Impacts in North America: ‘We have been sounding the alarm for a very, very long time’
Queens, United States • 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.
“I found out that the mother and her son living next door to me had both drowned and died in the basement. I don’t have the words to tell you the pain that this neighborhood has gone through since.”
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“I want a safer community for everyone, for all of America, for every community.”
—Amrita Bhagwandin
Resident of Queens
29 people died in Hurricane Ida
1/7th of the world’s total emissions come from the United States—the world’s biggest economy—meaning U.S. climate action also has an outsized influence on our global climate
A projected 2℃ global temperature increase leads to extreme weather events that affect poor-quality and inappropriately located urban housing
By integrating human rights within climate solutions, we can develop inclusive mitigation and adaptation strategies.