I have seen discussions on social media about whether we are experiencing the consequences of climate change or of climate variability. To me, the debates do not matter; we are simply being hit. And hard!
That we are vulnerable, that we have exhausted our resilience capacity, that we have poor planning... yes to all of it, so what? Have we made any progress by acknowledging that?
The reality is that it is unlikely that the State will relocate the people who live in vulnerable areas, or that they will want to leave. I see it in Santa Ana: people have lived their whole lives along the riverbanks; they are Santa Ana locals through and through. We have talked about vulnerability, the risk of flash floods, and even deaths...
“So where are we supposed to go?” — they say
“To a safer place” — I say
“Who is going to give it to us?” — they ask
“The Government” — I answer, and when I say that, I do not even believe it myself...
It may seem easy to comment and lecture about what we are living through, and even to be supportive during these days of emergency, but the reality is that whether it is due to climate change (which I am sure it is), or climate variability (I could accept it with a list of caveats...), poor planning (absolutely agree), or the loss of resilience capacity (I could also agree), the solution is NOT easy.
What should we do?
Relocate people!
And this is very complicated, because it would require an economic valuation (including social, environmental, and financial costs), not just a cost-benefit valuation (how much the lot costs where I will put people), because if there is one thing I am convinced of, it is that someone who lives in Santa Ana will not move to another county; in other words, the solution for Santa Ana residents is in Santa Ana.
Who should do the relocation?
The Ministry of Housing, IMAS, INVU, and the Emergency Commission in coordination with the Municipality. This is so expensive that it exceeds any municipal budget.
I am sure that once the emergency passes, the topic will be forgotten, and we will have to wait until another meteorological event, driven by climate change or vulnerability or lack of planning or loss of resilience, affects us again.
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