After catastrophic flooding hits Louisiana following a month of dramatic amounts of rainfall, Red Cross deems them the worst in the United States since Hurricane Sandy, which struck nearly four years ago. Evacuations and rescues were performed, however; the aftermath continues to change the lives of residents.
“Thousands of people in Louisiana have lost everything they own and need our help now,” said Brad Kieserman, the Red Cross’ vice president of disaster services operations and logistics. The tragedy struck quickly, with up to 32 inches of rain in fifteen hours. Deaths are still being counted, although, 13 have already lost their lives to the horrific flooding. Numbers are high in families and businesses without flooding insurance, and aid is being provided through disaster relief. With approximately 110,000 homes damaged through the floods, hundreds of Louisianans are being forced into shelters, many of them state-run. Causes of the sudden flooding are being evaluated, and according to one popular figure admired around the world, Bill Nye, a very threatening and larger issue is to blame.
Global warming, proven and disproven by many, continues to be a controversial topic. While many republicans continue to deny its existence, several scientific studies prove its existence. Factors such as sea levels rising, temperature slowly climbing up the scale, both on land and in oceans, and especially ice cap and icebergs quickly disappearing from our poles, all point to the greater cause. According to Nye, “This is a result of climate change,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. Lost lives and damaged homes won’t be the only tragic effects, either. The storms will be just as devastating in the long-term.
Not only will floods increase due to rising sea levels, but storms will ravage coastal areas. “What will probably happen is people will move,” Nye said. If enough people relocate to various safer locations, the population loss would be a huge detriment to Louisiana’s economy. In order to rebuild and stabilize the economy to previous standards before Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, five years worth of effort and struggle entailed. One can only imagine the effects of the recent tragedies.
Like mentioned before, measures are being taken in order to attempt the safety of the residents. The floods have been so impactful that national responses have come into order. However, many media outlets are currently being criticized for the lack of media coverage, which occurs more often than one would expect. Larger scale events such as the Olympics and the 2016 Election are hogging coverage slots, and rightfully, The Times-Picayune expressed their frustrations in an article and noted that CNN and The New York Times had not covered the floods until late Sunday August 14, despite widespread flooding starting on August 12. On August 23, 2016, Obama made a trip to the general Baton Rouge area, where he gave a speech emphasizing that the floods were not an opportunity for photos, but one for coming together as one. During his visit, he had also visited with affected individuals in the area.
With such little media coverage, issues at hand are being unjustly thrown to the side, with entertainment and ratings being the main motivation of producers. However, lack of coverage leads to lack of education and awareness. Without the mention of these events, how will the public be educated on the effects of global warming, and merely what’s going on in their country? This illustrates that media is a major source of education, and residents of Louisiana deserve the same coverage as the Olympics or the 2016 Election.
