October 4, 2024
5 min read
I Wasn’t Prepared to Be a Climate Refugee
A climate advocate learns firsthand on the price of climate change in our lives, and calls for voters to head off future disasters
A person inspects the Biltmore Village with bicycle in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on September 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend with winds up to 140 mph.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
I wasn’t prepared to be a climate refugee. Not after relocating my family from drought and wildfire-prone California to the “climate haven” of Asheville, N.C. But less than two months after we moved into our delightfully wooded, mild-weather community, we were forced to leave.
Even before our exodus, I already knew that November’s presidential election would be the most important of my life, with North Carolina playing a key role as a swing state. But Hurricane Helene made the stakes terrifyingly clear.
On Thursday, September 26, the hurricane made its way inland from the Gulf of Mexico through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Along its path, it ripped apart community after community. And then it hit western Appalachia. At 2,000 feet of elevation and 300 miles from the coast, Asheville is a place where people went to get away from devastating hurricanes.
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. Trees crashed down around my home as emergency alerts blared on my phone. Power lines went down. Roads flooded. Mudslides ripped away homes. Despite being within a mile of the French Broad River, we were not told to evacuate ahead of the storm.
In the morning, after it seemed the worst had passed, a large pine tree crashed onto the roof…
Read the full article here
