In the months and years after a hurricane, seemingly endless work is needed to help impacted areas recover. A Florida man recently shared insights into one important aspect of that work: cleaning up waterways.

What's happening?

Several massive, deadly hurricanes have hit Florida in recent years, including Ian in 2022 and Helene and Milton in 2024. Not only did those tragedies result in the loss of lives and homes, but they also led to huge amounts of debris ending up in local waterways.

In the town of Fort Myers Beach, boating crews are "fishing" much of that garbage out of the water, attempting to make the canals passable again. Fort Myers Beach harbormaster Curtis Ludwig told the News-Press in late April that the boats have a davit and a winch system — essentially a small crane connected to a cranking mechanism — to pull heavy debris out of the water. 

He said crews had recovered and disposed of items such as dishwashers, rooftops, housing foundations, and outdoor furniture. They even recovered a shipping container full of electrical items and supplies — as well as a reported 21,000 pounds of mud — Ludwig said in an earlier conversation with the outlet.

"The diving aspect is very dangerous, especially rigging lines to debris to be pulled out of the water or cutting the debris underwater," Ludwig said. "Multiple things could go wrong in a split second."

This canal cleanup, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, began in January and was scheduled to finish by the end of April. Its activities unfolded during a time when it was announced, in a separate matter, that FEMA would stop 100% matches for the funding of North Carolina's Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, which include debris removal.

Why are hurricanes concerning?

Extreme weather can always pose significant danger, especially for those living in its path, who may face risks like loss of access to medical care, injury, and death. Amplifying the effects on our daily lives is the increasing frequency and intensity of these events.

As the use of dirty energy sources — such as oil, coal, and gas — pumps more heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere, temperatures keep rising. This, in turn, shifts weather patterns and increases volatility.

Hurricanes, floods, droughts, and other severe events are happening more and more because of rising global temperatures, which one expert described as "steroids for weather."

One study found that human-caused pollution led to significant increases in Helene's rainfall and wind strength. Another showed that rising ocean temperatures, also driven higher by pollution, boosted the intensity of storms such as Ian, Milton, and Helene.

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For the communities that experienced each one of those storms in fairly quick succession due to the increased frequency, the tolls — financial, emotional, and more — can be compounding. 

In the wake of 2024's Hurricane Helene, the New York Times spoke with Fort Myers resident Becki Weber, who had repaired her home not that long ago following 2022 damage from Hurricane Ian. "It's a mess," she said. "We're back to square one."

What is being done about hurricanes?

No individual can stop a hurricane from happening or control the weather, no matter what some skeptics say.

But each individual can do their part to mitigate the climate crisis and, hopefully, reverse rising temperatures around the world. 

The first step is to become educated on the issues and consider talking about them with friends and family. Informed by knowledge and fueled by collective motivation, you can take steps in your everyday life to reduce your environmental footprint. When taken at a local, community level, these actions can really add up.

If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, make sure you are prepared well ahead of time. You'll want to know your evacuation routes and keep a survival kit stocked with water, food, power supplies, and safety equipment.

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