How it started/how it's going

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!

Subscribe now

While we’re at it, a reminder that this is my editor, responsible for any and all typos/grammatical errors (photo: dog sleeping next to a laptop)

Six months ago, I sent out an email to exactly two subscribers, announcing the launch of this newsletter. Today, you’re part of a network that spans the globe and includes disaster survivors and experts, officials and journalists, and others who are just genuinely interested in deepening their knowledge in this space. As one survey responder told me:

Of course, I agree.

Since I launched this newsletter, countless people have been impacted by life-changing disasters in the U.S. alone. I’ve been incredibly grateful to have some of them trust me with sharing their experiences, from the derecho in Iowa to the hurricanes in Louisiana and the wildfires in the West. I’ve also attempted to break down some of science, statistics, and bureaucracy behind the headlines, with the help of experts and other journalists. Speaking of, some very smart people have helped open a dialogue in here about mentalhealth, preparedness on a personal and community level, and the importance of language when discussing disasters. And that’s just a sample of what’s been covered.

Which is all to say – a hell of a lot has happened these past six months! Which, as a new United Nations report points out, really isn’t that surprising in context.

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) put out a study earlier this month tracing back the past two decades of global disasters. Some of their findings:

• Major disasters are on the rise: From 2000-2019, there were 7,348 recorded disasters linked to natural hazards, compared to 4,212 between 1980-1999. 1.23 million people were killed. 4.2 billion were impacted.

• The U.S. has the second highest disaster count in the world: The U.S. had 467 disaster events, following only China, which had 577.

• Climate change is playing a role: The report attributes this sharp increase in part to a rise in climate-related events, the amount of which nearly doubled in that more recent two-decade span.

• But so are we: “We are willfully destructive,” said Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRR, in response to the report. “That is the only conclusion one can come to when reviewing disaster events over the last twenty years. COVID-19 is but the latest proof that political and business leaders are yet to tune in to the world around them.”

I highly encourage you to check out the full study to get a better idea of the methodology used and other takeaways. But I keep returning to that last quote.

“Willfully destructive.”

For me, it’s a reminder of how important it is that we continue telling these stories. Continue pushing for accountability and action from people in power. Continue paying attention to these issues and impacted communities, even when they fall out of the headlines during (typically, please don’t jinx it) quieter winter months.

That’s the sort of reporting I’m committing to for the next six months.

Thank you for all your support getting this newsletter off the ground, from signing up to sharing these dispatches with your networks. Let’s keep building this community around one of the key stories of our era.

I want to hear from you for next week’s issue

If you’ve experienced a disaster this year and would be open to talking about how that has or has not impacted your ability to vote, please reach out by responding to this email.

I’m also really appreciating the survey feedback, so please keep it coming!

As always…

If you found today’s dispatch interesting, please consider sharing it and spreading the word on social media.

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

Colleen