Earth(quake), wind & (wild)fire

August 06, 2020

My World’s on Fire is a free newsletter about disasters from journalist Colleen Hagerty. My goal is to help you feel a bit more at ease about our unpredictable world by equipping you with in-depth reporting and insights. I can only do that with your continued support, so please subscribe and share!

As the title notes, there have been a lot of extreme events these past two weeks, and because of that, I wrote and rewrote this newsletter probably a dozen times. At one point, it was just a list of everything that’s been happening, but almost immediately, that became outdated.

So instead, this week’s links are a step back from the breaking news to look at some of the more overarching issues that are shaping these disasters, from the way they’ve covered in the media to why they disproportionately impact certain communities. There’s even an ode to “earthquake Twitter.”

But before I get into that, some newsletter news: there will be no issue next week, and a shorter, pre-scheduled links edition the week after. This is my attempt to take my own advice, and I hope you’re also finding ways to spend some time off of screens these days, too.

That said, I’m excited about the reporting I’ll have to share with you on the other side of that break, so stay tuned and be sure to subscribe it you haven’t already!

All the news that’s fit to link 📚 🎧 📺

  • 🎧First things first: How to pronounce “Isaias” (@PatriciaMazzei/Twitter)

  • 📚'The Things We Don’t Say and the People We Don’t See’ You probably saw headlines about Isaias wreaking havoc as it crawled up the East Coast this week. How many of those mentioned the storm’s impact on Puerto Rico or the Bahamas? This piece, from disaster expert Professor Monica Sanders, confronts that question. If you click one link from this newsletter today, make it this one. (Medium)

  • 📚10. Billion. Dollars.For the sixth year in the row, the US has experienced 10 billion-dollar-plus weather disasters, a new record it cinched by the end of June – so, not even counting the events of the past month. (NOAA)

  • 📺The inequality of heatEver wandered around a city and noticed some neighborhoods are just hotter? Watch this explainer. (Grist)

  • 📚When we’re all experiencing tragedy, who volunteers?In an average year, 5 million Americans step up to help disaster-struck areas. But this year, experts fear just a fraction of that response will show up due to coronavirus concerns, with one Red Cross chapter reporting it lost 70% of volunteers. (Weather.com)

  • 📚Yet another way COVID-19 is changing emergency responsePublic health officials in the Pacific Northwest used to recommend public places – community centers, malls, etc – as “refuges” on unhealthy air quality days, such as during wildfires. Now, they’re urging residents to outfit their own homes with air filters and other means to become smoke safe. (High Country News)

  • 🎧It’s me! On Me, Myself & DisasterI talked about disaster reporting, the rising popularity of emergency prep in the US, and dealing with crisis fatigue on the Me, Myself & Disaster podcast. Highly recommend checking out the other episodes, too! (DisasterBros.com)

  • 📚Does an earthquake count if you don’t tweet about it? As a Southern California transplant, I felt my first earthquakes this year. While I would be happy to never experience another, I did discover a silver lining: LA earthquake Twitter. Especially in the midst of a pandemic, commiserating over being shaken awake with neighbors, scientists, and celebrities alike offers a bizarrely lovely sense of camaraderie. According to disaster researcher Mika McKinnon, it also serves as proof that the city is building “community resiliency,” which is pretty great. (Curbed)

And, as always…

here’s a little something for reading to the end.

Note: As promised, this week’s “something” is special, and you might recognize why if you remember this post! Inspired by how much you all love the cute animal links at the end of each newsletter, I created an account pairing photos of my new pup, Scarlett, with basic emergency preparedness tips to get you thinking a little more about that in your daily lives. I might be biased, but I think she’s one of the cutest influencers out there, and I hope you’ll give her a follow.

See you in a few weeks!