Mireille Linares (ELP 2024) | PhD Student, Development Studies - Latin American Problems and Perspectives at the Mexican Mora Research Insitute, Mexico
Many tropical systems are reaching category 5, which have historically hit the West Atlantic Ocean with constant speeds of violent, deadly and destructive winds. Hurricane Beryl, from last June 28th to July 11th, destroyed key infrastructure, killed and undoubtedly left many people affected across the impacted geographic areas, such as the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Gulf Coast of the United States. In the Caribbean region, with every passing minute, this hurricane impacted Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where Mayreau, Canouan and Union Island experienced widespread devastation.
United Nations agencies, such as the International Organization for Migration, reported approximately 90% of the homes were destroyed (98% just in the Union Island). United Nations officials also reported the situation as quite dire. This was due to, immediately after this extreme weather event hit Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the residents did not have access to food, water, electricity and proper shelter. With key infrastructure destroyed, mainly roads, bridges, water supply, electrical grids, or telecommunications (including Internet connectivity), 1,752 people needed to be evacuated and relocated to emergency shelters across the main island. Beryl claimed at least the lives of 11 people over this island (IOM, 2024. "Situation Report 3: Hurricane Beryl in the Carribean").
Image: National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States of America
In addition, images and videos shared on social media showed catastrophic scenes: crammed of flattened houses; damaged police stations, schools and hospitals; streets strewn with the remnants of dismantled roofs; and roads full of house debris. Even the Prime Minister of the island, Ralph Gonsalves, expressed concerns regarding what he told: “a powerful story of panic, fear and anguish.” “The faces of our men and women are strained and anxious,” he said (The Guardian, 2024. "'Please send help’: Caribbean reels from Hurricane Beryl devastation"). Consequently, the evidence showed that people were in need of and required urgent support.
Image: Natricia Duncan, Caribbean correspondent, The Guardian.com
According to the Climate Change Knowledge Portal of the World Bank, of the several natural hazards that a vulnerable Caribbean Small Island State could face – including floods, hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, landslides, and volcanic eruptions – the two main risks that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is often facing are floods and storms (Key Natural Hazard Statistics for 1980-2020). So, if the international community already knows the climate vulnerability of the Caribbean States, or if the high-level authorities of those Caribbean States usually claim “the lack of adequate international cooperation and financial support, despite having contributed with only 1% of all global carbon dioxide emissions,” (The Guardian, 2024. "'Please send help’: Caribbean reels from Hurricane Beryl devastation"), why does the news constantly report catastrophes?
In my vision, humans cannot normalize catastrophes as a way of life in any single corner of the planet – even a small island in the Caribbean. We cannot normalize catastrophes, as Mexicans cannot normalize violence in Mexico City or in the whole Mexican territory. The normalization of violence – as it happens with the violence caused by the climate catastrophes – means the acceptance of brutality is an immutable part of our life. As a former government official in charge of International Cooperation at the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, I just simply could not agree with this idea. There are many examples in human history on how collaboration between governments, businesses, scientists and individuals had emerged to work together on common objectives and strategies to face climate or health challenges (e.g. during the coronavirus pandemic of 2019, covid-19). So, what are we waiting for? This is the time for action.
Seriously, this is not a matter of a simple official rhetoric speech, it is a moment for climate precaution, investment, ‘not harm’ solutions, and empowerment!!!
NOTE TO THE READER: This article is for dissemination. Its objective is to generate a social impact through raising sensibility and creating awareness of climate change which affects the international community, including Mexican society.
* Mireille Linares is a PhD student in Development Studies. Latin American Problems and Perspectives, at the Mexican Mora Research Institute. She holds a Master's degree in International Cooperation for Development from that same institute, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Mexican Center for Economic Research and Teaching, cide.
[The blog post image was first published on Flickr. Original image by NASA Johnson. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 2.0).]