Melissa serves as a reminder that Americans will face huge—and largely avoidable—risks if and when the game of dice comes up against us.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kenny Stancil, stancil@therevolvingdoorproject.org
As Jamaicans endure Hurricane Melissa, Revolving Door Project Executive Director Jeff Hauser released the following statement:
“Hurricane Melissa is poised to unleash unspeakable harm on Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, a tragedy which will be deepened by Donald Trump and Russell Vought’s lawlessly unilateral cessation of USAID funding. Flooding risks are projected to be elevated in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, both U.S. territories. By further expanding planet-heating fossil fuel pollution, the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress are condemning people around the world to more frequent and severe extreme weather, including rapidly intensifying monster hurricanes.
People in the continental United States are not immune from such lethal devastation. The U.S. mainland has so far lucked out this hurricane season, as storm after storm has turned away before making landfall. However, Melissa serves as a reminder that Americans will face huge—and largely avoidable—risks if and when the game of dice comes up against us.
The Trump administration has spent the past nine months suppressing climate science, attacking NOAA’s world-class weather forecasting infrastructure, and undermining the capacity of FEMA and state emergency managers. This ongoing assault means that ensuing climate disasters hitting the United States will have the Trump administration’s bloody fingerprints on them.”
For more, see our report, Trump’s Homicidal Hurricane Policy, and our tracker on Trump’s Disastrous Disaster Policy.
The latter includes an interactive timeline on Trump’s attacks on disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery as well as an interactive map on Trump’s disaster aid delays and denials.
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The above photo of President Donald Trump, taken on September 1, 2019 by U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jim Greenhill, is licensed under CC BY 2.0.