Impacts in North America: 鈥榃e have been sounding the alarm for a very, very long time鈥�
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Queens, United States 鈥� North America
Extreme weather events are often a byproduct of climate change. As these events grow in intensity and frequency, it has become clear that we all are vulnerable and no one is guaranteed safety.
Amrita Bhagwandin and her family live in the Queens borough of New York, having emigrated from Guyana in 1998. She lives in a diverse, hard-working community that cares about its families, its community, education and giving back.
Hurricane Ida struck her neighborhood on Sept. 1, 2021, and the community was never the same. Although some improvements had been made on the storm sewers on the block, it became clear that the amount of rain would overwhelm them. Worried, she began warning the neighbors to be very careful that night.
In a panic, she tried to get her husband and daughter to leave. They decided to stay, but Bhagwandin left to stay at her in-laws' home. A few hours later, she found out that the sewer hole in front of her house broke. Her husband and daughter barely made it out alive. They were the lucky ones.
鈥淚 found out that the mother and her son living next door to me had both drowned and died in the basement. I don鈥檛 have the words to tell you the pain that this neighborhood has gone through since.鈥澨�
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鈥淚 want a safer community for everyone, for all of America, for every community.鈥�
鈥擜mrita Bhagwandin
Resident of Queens
29 people听died in Hurricane Ida
1/7th of the world鈥檚 total emissions
come from the United States鈥攖he world鈥檚 biggest economy鈥攎eaning U.S. climate action also has an outsized influence on our global climate
A projected 2鈩兲齡lobal temperature
increase听leads to extreme weather events that affect poor-quality and inappropriately located urban housing
