NATURAL DISASTERS CONTRIBUTE TO HOMELESS POPULATION
Natural disasters have been rocking the Earth’s core all around. Between the back to back hurricanes, the forest fires and earthquakes, many people are losing more than a couple of nights without power.
These natural disasters have resulted in people losing their jobs, their families and their homes. Even after Hurricane Katrina left rubble in her path, many homeowners were left with little to no options on where to live. The phrase, “homeless in their own home”, became popular among those situations. People live in their homes without electricity or running water.
Hundreds of thousands of homeowners affected by Hurricane Katrina received grant money for them to rebuild their homes. Due to crooked practices and unethical behavior from construction companies, homes weren’t built. However, people felt an attachment to their homes and many didn’t leave, regardless of the living difficulties.
Even with all the grant money spent on rebuilding homes, over a hundred thousand people were still in shelters and in need of aid. Louisiana spent the next several years trying to come back from the blow to their population. But Katrina isn’t the only storm that took away homes.
The wildfire in California from July 2017 also took away shelter. The fire caused 3,500 people to become homeless.
Hurricane Harvey made his point of leaving 30,000 people without homes and thousands more without power and in flooded conditions. Then here is Hurricane Irma. She blew through Florida leaving 10,000 more people in The Keys alone. Each destination that felt Harvey’s and Irma’s wrath continues to deal with thousands of displaced residents. With so many homes destroyed and some still without electricity, people find themselves continuing their stay in shelters or wandering from temporary home to temporary home.
Storms can do more than cause a flood. Fires do more than burn a couple of trees. These occurrences can cause someone to lose their home. With these storms and disasters coming in succession, people haven’t had a chance to repair and reconstruct their lives before the country got hit with another natural disaster, Puerto Rico ... Hurricane Maria. This article aims to help people gain more understanding about situations and circumstances of homelessness. If you would like to spread the message, contact us at Ts4Hope@yahoo.com.
References
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150813-homeless-after-katrina-new-orleans/
http://www.datacenterresearch.org/data-resources/katrina/facts-for-impact/
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/846909/Hurricane-Harvey-path-2017-update-flood-leaves-people-homeless
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/11/california-wildfires-leave-3500-people-homeless/
