Target: Scott Turner, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Goal: Raise awareness about network of tools and contacts designed to help cities prepare for natural disasters.
A powerful Category Five hurricane battered parts of the Caribbean, bringing winds in excess of 180 miles per hour and storm surges over 12 feet. In one Jamaican community alone, over 90 percent of homes were decimated. Dozens of people died.
Despite record insurance payouts and international aid, Jamaica has still sustained billions of dollars in damages. The road to recovery will be long. Climate crises such as Hurricane Melissa have fueled housing crises all around the world. Informal, low-income housing and structures in particular are vulnerable to the effects of extreme environmental events. This growing problem compelled the United Nations (UN) to create an initiative known as Making Cities Resilient 2030. The initiative provides important resources and advice for prepping urban areas to withstand such events.
Jamaica has already ensured all of its vulnerable localities are part of this effort, but the United States – which has recently weakened many of its disaster response programs – risks falling behind. Sign the petition below to demand leaders advocate for and promote an initiative that will only grow in importance as record-breaking weather continues to batter the nation.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Turner,
Hurricane Melissa should serve as a stark reminder of what may befall American communities during the next natural disaster. The community where landfall was made in Jamaica suffered a staggering 90 percent home loss ratio. Preparing communities – and especially vulnerable urban localities – for these disasters should be a top priority.
Please follow Jamaica’s lead and help ensure regions across the country join the United Nations’ Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative. Public awareness is essential to connect at-risk communities with the help and resources that could benefit them most when disaster strikes.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Lt. Col. Mark Withee
