A Tale of Two Hurricanes Finds More That Differs Than Is the Same
The New York Times
Featuring Senior Executive Advisor Beth Zimmerman
“Hurricanes no longer hit the coastline and then die,” said Beth Zimmerman, who led disaster operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Obama administration, and is now a senior executive adviser with IEM, an emergency management consultant firm. “Everybody needs to be looking not to what they experienced in the past, but what is happening now in terms of hurricanes and extreme weather.”
The two hurricanes tell a tale of how storms, made more powerful by climate change, can devastate regions with distinct topography and varying levels of experience with hurricanes. They can leave behind discrepant kinds of damage and dictate different trajectories of recovery.
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Ms. Zimmerman offered one example: Helene buckled and washed away many roads in Asheville and the surrounding rural mountain communities, initially isolating storm victims and slowing assistance. Milton, which made landfall late Wednesday, downed trees and power lines and scattered debris, but left most roads intact.
