The damage from recent events will harm people’s health for many years. It’s time to prepare for and not just react to hurricanes, wildfires, and other threats.
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FILE – Robert Turick, 68, works to clear household debris that Hurricane Milton storm surge swept … [+] from other properties into his canal-facing back yard, in Englewood, Fla., Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.On New Year’s Day, after a pickup truck plowed into a crowd in New Orleans, dozens of victims were transported to the hospital. The chief medical officer of the New Orleans University Medical Center reported it was the “highest number of critical patients the hospital has ever seen.” A few days later, a patient died as a result of H5N1 virus, or bird flu. It was the first such death in the United States. And then, wildfires started to tear through Los Angeles County. And North Carolina and Tennessee are still dealing with the aftermath of a devastating hurricane.
