On May 22 at 6p.m., a deadly
EF5 tornado ripped through the town of Joplin, Mo., destroying 30
percent of the town, killing 117 people and injuring as many as one
thousand people. The
tornado destroyed schools, small stores, apartments, homes and the
St. John Medical Center, an important hospital in the region. As a
result, the St. John Medical Center triage had to be moved across the
street, for fear that the hospital would catch on fire. A large
amount of the community’s energy and communications infrastructure
was also destroyed.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation
extends our solidarity and condolences to the working people of
Joplin who have experienced such devastation.
A reporter from
the Weather Channel, Mike Bettes, described the destruction while
choking up. “There was panic, fire fighters were pulling themselves
out of the debris and then helping [others].”
Joplin is a
small city of only 50,000 people, so the death toll has affected the
community in an acutely personal manner as the tornado destroyed
homes and ripped friends and families apart. Some 1,500 are still missing. Elderly and ill people
who were unable to move to safety were particularly vulnerable.
Role of global climate change in
tornadoes
There has
been much discussion in the media recently about the tragic impact of
natural disasters. According to the Washington Post, the devastation
in Joplin was the result of “the single deadliest tornado since
officials began keeping records in 1950.” (Washington
Post, May 24)
On the other hand, Fox News ran a story titled “NOAA Scientist
Rejects Global Warming Link to Tornadoes.” The piece quoted
various “experts” who state that the connection between global
climate change and more severe tornadoes is not as clear as it is for
the linkage between climate change and other severe weather events.
(Fox News, April 28)
Multiple factors contribute to tornadoes. The research on the
tornado-global warming link has not advanced very far, thus making it
hard to draw strong conclusions at this time. However, one research
publication reported more than three years ago that “NASA
scientists have developed a new climate model that indicates that the
most violent severe storms and tornadoes may become more common as
Earth’s climate warms. “ (ScienceDaily,
Aug. 31, 2007)
More recently, Robert Henson, a
meteorologist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research,
stated, “Climate change could be boosting one of those
ingredients [for tornadoes], but it depends on how these ingredients
come together.”
(Climate Progress, May 24)
While tornadoes do occur naturally
under particular conditions, what is not natural is the society in
which tornadoes wreak havoc. Why do so many people living in “Tornado
Alley” live in homes lacking tornado basements? Why are frail
elderly people living alone with no one to help them get to safety?
Why is there no comprehensive plan for community safety in the event
of a tornado or other natural disaster? Instead, it is left up to the
individual to “be prepared.”
Socialist Cuba is hit by hurricanes every year, and yet with far fewer resources, it has been able to survive these natural disasters with little or no human loss. The country prepares for hurricanes with a centralized evactuation plan in which all residents in endangered regions are evacuated by Cuba’s civil defense system from the areas at risk. Transport, adequate shelter and food are provided, and no one is left to fend for themselves.
This is possible in Cuba because the government is not in the hands of private corporate interests. Under socialism, with the profit motive eradicated, national resources can be organized to meet social needs. But under capitalism, the government’s priority is to push cuts for
every social service imaginable in order to prioritize government spending that
benefits the rich and keep taxes low for the wealthiest sectors of
society. People in the United States are all too familiar with this.
A socialist
government in the United States would work in joint effort with meteorologists and
community leaders who are assigned the important task of keeping the
public safe. A priority in areas prone to tornadoes would be the mass
construction of underground shelters so that when the warning sounds,
everyone has a safe place to go.
We can’t put an end to tornadoes. But we can put an end to the profit system.
