Hurricane season set to be worst on US record amid devastating COVID-19 rates
As if civil unrest, a looming economic crisis, devastating COVID-19 infection rates and a presidential election wasn’t enough, the US is now facing an even worse disaster, writes Sarah Blake.
Opinion
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This past week of fretting about the pandemic and America’s apparent social unravelling was interrupted by a tornado warning.
And although we escaped the remnants of Tropical Storm Isaiah in far better shape than our neighbours who lost their back room to a fallen tree, we did still have some concerns.
Not least was the startling reality of having no power and no internet for 13 hours, with our phones also not getting any data because the cell towers were knocked out of commission.
Even the 17-year-old put down his gaming headphones, left his room and stretched out on the couch where I was reading with the aid of a headlamp.
“No internet! What did you even do when you were young?” he asked.
After a moment or two of shared parental wondering we offered a limp response: read books and played outside. The teen wasn’t having any of it.
Further south than us, when Isaiah was still titled a hurricane it packed far more punch, taking at least five lives and causing widespread damage.
In more good news, experts say the remaining months of this “extremely active” hurricane season could be the worst on record.
This will surprise exactly nobody who has been following along with the hellish century we call 2020.
In the most dire forecast of its 37-year-history, Colorado State University’s meteorology department said they expect the next few months to be twice as bad as a normal season.
Of course. Who would have expected anything less?
Of 12 total hurricanes forecast, five will be major and if they arrive as predicted they will rival the 2005 season, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and Hurricane Wilma devastated parts of Florida.
Let’s hope they are wrong, because even before we hit the homestretch of the other coming hurricane in the form of November’s presidential election, many Americans are already fraying with disaster fatigue.
Remember, as well as 50,000 new COVID cases every day, many of the country’s major cities are still trying to contain civil unrest which has now raged for months. A record-setting season of natural disasters is without doubt the last thing they need over here.
If we’re all lucky, the tornadoes might simply blow away the remainder of 2020 off the calendar. No-one would be too disappointed.