![]() Mangroves, for example, buffer coasts from storm surge and sap the energy of waves. NatCap, as its name implies, views natural ecosystems and their components as capital, as assets whose inherent features generate a positive return for society. “It’s so, so sad this had to happen,” she says, shaking her head. Unfortunately, in circumstances such as this, that can also bring heartbreak. She joined NatCap to give her work a more real-life, human connection. But for her, there was always an important component missing: people. An ecologist based at Stanford University, Arkema began her career studying how changes to one ecosystem-kelp forests, for example-have a domino effect, impacting neighboring natural areas, like reefs, and their inhabitants. “There were people hanging out, singing, listening to music.” Arkema, a lead scientist with an organization called the Natural Capital Project, or NatCap, has been a regular on Andros since July 2015. There were homes all along here,” says Katie Arkema, her eyes welling up. It’s hard to look at even two months later. Caskets and crypts from a seaside cemetery were washed into the street and onto people’s lawns, the human remains they once contained now a part of history. Ferguson recounts stories of homes filling with seawater, frantic parents in chest-high waters holding babies above their heads. The wall of water obliterated coastal cafes, swallowed supply stores, and inundated areas up to 4 miles inland. ![]() “The surge-15 feet of surge-rushed onto the land,” says Ferguson. “The sound has only about 4 feet of water during high tide,” says Ivan Ferguson, the town administrator. But it was the shallow waters off the coast that wreaked the most havoc. Old wooden homes were literally blown to pieces. Over the course of five brutal hours, winds snapped utility poles, ripped trees out from their roots, and tossed cars around like toys. ![]() Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, struck the island at around 8 o’clock that morning. At daybreak on October 6, 2016, Lowe Sound was a quaint seaside fishing community at the northern tip of Andros Island, The Bahamas.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |