| Description: | Under the setting sun and the shadow of the Andres, a community faces tragedy as a river overflows its banks. Homes and streets are flooded and both belongings and people are being washed into the river; while belongs might be recovered or replaced, the people who die in flooding are gone and cannot be returned. This natural disaster shows the challenges and potential loss of lives that we face in a changing climate, as the ice caps melt and sea levels rise.
Flooding has widespread impacts on both people and the environment. It causes traumatic displacement when people lose their homes or find them too dangerous to return to, while also creating severe financial hardship from property and infrastructure damage. Human health faces clear risks from contaminated water and the resulting illnesses, and crop failures pose another threat, leading to food shortages and loss of income. The natural world also suffers as precious habitats and ecological systems are lost. (HM0425) |
