This week, the “Get Ready, Florida” initiative continued on its goal to educate Floridians on hurricane safety. Because Floridians are integrating back into society as the economy opens once again, hurricane season is just around the corner. And, in a recent poll, 51% of Floridians argued that they “feel more concerned about hurricanes this year than in other years due to their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past few months.” And, as the sunshine states look to brace itself for impact, lawmakers are shedding light on what to expect.
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D) took to Twitter to share some information on what Floridians could expect in the upcoming hurricane season. She commented that “while Bertha recently made landfall in SC, South Florida has already felt its wrath, w/14 inches of rain in Miami.” She added that “since ’96, Miami has seen 12x the rate of action flooding,” noting that “if we don’t act on the #ClimateCrisis, this will become the norm.”
While Bertha recently made landfall in SC, South Florida has already felt its wrath, w/ 14 inches of rain in Miami. Since '96, Miami has seen 12x the rate of action flooding. If we don't act on the #ClimateCrisis, this will become the norm. https://t.co/TY90s0AwdT
— Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) May 27, 2020
Environmental issues have been at the forefront of topics in the political arena, and lawmakers in the state of Florida have placed emphasis on tackling said environmental concerns. With the growing threat that environmental concerns pose on natural disasters such as hurricanes, lawmakers like Rep. Wasserman-Schultz are trying to bring awareness.
In a Washington Post article shared by the Florida lawmaker, it’s detailed that “forecasters are calling for a busy Atlantic hurricane season, with a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 19 named storms, six to 10 of which will become hurricanes.” In addition, “three to six of those could become major hurricanes of Category 3 intensity or higher.”
