HURRICANE DORIAN REMINDER/Aliki Moncreif: Not all have protection from natural disasters

News-Journal (Daytona Beach, FL)

The shelves in Publix are stocked with water, batteries, canned goods, and flashlights -- it can only mean one thing: another hurricane season in Florida is in full swing. According to climate experts, Floridians should prepare for another above-average active season. Scientists expect the severity and strength of storms to increase as a direct result of climate change.

Yet, for every family stocking up on their emergency hurricane gear, there is another family without the means to buy food for their families that night -- let alone to save for a rainy day. Many Floridians lack reliable transportation to sit in traffic for hours on end to get them out of the path of the storm. And not everyone can afford to buy a $1,000 generator and fuel if they must stay home. Unfortunately, the state seems to cater hurricane preparedness efforts to the families that can -- leaving too many Floridians without protection.

[READ MORE: Storm prep checklist: Inside the home]

Natural disasters are known as the "great equalizer." But that could not be farther from the truth. Marginalized groups have a direct disadvantage. And non-inclusive hurricane preparedness plans are not helping.

People 65 years or older make up almost 20 percent of Florida's population. It can be difficult for the elderly and disabled to evacuate in these situations, as travel times are long and medical treatments are hard to manage on the road or in a motel. As evident during last year's tragedy, lack of access to proper care and adequate resources for the elderly can be deadly.

Of course, cities and counties open shelters for families to stay and wait out the storm. But while this is an essential system, approximately 600 people experiencing homelessness were reported on the streets when Hurricane Irma made landfall in Miami-Dade county. Imagine what it was like to bear the brunt of that storm without shelter.

The Florida Department of Health estimates our state's migrant worker population to be between 150,000 and 200,000 people. Some of those workers without proper documents expressed fear that authorities may detain them if they went to a shelter during Hurricane Irma.

No matter how our neighbors got to Florida, we can all agree that everyone deserves protection from catastrophic natural disasters.

While flooding poses a significant risk to all Floridians, in reality, low-income communities are most at risk. The Associated Press estimated that most Floridians in flood zones do not have flood insurance. The fact that property is often less expensive where the flood risk is higher puts residents at an immediate disadvantage for weathering storm events. This problem is even greater for those relying on mobile homes or poorly-maintained rental property for housing.

Storms will become more devastating in the years that follow. It is no longer an option to ignore the impacts of climate change. And it should no longer be an option to ignore those people who are most affected by it.

Low-income households and communities of color suffer the most from the direct impacts of climate change, yet they contribute the least to this problem. The state of Florida and the federal government have to address the cause -- climate change. They can start right away by increasing resilience and by adopting sustainable clean energy policies.

Environmental justice and climate change need to be a part of the conversation when it comes to hurricane preparedness. When communities come together to form one collective voice, political action follows -- we just have to be loud enough. You can find more information at peoplesclimate.org.

We can no longer sit idly by while our neighbors suffer an inordinate burden, storm after storm, especially when those storms are being made worse by our inaction.

We have to leave room in our disaster preparedness kit for cutting carbon pollution and reducing our over-reliance on dirty fossil fuels - we're going to need a bigger kit.

-- Moncrief is executive director of Florida Conservation Voters. This column first appeared in 2017.

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