Officials urge residents to prepare after threatening hurricane makes landfall: 'Still a danger'

An infant has been killed in the devastation of Hurricane Erick. 

What's happening?

Acapulco, a beach resort town in Mexico, was struck by Hurricane Erick on June 19. A report by The Associated Press chronicled the impacts of this extreme weather event, which included "landslides, blocked highways, downed power lines and some flooding." The BBC also reported that the hurricane had killed at least two people, one of whom was an infant.

The city was previously devastated by the Category 5 Hurricane Otis in 2023, when almost all of the resort's hotels were severely damaged. Hurricane Erick was a Category 4 storm until it weakened into a Category 3 and eventually a tropical storm.

Although Hurricane Erick wasn't strong as Hurricane Otis, the residents of Acapulco were warned not to let their guards down in the immediate aftermath by Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado.

She said, per the AP, "In Guerrero we continue on maximum alert, Erick is still a danger with the intense rains, it could drop on our state in the coming hours."

Why are extreme weather events so worrying?

Though powerful weather events such as floods and tsunamis have always existed, the scientific consensus is that human actions are heating the Earth in life-altering ways, contributing to more extreme and more frequent weather events. 

These events are bad for the planet as a whole, but they have some of the most devastating effects on coastal communities. As sea levels continue to rise, driving destructive floods and powerful storm surges, more and more people who live near the ocean will be forced further inland.

Historically marginalized communities, including Indigenous groups and residents of low- and middle-income countries, face disproportionate impacts of displacement.

More and more people will face those impacts if global coordination among world leaders and other stakeholders does not sufficiently mitigate climate disaster.

What's being done about extreme weather events?

In Acapulco, people are banding together to rebuild after the destruction. In Mexico, poor and predominantly Black communities also say they have borne the brunt of hurricanes in recent years, per CNN, and they are advocating for more assistance.

However, without serious efforts to reduce the Earth's rising temperatures, including with government intervention, the intensity of these extreme weather events will keep increasing.

To prevent more global disasters due to extreme weather, governments and stakeholders must come together to meaningfully address the planet's overheating, choosing sustainability over profit on a systemic level. From reducing the use of dirty fuels and conserving forests so trees can capture harmful carbon pollution to creating more eco-friendly agricultural systems, immense structural changes will be required to mitigate the rising temperatures and weather events that cause devastating damage to our communities.

Do you think your house could withstand a hurricane? No way Maybe a weak one I'm not sure It definitely could Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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