Climate change is causing catastrophic weather pattern changes to mountain ranges around the world. Recently, both Nepal and the Appalachian Mountains have been victim to exacerbated storms and hurricanes, leading to extraordinary flooding across the regions.
Devastation in Ashville, North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Photo by Bill McMannis.
In the last few weeks in the eastern Appalachian mountains, Hurricane Helene brought tremendous amounts of rainfall, flash floods, and 70 MPH winds resulting in the tragic loss of human lives and ecosystems alike. Mountain folks of Appalachia were disproportionately impacted due to the disaster risks associated with mountain regions such as heavier rainfall, landslides, and infrastructure instability. Hurricane Milton has similarly brought the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding.
ICIMOD colleagues Bijay Kumar Shrestha and Kamal Prasad Aryal used a makeshift boat to rescue their colleague during the floods in Kathmandu. Photo from ICIMOD.
As for Nepal, folks have been forced to travel from roof to roof as the catastrophe of monsoon season continues to barrage the Himalayan mountain communities. “Climate change played a significant role in exacerbating the disaster, compounded by poor urban planning and infrastructure,” noted Arun Bhakta Shrestha, Strategic Group Lead for Climate and Environmental Risks ICIMOD, a Mountain Sentinels partner in the Himayalan region.
With little time between catastrophic hurricanes and monsoons, mounrain communities throughout the world are losing resources as schools, livelihoods, and home after home are being swept away. As a collection of mountain people, we must provide support where possible through action, advocacy, and aid.
We have collected several resources below to better support our mountain communities recently impacted by the cascading impacts of climate change. If you know of any resources, organisations, or mutual aid funds to support mountain folks, please let us know: [email protected]
Mutual Aid Campaigns Appalachia (https://appvoices.org/helene-relief/):
- https://www.appalachiahelenefund.org/
- https://www.samsva.org/swva-and-seky-flood-response
- https://www.belovedasheville.com/rebuilding-hope-after-hurricane-helene/
- https://www.instagram.com/pansy.collective/
- https://x.com/ekymutualaid
- https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-appalachian-biocultural-legacy-and-seed-bank-helene
Mutual Aid Campaigns Nepal: