Asheville is a climate calamity: What comes next?

Like many people around the world, I’ve been following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene with interest and compassion.  The superstorm wrought a wide path of destruction across the southeastern US, leaving thousands homeless and killing more than 100 people.  

Much attention has focused on the city of Asheville, North Carolina.  The remnants of Atlantic hurricanes often make their way up the east coast and dump significant amounts of rain as they dissipate, making the state particularly exposed to flood risk.  Asheville had experienced a “Great Flood” in 1916 which was actually the result of two consecutive hurricanes causing torrential rainfall in the valley where the city is located.  This year’s event may even be a little bit worse.

But quibbling about whether the current event is truly unprecedented is a bit ridiculous.  Evidence of planet-altering climate change is not found in specific incidents like this but in decades of damning data.  Disasters unquestionably raise public awareness and concern about the underlying problem.  Comparisons with past events, like 1916, also provide a crutch for those who claim that nothing has actually changed.  Confusing anecdote with evidence does absolutely nothing to resolve questions of fact.