Thread by @TDiLiberto, THREAD: There's been a lot of weather/climate extreme destruction of late that [...]

THREAD: There's been a lot of weather/climate extreme destruction of late that might leave you thinking "oh I can't imagine!" So let me tell you a story about the time a year ago a huge tree crashed into my house and forced us to relocate with two kids under 4 for 10 months. 1/24

This is partly inspired by some recent articles I've read on mental health and disasters from @publicintegrity and @islandpacket 2/24
https://publicintegrity.org/environment/hidden-epidemics/disasters-mental-health-crisis-wildfire-hurricane-flood-climate-covid/
https://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article245105365.html

First, I’m an atmospheric scientist who talks about climate science for a living. I always thought I “knew” how horrible it was to have your life upended by the weather/climate. I was wrong. It was so much worse than I imagined. And my case wasn't even that "bad". 3/24

Caveats: I am a white man with an extensive support network, and generational middle-class wealth who has the privilege of owning a home. At no point during this 10-month odyssey was my family ever at risk of not finding a place to sleep, or being food insecure. 4/24

During the entire rebuild, whenever I got frustrated and raised my voice, I never had to worry about the consequences. I had it relatively easy. And it was still the most stressful period of my life. 5/24

One of the most jarring aspects (and one that’s hard to understand without experiencing it) is how fast your normal stable life gets completely changed. One day, you sleep in your house with your wife + 2 kids under 4. And the next, you’re not even allowed to set foot in it. 6/24

Stressed wasn’t the right word to describe what I was feeling. More like overwhelming dread and drowning. We had few clothes (a tree was on top of most of them) and no idea what to do. But still had to manage the mental health of two young kids, oh and work full-time. 7/24

I still don’t know how I acted “normal” at @AMSEarlyCareer’s Early Career Leadership Academy which happened two weeks after the tree hit. I was a wreck and mentally exhausted. I'm smiling in this photo but screaming on the inside. 8/24

And that brings me to my first realization. No one is FINE after something like that. Even if they appear so. Even if they say so. I luckily had a support network to blunt the crappiness. But… 9/24

What if we didn’t have that support network locally? Or the ability to talk to a therapist? Or the funds to get by or get away? What if we were stuck, swamped by a vortex of stress and negativity with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel, with no one to help us? 10/24

Having resources to be able to deal with damage caused by extreme weather is a privilege. As a society, we must support disaster victims' physical and mental health 11/24

Realization #2. We were SO LUCKY to have lenient and understanding workplaces. Right after the tree fell, my office let me telework so I could deal with the tree company removing the tree ($30k alone!) and the insurance agents figuring out how much damage was done. 12/24

What if we had to physically be at work and then deal with things with during breaks, otherwise we’d be fired? What if our new housing wasn’t close to our job or broken house, so we couldn’t just stop by to monitor what was going on or get to work easily? 13/24

My ability to be hands-on during the work day while doing work that was (let’s be honest) not up to my standards without fear of cutting hours, losing pay or losing my job was a privilege. 14/24

Even then, from the moment the tree hit our house to now four months back in the house, I’ve been struggling with a brutal depression. 15/24

The stress of everything plus dealing with my brain, two loving, adorable, incredibly active, indestructible forces of nature that are my kids, AND THE PANDEMIC were impossible to overcome. 16/24

And that brings me to my last realization. Oh my god are mental health services important for those impacted by extreme weather and climate extremes. Yes, we can always rebuild a house. But “rebuilding” a shattered person ain’t covered by home insurance. 17/24

And I’m a lucky one! I only had part of my home destroyed and I had the time, money and support to get the help I needed. Are those with less means who suffer similar or worse than I going to have those resources available and better yet, be able to use them? 18/24

With climate change, societal inequities, and development patterns putting people in harm’s way, we have to be ready for not only the initial disaster, but for the long process it takes to heal. 19/24

Those affected and displaced by natural disasters need support and resources, and they need it fast. All too often the communities destroyed by hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters are low-income communities and communities of color. 20/24
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2017/09/18/hurricanes-hit-the-poor-the-hardest/

If we aren’t prepared to support the physical and mental health needs of those displaced, we are destroying the fabric of those communities for far longer than it takes to rebuild a house or pay someone out for damages. 21/24

And I learned that I need to learn more about what’s available, who are experts in this and what they say, and how I can be useful. 22/24

Again, I thought I “knew” these realizations already. But it was so much harder/stressful than I imagined. So continue to be empathetic to those impacted by disasters. But realize there’s invisible damage too and having the ability to deal with that damage is not equal. 23/24

This was heavy so in conclusion, here’s a gif of a puppy. 24/24

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