are confident that they have the proper planning in place to notify Islanders if there is a major hurricane coming. It’s not a simple dance; it requires planning more than a week out, when news of a potential storm first hits. Town officials are confident they can send out messaging to Island residents who may need to evacuate. They can coordinate with the Steamship Authority, and while many may have to leave their cars behind, residents can get off in a timely manner if a major hurricane does come. We also know there is a shelter at the Oak Bluffs School that can take residents in.
But beyond logistics, we do worry about our infrastructure, and our seeming inability to rebuild quickly. At Five Corners, the town was anticipating putting in a short-term solution this fall to give some relief before the winter — to avoid what happened last year, when multiple storms brought flooding to shops and businesses along Beach Road, including our newsroom. But state officials say that the project triggered a higher review than originally anticipated, ultimately pushing the project back yet again. Meanwhile, the greater fix to address flooding is expected to take 10 years of permitting. Ten years!
While we understand the state’s need to be rigorous in its review of projects, this sleepwalking into the perils of climate change is unacceptable, given the larger storms we are sure to face. We worry about damage in other parts of the Island, and what could happen with broader damage: Will permitting hold back gains?
One small silver lining amid the dark storm clouds over North Carolina and Florida was the spirit of helping others that came from the Island. Vineyarders rallied to load up a truck with food, water, clothing, and other supplies for the storm-ravaged Carolinas last week. The truck, we are told, arrived late last week, and necessities were distributed to 1,000 people. That’s the type of community building that it’s going to take for all of us as Americans to make it through this new era together.
But even a truckload of goodwill is not enough, and so we have to push our local, state, and federal officials to do more, to prepare for the worst that is inevitably coming our way.