The Eye of Every Storm

From CrimethInc.

Anarchist Response to Hurricane Helene

At the end of September 2024, western North Carolina and the surrounding states experienced 30 inches of rainfall over two days when an unnamed storm collided with Hurricane Helene over the mountains of Southern Appalachia. The resulting catastrophe laid waste to the entire region. At a time when misinformation, rising authoritarianism, and disasters exacerbated by industrially-produced climate change are creating a feedback loop of escalating crisis, it’s crucial to understand disaster response as an integral part of community defense and strategize about how this can play a part in movements for liberation. In the following reflection, a local anarchist involved in longstanding disaster response efforts in Appalachia recounts the lessons that they have learned over the past six weeks and offers advice about how to prepare for the disasters to come.

Disaster Anarchy

From Void Network by Rhiannon Firth

The growth of autonomous disaster relief efforts, grassroots anarchist initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and collective responses to climate change, both in the UK and in the US. Written by Rhiannon Firth, author of Disaster Anarchy: Mutual Aid and Radical Action, the article was published in two parts, in issues 21 (Spring) and 22 (Summer) 2023 of the anarchist street newspaper Dope Magazine.

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