re: previous repost: now is a very good time to make sure you are up on how to safely operate a fossil fuel powered generator we have had some godawful unnecessary carbon monoxide poisoning deaths in my area during large power outages
IIRC the study was done around 15 years later and found that people who had gone through Katrina, *including evacuees*, experienced higher rates of mortality from cardiovascular disease. Researchers theorized it was because of the massive stress.
One of those things I read several years ago and wish I'd bookmarked was a study detailing the both the stages of mortality associated with Hurricane Katrina and the astonishingly long tail associated with it.
Regardless you have multiple stages of death associated with any natural disaster, currently people who were hit by Helene are in stage 2: people with chronic medical conditions who can no longer manage them begin to die. People die from contaminated water. From accidents with power tools.
If you got hit by Helene & you have home insurance, call them (when you can) & ask for this payment. You could also try calling on behalf of someone you love who's too shaken up to call, but you'll need the policy number
Want to give thanks to @kateschapira.bsky.social because her book Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth was a soft course/exercise on what I would do if there was a climate disaster in my area and I was able to go directly into action when it actually happened.
A brief pause in floodposting to say that almost nothing feels as good, to me, as being very caffeinated & writing something that I want to write (this one's about floating wetlands, nutrient cycle remediation, human-water relations for youth of color, & more)
One thing you could do for people helping people in the wake of Helene is pick 1 mutual aid group, donate a bit & then put it on your calendar to donate a bit more a week later--for a month if you can, or more. The aftermath will be long & new needs, new losses, new griefs will appear--stay with it.
