Concerns raised about toxic exposure in the aftermath of Helene floodwaters
CLAIMS THERE IS NO CLIMATE CHANGE
Ed Carver, Common Dreams
October 6, 2024 10:25AM ET
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about Hurricane Helene as Adjutant General of Florida Major General John Haas looks on during a press briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S., September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Sears
Local officials, academic researchers, and volunteer responders have raised concerns about chemical and biological contamination brought by the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern U.S. last week, which potentially threaten the safety not only of drinking water but also the quality of soil—leading experts to call for tighter regulations on stored pollutants.
Helene struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 and swept through a number of states in the days that followed. Most of the damage came from extreme rainfall that triggered flooding. The storm killed at least 232 people.
The biological and chemical threats posed by floodwaters are typically manifold, often containing, for example, e. coli from overflowing sewage systems.
While it's not yet clear what bacteria or chemicals Helene's floodwaters may have contained, the storm passed through hundreds of industrial sites with toxic pollutants, including paper mills, fertilizer factories, oil and gas storage facilities, and even a retired nuclear plant, according to three researchers at Rice University, writing in The Conversation this week.
The researchers called for tighter regulations on the storage and release of chemical pollutants.
"Hazardous releases remain largely invisible due to limited disclosure requirements and scant public information," they wrote. "Even emergency responders often don’t know exactly which hazardous chemicals they are facing in emergency situations."
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"We believe this limited public information on rising chemical threats from our changing climate should be front-page news every hurricane season," they added. "Communities should be aware of the risks of hosting vulnerable industrial infrastructure, particularly as rising global temperatures increase the risk of extreme downpours and powerful hurricanes."
The devastation of infrastructure and the lack of drinking water in cities such Asheville, North Carolina, has rightly received national media attention following the storm. In North Carolina alone, more than 700,000 households lost power, and 170,000 still didn't have it as of Thursday.
Yet the National Weather Service warns that while floodwaters can create clear-cut devastation, "what you can't see can be just as dangerous." Helene also brought with it public health concerns that are less obvious, including to other, non-public sources of drinking water.
Helene's floodwaters overran many wells, rendering them unsafe to drink, at least until treatment and testing can be done. North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services advised residents not to use contaminated well water earlier this week.
One problem following Helene is that most studies of flooding's impact on drinking water have been done in coastal areas, and it's not clear how they apply to the mountainous areas of North Carolina that took the worst hit from the storm.
"We don't have a lot of knowledge about mountain flooding, from a hydrology standpoint," Kelsey Pieper, a professor in environmental engineering at Northeastern University, toldInside Climate News.
"Water velocities tend to be higher in mountain floodings because it's getting funneled into the valley, where the water is accumulating. In a coastal area, you’re going to see more water spreading out," she said. "The flooding mechanisms are different, and we know very little."
Wells tested in eastern North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018 showed some detections of e. coli or total fecal coliform, which were partly attributed to industrialized hog farms in the area, Inside Climate News reported.
Crops are often rendered unsafe after flooding due to biological or chemical contamination, according to Food Safety Alliance.
Natural bodies of water are also often unsafe to swim in following floods. Virginia Department of Health and other agencies warned people to avoid them after Helene.
The period after a tropical storm brings increased risk of both biological contaminants, such as bacteria and viruses, and chemical contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, according to the Duke University Superfund Research Center.
Following Helene, a grassroots volunteer cleanup effort has sprung up in western North Carolina, but it brings risks for the volunteers because of the potential contamination.
"We were supposed to get a big shipment of gloves, coveralls, masks, respirators, but we aren't," Rachel Bennett, a coordinating volunteer in the town of Marshall, which sits along the banks of the French Broad River, told the Citizen Times, an Asheville newspaper. "So, we're hoping to get more. Those are the big things because we're in cleanup right now. We need thick things."
"Right now, it's boots, and it's hard to get people to put on gloves, because when you're in this, you're like, 'I'm already exposed,'" she added.
A Marshall resident conducted a soil test this week but the results haven't come back yet, the newspaper reported.
"All of these rivers should be treated as hazmat sites," Buncombe County spokesperson Stacey Wood said at a briefing Friday, according to a local journalist. Buncombe County encompasses Asheville and Marshall is just outside it.
The Rice University researchers called for better preparation for future storms in the form of stronger regulation. They've developed a map showing the U.S. areas that are most vulnerable to chemical pollution brought on by floodwaters. One hotspot is the area of Texas and Louisiana full of petrochemical industry sites.
The climate crisis, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and likely contributed to Helene's development, experts have said.
In addition to their immediate damage, storms like Helene can have surprising long-term impacts. A study published in Nature this week found that tropical storms—even those far less deadly than Helene—typically lead to many thousands of excess deaths in the 15 years that follow their arrival.
ONE, TWO PUNCH
Washington (AFP) – Another potentially devastating storm barreled toward the Florida coast on Sunday, as the head of the US disaster relief agency lashed out at a "dangerous" misinformation war being waged over the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Issued on: 06/10/2024
Hurricane Milton churns over the Gulf of Mexico on October 6, 2024 in an image courtesy of NOAA and RAMMB © - / NOAA/AFP
The new storm, Milton, intensified into a Category 1 hurricane Sunday while churning in the Gulf of Mexico, with nothing but warm ocean between it and the Florida coast -- an area still reeling from Helene's catastrophic winds and storm surge.
"Right now, we are still cleaning up from Helene," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told CNN, adding that imagining rain from a new storm was "difficult enough, not to mention the storm surge and wind damage."
Milton's exact path was still not clear Sunday, but officials across Florida were already warning residents to be prepared, with the storm expected to intensify into a major hurricane on Monday before approaching the state's west coast Wednesday.
Officials are issuing mandatory evacuation orders for parts of Pasco County and Anna Maria Island near Tampa starting Monday, while a handful of other counties have told some residents or those in certain types of buildings, like long-term healthcare facilities, to evacuate.
The new storm, Milton, intensified into a Category 1 hurricane Sunday while churning in the Gulf of Mexico, with nothing but warm ocean between it and the Florida coast -- an area still reeling from Helene's catastrophic winds and storm surge.
"Right now, we are still cleaning up from Helene," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told CNN, adding that imagining rain from a new storm was "difficult enough, not to mention the storm surge and wind damage."
Milton's exact path was still not clear Sunday, but officials across Florida were already warning residents to be prepared, with the storm expected to intensify into a major hurricane on Monday before approaching the state's west coast Wednesday.
Officials are issuing mandatory evacuation orders for parts of Pasco County and Anna Maria Island near Tampa starting Monday, while a handful of other counties have told some residents or those in certain types of buildings, like long-term healthcare facilities, to evacuate.
Local residents fill sandbags as rain starts to fall in Kissimmee, Florida on October 6, 2024 ahead of Hurricane Milton © Gregg Newton / AFP
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared 51 of the state's 67 counties under a state of emergency, predicting Milton could have "major, major impacts," with storm surges of up to 20 feet (six meters).
President Joe Biden was briefed on Milton and said in a statement that his administration was readying "life-saving resources."
Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said on ABC that federal authorities were ready for Milton.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared 51 of the state's 67 counties under a state of emergency, predicting Milton could have "major, major impacts," with storm surges of up to 20 feet (six meters).
President Joe Biden was briefed on Milton and said in a statement that his administration was readying "life-saving resources."
Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said on ABC that federal authorities were ready for Milton.
A resident boards up his windows in Palm Harbor, Florida on October 6, 2024 ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected mid-week landfall © Bryan R. SMITH / AFP
Milton is forecast to move just north of the Yucatan Peninsula and across the southern Gulf of Mexico Monday and Tuesday, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Disinformation blitz
A week and a half ago, Hurricane Helene roared into the Florida coastline as a Category 4 storm and carved a path of destruction inland, dumping torrential rainfall and causing flash flooding in remote towns in states such as North Carolina.
The storm, which struck Florida on September 26, has killed more than 225 people across a handful of states -- making it the deadliest natural disaster to hit the United States since 2005's Hurricane Katrina -- with the toll still rising.
Relief workers are racing to find survivors and get power and drinking water to remote mountainous communities.
But that effort has been hit by a wave of false claims and conspiracy theories.
Milton is forecast to move just north of the Yucatan Peninsula and across the southern Gulf of Mexico Monday and Tuesday, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Disinformation blitz
A week and a half ago, Hurricane Helene roared into the Florida coastline as a Category 4 storm and carved a path of destruction inland, dumping torrential rainfall and causing flash flooding in remote towns in states such as North Carolina.
The storm, which struck Florida on September 26, has killed more than 225 people across a handful of states -- making it the deadliest natural disaster to hit the United States since 2005's Hurricane Katrina -- with the toll still rising.
Relief workers are racing to find survivors and get power and drinking water to remote mountainous communities.
But that effort has been hit by a wave of false claims and conspiracy theories.
Cheryl Phillips and her cadaver dog Kite search for bodies in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Burnsville, North Carolina, on October 5, 2024 © Allison Joyce / AFP
Among the litany of disinformation is the falsehood pushed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that relief funds have been misappropriated by his rival for the White House, Democrat Kamala Harris, and redirected toward migrants.
"It's frankly ridiculous and just plain false ... it's really a shame that we're putting politics ahead of helping people," Criswell told ABC.
It is a "truly dangerous narrative," she said.
The Trump campaign nevertheless doubled down, repeating the assertion in a statement Sunday.
FEMA and outside fact-checkers note that a program under the agency's aegis to provide shelter and aid to migrants is funded directly by Congress, entirely separate from disaster-related funding.
Among the litany of disinformation is the falsehood pushed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that relief funds have been misappropriated by his rival for the White House, Democrat Kamala Harris, and redirected toward migrants.
"It's frankly ridiculous and just plain false ... it's really a shame that we're putting politics ahead of helping people," Criswell told ABC.
It is a "truly dangerous narrative," she said.
The Trump campaign nevertheless doubled down, repeating the assertion in a statement Sunday.
FEMA and outside fact-checkers note that a program under the agency's aegis to provide shelter and aid to migrants is funded directly by Congress, entirely separate from disaster-related funding.
FEMA chief Deanne Criswell, shown here greeting US President Joe Biden in South Carolina on October 2, 2024, has slammed 'dangerous' misinformation impacting the disaster response © Mandel NGAN / AFP/File
ABC reported that law enforcement officials are monitoring threats toward FEMA officials and other recovery agencies prompted by the disinformation.
In addition to Trump's false claim, the Washington Post reported Sunday on other lies swirling around Helene that it said were "adding to the chaos and confusion."
They include a false claim that a dam was about to burst, which the Post said prompted hundreds of people to unnecessarily evacuate, and a "troubling" lie that officials planned to bulldoze bodies under the rubble in one North Carolina town.
One user suggested "a militia go against fema" in a post on X, formerly Twitter, which has received more than half a million views.
Asked about that post, Criswell said it "has a tremendous impact on the comfort level of our own employees to be able to go out there."
ABC reported that law enforcement officials are monitoring threats toward FEMA officials and other recovery agencies prompted by the disinformation.
In addition to Trump's false claim, the Washington Post reported Sunday on other lies swirling around Helene that it said were "adding to the chaos and confusion."
They include a false claim that a dam was about to burst, which the Post said prompted hundreds of people to unnecessarily evacuate, and a "troubling" lie that officials planned to bulldoze bodies under the rubble in one North Carolina town.
One user suggested "a militia go against fema" in a post on X, formerly Twitter, which has received more than half a million views.
Asked about that post, Criswell said it "has a tremendous impact on the comfort level of our own employees to be able to go out there."
Relief aid sits at a distribution center in Burnsville, North Carolina on October 5, 2024, after the passage of Hurricane Helene © Allison Joyce / AFP
FEMA has begun debunking the rumors online, as have North Carolina authorities.
Much of the focus was on X.
Before the platform was purchased by Elon Musk, when it was still known as Twitter, it was a go-to place for disaster coordination and information sharing.
But the billionaire has allowed right-wing disinformation and conspiracy theories to flood the platform.
© 2024 AFP
FEMA has begun debunking the rumors online, as have North Carolina authorities.
Much of the focus was on X.
Before the platform was purchased by Elon Musk, when it was still known as Twitter, it was a go-to place for disaster coordination and information sharing.
But the billionaire has allowed right-wing disinformation and conspiracy theories to flood the platform.
© 2024 AFP
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