The concept of “the perfect storm” is far from perfect. It’s often horrid, and it’s always bad news. We sit here now in late June with strange weather patterns (and lots of rain) already causing issues this year, with more to come.
The natural warming cycle, known as El Niño, is predicted to possibly be so extreme in the coming months that it “would rank among the largest El Niño events” going back 75 years. And Hawai`i is one of the locations that might see more unsettling, tropical weather activity than usual.
The “perfect storm” part of this is that it comes questions are asked as to how prepared we are as a state to handle what seems like a natural inevitability- a bad and destructive storm… a hurricane that doesn’t skirt our islands but makes a direct hit.
And if the state is not forearmed- since it’s been forewarned (for years)- a cataclysmic storm’s impact will be compounded by the ripple effects of drastic cutbacks and non-spending at many levels- affecting the immediate capacity for federal response/relief on top of the lack of funding and rampant personnel cutbacks already in place.
Recent news stories, editorials, and a Hawai`i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations’ (HANO) executive summary depict a struggling local nonprofit scene, where demands far outpace capacity, workers are hard to find and retain, and almost three-fourths of local nonprofits struggle to raise “unrestricted revenue” (moneys not earmarked for specific causes or projects).
If the government is not ready, first responders will be tasked like never before, and then the daily, long-term work of nonprofits will become even more essential, as we witnessed during the COVID years, the Maui wildfire devastation- with its ongoing effects, and the North Shore flooding we saw earlier this year.
We need more food, more clothing, and more emergency housing. We need more mental health and trauma experts ready to roll. Issues that will arise from overwhelming weather events do not resolve themselves simply because the sun finally shines through.
Non-profit leaders and community advocates, along with attentive board members and employees at many of the 8,000+ charities registered in this state, know that we could be seeing a perfect storm if El Niño intensifies in the months ahead.
We are far past the time for discussing action, reform, accountability, and infrastructure retrofits. Sure, forewarned is forearmed, but only if you do something(s).
Think about it…