Floridians and residents along the Southeast region of the United States are left shaken in the aftermath of not one but two major hurricanes that wreaked havoc over two weeks, causing widespread homelessness and posing unfathomable threats to unsheltered populations facing the combined threats of climate change and criminalization. The bout with nature began on Thursday, September 6, 2024, when Hurricane Helene slammed Florida with 140 mph winds.

Registering as a Category 4 hurricane, Helene caused at least 223 deaths, catastrophic flooding, a series of landslides, and 2.6 million power outages. As people across the six impacted states scrambled to make sense of an estimated $47.5 billion worth of property damage, Hurricane Milton struck Florida. The Category 3 storm pummeled several Florida cities and towns. Some were even hit twice. For example, the barrier island city of St. Pete Beach is said to be completely uninhabitable due to floods damaging all or most of the region’s homes.

“I’ve never seen so many people homeless as what I have right now,” said Florida local Janalea England in an interview with AP News reporters.

During that interview, England described the conundrum many of her rural neighbors were facing. They couldn’t afford homeowners’ insurance and were now dealing with the possibility of becoming homeless and facing the dual threats of climate change and criminalization.

They are not alone. FEMA describes a scenario where thousands of people are already emerging homeless in the wake of these two storms; their houses, memories, and belongings are awash, and experts claim this is only the beginning. A combination of climate change-induced weather and new laws that criminalize homelessness are causing chaos on the coastline.

People Who Are Already Homeless Face Dual Threats of Climate Change and Criminalization

Climate change is said to have amplified Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Experts say we should brace for a future filled with more intense hurricanes.

While hurricanes and climate change create homelessness, people who are already living unsheltered in spaces unfit for human habitation bear the brunt end of both. One of the main reasons for this is that homeless people are legally excluded from receiving housing and other assistance through FEMA because the storm did not cause them to lose their homes.

Read the full article about climate change and criminalization by Cynthia Griffith at Invisible People.