Disasters Strike Worldwide as UN Climate Week Begins in New York

Most of Puerto Rico remains without power, a day after Hurricane Fiona brought 100-mile-an-hour winds and up to 30 inches of rain to parts of the island. On Sunday, Puerto Rico’s entire electrical grid collapsed as Fiona’s eye roared across the island’s southwestern coast, triggering flash floods and landslides and washing away at least one major bridge. Governor Pedro Pierluisi described the damage as “catastrophic.” Fiona hit just two days before the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which killed thousands of people and devastated Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and other infrastructure.  Puerto Rico    Climate Crisis

Alaska’s governor has declared a state of emergency after the remnants of Typhoon Merbok brought a 1,000-mile-wide path of destruction to the state’s Pacific coastline. The massive storm system spawned flooding, prompted evacuations, knocked buildings off their foundations, washed away bridges and roads, and brought power outages to remote villages — many of them home to Native Alaskans. Merbok was Alaska’s worst storm in a half-century, the most intense September storm ever observed in the Bering Sea and one of the strongest storms ever to hit Alaska

In Japan, 9 million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes, as one of the largest typhoons ever to hit Japan made landfall on the southern island of Kyushu Sunday night with winds topping 110 miles per hour. The storm is forecast to bring flooding and landslides to Japan’s main island of Honshu through Wednesday morning. The Japan Meteorological Agency classified the typhoon as “violent” — its most severe category. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged people to seek shelter. 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida: “Do not go near dangerous areas. If you feel that you are in danger, do not hesitate to evacuate. Please take early action to save your lives. Evacuation at night is extremely dangerous. Please evacuate to safe areas like high places and sturdy buildings while it is still light.”

Here in New York, the 77th United Nations General Assembly opens today with the climate emergency and the war in Ukraine taking center stage. Ahead of the gathering, Secretary-General António Guterres called out nations for failing to protect future generations, decrying the “sheer inadequacy of the global response to the climate crisis.” Today is also the start of Climate Week here in New York, with dozens of protests and climate-related activities scheduled around the city.

Headlines for September 19. 2020 continue at DEMOCRACY NOW!