As long as natural disasters were happening in so-called third world countries, we could reassure ourselves that the scale of destruction was linked to infrastructure: hastily built houses, cities without proper rainwater management systems, people living in remote areas with no escape routes, lack of advanced forecasting and warning systems, and other deficiencies that amplified the damage, whether from tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, or other natural phenomena.
It’s quite different, however, to see destruction occurring in the developed world, in cities like our own, with people living in neighbourhoods that seem impervious to natural phenomena. In cities that have weathered centuries of challenges. It’s different to see modern streets transform into rivers, sweeping everything away. Car parks becoming lakes with vehicles floating in them. Parks where children were playing hours before, vanishing underwater, shops submerged in mud, care homes, hospitals, and schools completely defenceless against violent storms. And above all, dozens dead. People who were simply at home.
With these images, which could be from our own cities, we can identify and realise that we’re all equally vulnerable to natural phenomena. Perhaps we can also understand that what happened in Spain now, and earlier in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Austria, as well as in Greece last year, isn’t just temporary bad weather.
Scientists had warned and continue to warn: these phenomena are consequences of climate change and will occur more frequently from now on. In Spain, the lack of warning led to criticism that deaths could have been prevented. However, meteorologists say predicting the path of fast-moving, intense storms is extremely difficult.
And what can we citizens do? Unfortunately, nothing. Paper straws, composting, reusable bags, avoiding meat consumption, and other small daily actions are mere plasters on a gaping wound. “We hear politicians describe the climate crisis on one hand, while on the other, their proposed measures are so disproportionate to the magnitude of the crisis. Until now, we’ve heard encouragements like ‘change your home lighting to energy-saving bulbs’, ‘buy a hybrid car’, etc.”, writes Naomi Klein, emphasising that the root of the problem is capitalism’s expansionist model. “Neoliberalism and its advocates are trapped in an ideology of indifference to the climate crisis, as they cannot imagine anything beyond profitable growth and consumption”.
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